Disrupted labour markets

2019 ◽  
pp. 93-113
Author(s):  
Ronald Labonté ◽  
Arne Ruckert
Keyword(s):  
Health Risks ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Policy Discourse ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Precarious Work

The search for employment is one of the major drivers behind migration. Globalization processes have had profound impacts on the world’s labour markets, creating opportunities for some (through out-sourcing) while dislocating work for others. This global redistribution of labour is not motivated by concerns for the livelihoods of workers so much as by the pursuit of profits by transnationally liberated capital. Net effects include increases in precarious work, declines in labour’s share of global economic product, and a continuous ‘flexibilization’ of labour markets excused by competitive pressures. Such changes bring new health risks associated with insecurity for many and downwards pressure on wages for some. International policy discourse lauds efforts to improve social protection measures for affected workers, while the growing gap between productivity and wages is giving rise to a call for universal basic incomes to compensate for globalization’s victory of capital over labour.

scholarly journals Effects of COVID-19 on the economy and mental health of young people in South Africa: opportunities for strengthening social protection programmes by integrating mental health

2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-204
Author(s):  
Alejandra Álvarez-Iglesias ◽  
Emily Garman ◽  
Crick Lund
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Young People ◽  
Child Support ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Employment Education

The majority of COVID-19 cases in sub-Saharan Africa are found in South Africa, where one third of young people are not in employment, education or training. As the world continues to fight the COVID-19 virus spread, an increasing volume of studies are analysing and trying to predict the consequences of the pandemic on the economy and on physical and mental health. This article describes the economic and psychological impact of COVID-19 in South Africa’s youth specifically, the efforts made to tackle these issues, and the opportunities to integrate mental health into the country’s social protection measures, such as the Child Support Grant.

scholarly journals Food Should not be Forgotten: Impacts of Combined Cash Transfer Receipt and Food Security on Child Education and Cognition in South Africa and Malawi

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Sherr ◽  
Kathryn J. Roberts ◽  
Mark Tomlinson ◽  
Sarah Skeen ◽  
Helen Mebrahtu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Cognitive Development ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cognitive Outcomes ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Food Security Status ◽  
Child Cognitive Development ◽  
Cash Grant

AbstractSocial protection can take many forms. Both cash transfers and food security may have important contributions to child cognitive development. This study examines the potential impact of combinations of cash transfers and food security status on child cognitive development and educational outcomes. Cross-sectional data for 796 HIV-affected children in the Child Community Care study were utilised for this analysis. Children and caregivers completed interview schedules comprised of standardised items on socio-demographics, household data, cash grant receipt and food security status, school achievement, and cognition. A series of logistic and linear regression models and marginal effects analyses were undertaken to explore the impacts of differing levels of social protection (none; either cash grant receipt or food secure status or, both in combination) on child educational and cognitive outcomes. Although all children lived in poverty-stricken households, 20% (157/796) of children did not live in a household in receipt of a cash grant and did not report food security; 32.4% (258/796) reported either component of social protection and, 47.9% (381/796) received both measures of social protection in combination. Compared to no social protection, being in receipt of either component of social protection was found to be significantly associated with being in the correct class for age, higher scores of non-verbal cognition, and higher working memory scores. Receiving both social protection measures in combination was found to be significantly associated with reduced educational risk scores, improved odds of being in the correct class for age, regular school attendance, missing less than a week of school in the previous two weeks, higher scores on measures of nonverbal cognition, higher working memory scores, and learning new things more easily. Educational and cognitive outcomes for children can be bolstered by social protection measures (cash grant receipt or food security). Benefits are enhanced when social protection is received in combination. Such findings support the notion of synergistic social protection responses for children living in environments impacted by high levels of HIV burden and deprivation.

scholarly journals CSR initiatives by companies for employees through social protection measures

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 ◽  
pp. 09002
Author(s):  
Noor Akma Mohd Salleh ◽  
Rusnah Muhamad ◽  
Siti Hajar Mohd Roffeei
Keyword(s):  
Social Protection ◽  
Protection Measures

