News

The latest news on how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the world of work and the responses of governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations.

May 2020

  1. COVID-19: Supporting employment and incomes

    The impact of COVID-19 on the informal economy

    08 May 2020

    Almost 1.6 billion informal economy workers are significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a 60 per cent decline in their earnings. For those workers, stopping work or working remotely at home is not an option. Staying home means losing their jobs and, for many, it also means losing their livelihoods.

  2. COVID-19: Supporting enterprises, jobs and incomes

    COVID-19 and the informal economy in Africa

    07 May 2020

    The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect in Africa, particularly in the informal economy where 325 million workers make their living. Lockdown measures have significantly impacted their lives, along with the many informal enterprises that are at risk of closure.

  3. © ILO 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    Contagion or starvation, the dilemma facing informal workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

    07 May 2020

    Lockdown measures will worsen poverty and vulnerabilities among the world’s two billion informal economy workers, says the International Labour Organization.

  4. Media advisory

    ILO evaluates impact of COVID-19 crisis on informal economy workers

    06 May 2020

  5. © Trocaire 2024

    COVID-19: Supporting enterprises, jobs and incomes

    Helping the “double casualties” of COVID-19

    04 May 2020

    The spread of COVID-19 in fragile states riven by conflict and political insecurity, is turning millions of vulnerable people into double casualties of the pandemic.

  6. Trade Union Movement

    COVID-19 and Workers’Organizations: Interview with Sharan Burrow

    04 May 2020

    What should be the key policy measures to relaunch the Global economy affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic? Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) shares her views on the needs and expectations from the trade union movement on how to address the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Ms Burrow calls also for more solidarity and the need to strengthen Multilateralism…

  7. UN Women – ILO Joint Programme

    Promoting decent employment for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in care

    04 May 2020

    The UN Women - ILO Joint Programme aims to promote decent work for women through inclusive growth policies and investments in the care economy. The Joint Programme stands ready to support governments and social partners in implementing gender-sensitive policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis and recovery phase. In these critical times, it is a demonstration of how the United Nations as One is working towards a gender-equitable future.

  8. Press release

    ILO and Fafo launch rapid impact assessment of COVID-19 on workers in Jordan

    01 May 2020

    The assessment highlights the vulnerabilities of informally employed workers, including Syrian refugees, during lockdown.

  9. Op-Ed

    New normal? Better normal!

    01 May 2020

    The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare in the cruellest way, the extraordinary precariousness and injustices of our world of work, says ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder.

April 2020

  1. © IMO 2024

    COVID-19 in the maritime sector

    Seafarers and fishers: Providing vital services during the COVID-19 pandemic

    30 April 2020

    As many countries in the world marked Labour Day, the International Labour Organization called on governments to implement measures to protect seafarers and fishers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  2. © ILOSTAT 2024

    COVID-19 and Safety and health at work

    COVID-19 and the new meaning of safety and health at work

    30 April 2020

    In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, occupational safety and health takes on even greater importance. It is a core aspect of decent work, and as such, it should be universally guaranteed. Yet, too many work accidents still take place every year.

  3. © Kandukuru Nagarjun 2024

    COVID-19: Stimulating the economy and employment

    ILO: As job losses escalate, nearly half of global workforce at risk of losing livelihoods

    29 April 2020

    The latest ILO data on the labour market impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reveals the devastating effect on workers in the informal economy and on hundreds of millions of enterprises worldwide.

  4. Media advisory

    ILO to release latest analysis of impact of COVID-19 on global employment, informal economy and enterprises

    28 April 2020

  5. © U.S. Pacific Fleet 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    Protect workers both now and after lockdowns ease, says ILO

    28 April 2020

    The International Labour Organization warns that without adequate safeguards for returning workers there could be a second wave of the virus.

  6. © Luis Robayo / AFP 2024

    COVID-19: Relying on social dialogue for solutions

    The COVID-19 crisis: A wake-up call to strengthen social protection systems

    24 April 2020

    Countries with effective health and social protection systems are better prepared to respond to the pandemic.