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The video of the session “IMF's strategy on social spending facing austerity: new direction or bandaid?” is now online. The session took place during Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) during the 2023 International Monetary Fund - World Bank Group Spring Meetings.
The event was moderated by Alex Cambpell (International Trade Union Confederation - ITUC). And the speakers were Rodrigo Cerda (, Division Chief, Expenditure Policy Division, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund - IMF), Shahra Razavi (Director, Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization - ILO), Alexander Kentikelenis (Oxfam International) and Ahilan Kadirgamar (Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Jaffna, Sri Lanka).
The event was co-organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF), Bretton Woods Project, Human Rights Watch, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, NGO Committee on Financing for Development, Oxfam International, Social Justice in Global Development, Social Policy Initiative (South Africa). Watch the video
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The International Monetary Fund has said that it protects spending on education, health and social protection from cuts in its loan programmes through social spending floors. These measures are a welcome step forward, but are they effective?
New analysis by Oxfam finds that the IMF’s ‘Social Spending Floors’ —targets designed to help borrowing governments protect minimum levels of social spending— are proving largely powerless against its own austerity policies that instead force countries to cut public funding.
They are little more than a fig leaf for harmful austerity, which is driving inequality, poverty and suffering. Read more
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In 2021, WIEGO has launched the project “Challenging the global orthodoxies which undermine Universal Social Protection”. In a nutshell, the project aimed to examine some of the dominant ideas in the field of social protection that were hindering the concrete inclusion of informal workers in these schemes. And now Florian Juergens-Grant, the coordinator of this project, talks about the main findings of this project, to unpack how these dominant ideas operate and to bring some cases where alternatives have emerged to challenge the premises of these ideas. Listen to the Podcast
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The learning journey consisted of an introductory Sub-regional conference; two Workshops for an in-depth discussion on social protection issues relevant to the sub-region; a Training course on Advocacy and communication for social protection; and Individual e-coaching sessions. The March 23, 2023 Closing conference aimed to re-connect representatives from governments, employers, workers and civil society organizations, within and between countries, thus stimulating peer-to-peer learning and provided highlights from the participants’ experiences during the learning journey. The final conference of the 22/23 East Africa Journey on Social Protection organised by the ILO/ITC for USP 2030 was held in March, and featured excellent panellists - including Priscilla Gavi, chair of the Africa Platform on the Africa Union Protocol of Social Protection. Watch the recording
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Argentina’s draft Packaging Bill requires packaging-producing companies to directly contribute to the financing of inclusive recycling systems, which should ensure improved working conditions and access to some social protections for informal waste pickers. The principle of packaging-producing companies directly financing improved working conditions and social protection for self-employed informal waste pickers can set an important precedent in the recognition of firms’ responsibility to ensure decent working conditions and social protection for workers in their value chain, even in the absence of formal employment relationships. This case study is a collaboration among WIEGO, the Federación Argentina de Cartoneros, Carreros y Recicladores (FACCyR) of the Unión de Trabajadores y Trabajadoras de la Economía Popular (UTEP), and the Observatorio de Coyuntura Económica y Políticas Públicas, an Argentinian think tank. Read more
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On 23 January 2023, the ITUC and WSM’s INSP!R Network organised a meeting that brought together trade unions and civil society organisations to discuss their priorities and campaign strategies for financing universal social protection at the domestic, regional, and international levels. Read more
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The ILO will publish the next issue of the World Social Protection Report (WSPR) in 2024. Your feedback on previous issues of the report will help them to improve it further, promote a deeper understanding of developments and trends and better support the needs of #socialprotection practitioners and advocates.
Please take their survey and helps them improve the report at http://bit.ly/3K3OiAn
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