The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, on Thursday told global leaders that investing in job-rich growth, social protection and a just transition to a net-zero emissions future, particularly in low -and middle-income countries, could prevent a further deepening of the inequalities between developed and developing economies.
Guterres, who gave the charge in a policy brief, noted that investment and policy options had become imperative in view of the increasingly worrisome devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic on global economies, adding that there is need for 400 million jobs and extend social protection to 4 billion women, men and children to mitigate the challenges.
Specifically, the UN scribe argued that at least US$982 billion in fiscal stimulus measures was needed to respond to the immediate labour market shocks of the crisis and to support a just transition, as well as US$ 1.2 trillion annually for social protection floors in low- and middle-income countries.
According to him, no advanced economy has achieved economic and social progress without investing in social protection systems and quality public services that provide people with the necessary support to navigate the vicissitudes of their lives.
He pointed out that while the wealth of billionaires increased by over US$ 3.9 trillion between March and December 2020, the impact of the pandemic on the world of work, among other factors, increased the number of extremely poor by between 119 and 224 million people – the first increase in poverty in over 21 years.
Guterres’ policy brief further estimated that 8.8 per cent of total working hours – equivalent to the hours worked in one year by 255 million full-time workers – were lost in 2020, representing about US$3.3 trillion loss in labour income before government support.
He further noted that because of the pandemic, there are an estimated 75 million fewer jobs in 2021 than there were before the crisis, and 23 million fewer projected in 2022.
The Secretary-General’s brief calls for urgent investments in a job-rich, sustainable and socially inclusive recovery.
He canvassed that the public and private sectors should leverage finance to significantly ramp up such investments to get the world back on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to address ever increasing risks from climate change and environmental degradation that could jeopardize 1.2 billion jobs – equivalent to 40 per cent of the global labour force.
In addition, the UN Secretary General noted that a human-centred recovery from the pandemic needs employment and social protection policies to work in tandem, not only to improve people’s living standards, but also to help them navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing world of work and the transition towards the goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
To achieve a job-rich recovery and a just transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy, the Secretary-General advocated a Global Accelerator for Jobs and Social Protection that would create at least 400 million jobs and extend social protection to 4 billion women, men and children currently without coverage.
To achieve this Goal, the Policy Brief entitled investing in jobs and social protection for poverty eradication and a sustainable recovery recommends several actions.
He listed the actions as “Develop integrated national and inclusive recovery strategies for decent job creation, especially in the care and green sectors, universal social protection, and a just transition, and ensure they are aligned with macro-economic and fiscal policies and underpinned by sound data.
“Expand investment in Social Protection Floors as a percentage of GDP in national budgets.
“Design policy measures to extend social protection to workers in the informal economy, and to foster the progressive formalization of enterprises and employment, including in the care economy.
“Create active labour market policies to help workers upskill and re-skill to keep or change their job, adapt to the green and digital transitions.
“Develop a sound financial architecture to mobilize investments for decent jobs, social protection, and a just transition, including by channelling SDRs to support national recovery strategies to countries in need.
“Strengthen collaboration with the private sector to scale-up investments in strategic sectors to promote entrepreneurship, effectively reaching women and women-owned enterprises in particular, to close the skills gap; and
“Align strategies with the Paris Climate Accords, so that they support enterprises and workers, while also ensuring that vulnerable populations are not left behind in the transition to net-zero carbon emissions economies.
