Greater support needed for working families as COVID-19 takes hold – UNICEF and ILO

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its exponential growth, it is essential to support working families to minimize negative consequences for children, UNICEF and ILO said today. Job loss, school closures, and unavailability of childcare mean that families, especially those in low-income households, need extra support.

“The fallout from the pandemic – job losses, prolonged stress and a deterioration of mental health – will be felt by families for years to come,” said UNICEF Chief of Early Childhood Development Dr. Pia Rebello Britto. “For the most vulnerable children, the absence of adequate social protection systems exacerbates their exposure to the crisis.”

In new preliminary recommendations released today, UNICEF urges employers to consider the impact of their business decisions on workers’ families – and to support social protection wherever possible.

UNICEF and ILO also call on governments to strengthen social protection measures, especially for vulnerable families, including by supporting employers to continue providing employment and income, and to guarantee financial support for those who lose their jobs.

“Social dialogue – consultation and collaboration among governments, workers and employers and their representatives – is essential. If responses are to be effective and sustainable, they have to be built on trust and a wide range of experiences,” said Manuela Tomei, ILO Director of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department.

Family-friendly policies and practices, including employment and income protection, paid leave to care for family members, flexible working arrangements and access to quality, emergency childcare can make a critical difference. They enable workers to protect and care for themselves and their children and enhance workers’ productivity and sense of security.

The preliminary recommendations for employers to mitigate the negative consequences stemming from COVID-19 include:

• Monitor and follow national advice by local and national authorities and communicate critical information to the workforce.
• Assess whether current workplace policies provide sufficient support to workers and their families.
• Apply good practices when implementing existing or new policies based on social dialogue, national labour laws and international labour standards. Ensure all workers are entitled to workplace support measures, without discrimination, and that all workers know about them, understand them and feel comfortable using them.
• Protect the workplace against discrimination and social stigma by facilitating training and ensuring reporting mechanisms are confidential and safe.
• Implement family-friendly working arrangements to give workers greater freedom of when and where they can fulfil their job responsibilities. If flexible working arrangements are not possible, consider alternative support for working parents such as childcare support.
• Support working parents with childcare options that are safe and appropriate in the context of COVID-19.
• Prevent and address workplace risks by strengthening occupational safety and health measures.
• Provide guidance and training on occupational safety and health measures and hygiene practices.
• Encourage workers to seek appropriate medical care in cases of fever, cough and difficulty breathing.
• Support employees coping with stress during the COVID-19 outbreak.
• Support government social protection measures in line with ILO Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention No. 102 and ILO Social Protection Floors Recommendation No. 202. Company support can include, for example, subsidies for workers to access health, unemployment and inability to work insurance, and should extend to workers in the informal sector.

Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, Representative, UNICEF India, “UNICEF India is committed to promoting family friendly policies in the workplace and has extensive proof that, especially in extremely challenging and difficult times, investing in the well-being of employees and their families and communities have a huge positive influence on the success of businesses in the long term. In this trying time, we are working closely with our partners in the private sector  to promote policies and practices that enable employees and/or workers to more easily achieve work-life balance, and to fulfil both their work and family obligations.”