The South European Countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 843-862
Author(s):  
Maurizio Ferrera
Keyword(s):  
Social Insurance ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Extended Family ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
State Building ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Employment Opportunities

In Southern Europe, welfare state building followed a distinct path, characterized by ‘weak Fordism’ in labour markets, a dualistic social insurance, and a faulty and fragmented safety net. The (extended) family thus played a key role as welfare and income provider for its members, penalizing women’s autonomy and employment opportunities. The 1990s and 2000s witnessed substantial efforts to modernize both labour markets and social protection schemes, by recalibrating their coverage both across risks and social groups. However, the economic crisis of the 2010s halted such recalibration and the gap with Europe’s more developed welfare states has again started to widen, especially in Italy and Greece.

scholarly journals Consistency, Protection, Responsibility

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 473-499
Author(s):  
Noele Crossley
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
International Society ◽  
Essential Characteristic ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
The Law ◽  
Armed Intervention

Abstract Selective humanitarianism, it has been argued, may be condonable, or even preferable. Several arguments have been proffered in support of these views. This article revisits these arguments in light of the emergence of a discourse of protection and responsibility that now incorporates a wider spectrum of protection measures available to agents, of which armed intervention is but one. Consistency is an essential characteristic of ethics and the law—inconsistent practice diminishes the prospects of the development of norms of protection and associated practices and institutions. Furthermore, inconsistent practice means that fewer people receive protection from egregious violations of human rights. If the principles associated with human protection and humanitarianism are to become established norms of international society, international policy must be coherent, and international practice must be consistent.

Mind the gaps: Universal Credit and self-employment in the United Kingdom

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-217
Author(s):  
Kevin Caraher ◽  
Enrico Reuter
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Welfare Reform ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
The Self ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Roll Out

Self-employment in the United Kingdom rose steadily until 2017, as part of wider changes in labour markets towards more flexible and potentially more vulnerable forms of employment. At the same time, welfare reform has continued under the current and previous governments, with a further expansion of conditionality with respect to benefit recipients. The incremental introduction of Universal Credit is likely to intensify the subjection of vulnerable categories of the self-employed to welfare conditionalities and to thus accentuate the ambivalent nature of self-employment. This article analyses the impact of Universal Credit on the self-employed by first discussing elements of precarity faced by the self-employed, and, second, by exploring the consequences of the roll-out of Universal Credit for those self-employed people who are reliant on the social protection system.

scholarly journals People with disabilities and income-related social protection measures in South Africa: Where is the gap?

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jill Hanass-Hancock ◽  
Tamlyn C. McKenzie
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Severe Disabilities ◽  
Protection Measures ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Protection Mechanisms ◽  
Social Grants ◽  
Out Of Pocket Costs

Background: People with disabilities are at increased risk of poverty, particularly in low-and middle-income countries. However, recent evidence suggests that this association is more nuanced than previously anticipated and that we need better data to understand the opportunity and out-of-pocket costs that diverse groups of people with disabilities may experience.Objective: This paper discusses if disability is associated with opportunity cost and loss of income both on the individual and household level in South Africa, and if these costs differ depending on disability type and severity.Methods: For this purpose, the paper analyses General Household Survey 2011 data (people between 15 and 59) using descriptive statistics disaggregated via disability type and severity. The paper also assesses if social grants counteract these costs and reduce economic vulnerability.Results: The analysis of the data reveals that people with disabilities are affected by issues relating to multidimensional poverty such as lower educational attainment and fewer employment opportunities. In addition, households of people with disabilities (with the exception of milder visual problems) earn significantly less than households without people with disabilities, and this particularly applies to households with people with severe disabilities. This vulnerability also varies by disability type. The country’s social protection mechanisms, in terms of social grants, counteract economic vulnerability to some extent but do not consider the nuanced economic impact of diverse conditions nor the increased out-of-pocket costs related to disability.Conclusions: This calls for more equitable social protection mechanisms that include accessible services, livelihood programmes and disability benefits.

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