Countries need to improve the working conditions and incomes of essential workers to fully reflect their contribution to society and their importance in the daily functioning of economies, reveals a new report from the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The document, World Employment and Social Outlook 2023: The value of essential work highlights how much economies and societies depend on these workers, and how undervalued they are. Their poor working conditions aggravate staff turnover and labor shortages, jeopardizing the provision of basic services.
According to the report, there is a need to improve their conditions and invest more in food systems, healthcare and other key sectors to increase economic and social resilience to shocks.
Eight key sectors
Essential workers can be found in eight major occupational groups spanning healthcare, food systems, retail, security, cleaning and sanitation, transportation, manual and technical occupations, and clerical.
In the 90 countries for which data were available, 52% of all employment is done by such workersalthough in high-income countries, where economic activities are more diversified, the proportion is lower, 34%.
During the COVID-19 crisis, generally suffered higher mortality rates than the other. Among the different categories, these rates varied; for example, employees in the transportation sector had higher mortality rates than health workers. The results reveal the importance of safety and health at work, as well as the presence of higher security in formal workplaces, with collective representation.
Lower wages, longer hours and other shortfalls
Globally, essential workers are overrepresented in low-paid employment, reaching 29% of those in bad pay (Underpaid is understood to be a salary of less than two thirds of the average hourly wage).
On average, workers in key sectors earn 26% less than other employees, and only two-thirds of this difference is due to education and experience. In food systems, the proportion of low-paid essential employees is especially high, at 47%, and in cleaning and sanitation it is 31%.
Other Notable Revelations
The report reveals other information to take into account:
- One in three essential workers has a temporary contractalthough there are considerable differences between countries and sectors. In the food industry, 46% have a temporary job. One in three employees in manual occupations and in cleaning and sanitation, has a temporary contract
- Cleaning and security jobs are often outsourced, and other essential occupations are usually covered by workers assigned by temporary employment agencies. This happens above all in warehouses, and increasingly in healthcare
- More than 46% of essential employees in low-income countries they work too many hours. Long hours are more frequent in transport, where almost 42% of workers worldwide work more than 48 hours per week. A substantial part also has irregular hours or short days
- Nearly 60% of essential workers in low- and middle-income countries lack some form of social protection. In low-income countries, this protection is minimal and only reaches 17% of workers. The outlook is even bleaker for the self-employed in developing countriesgiven that almost completely unprotected
- These sectors employ a large proportion of migrantsespecially in high-income countries.
Fresh fish from the Santa Rosa de Salinas fish cooperative, Ecuador.
Guarantee decent work
“Healthcare personnel, supermarket cashiers, delivery men, postal workers, sailors, cleaners and others supplying food and necessities continued to carry out their jobs, day after day, even at the height of the pandemic, often at great personal risk,” said ILO Director General Gilbert F. Houngbo.
“Value essential workers means ensuring they receive adequate wages and work in good conditions. Decent work is a goal for all workers, but it is particularly critical for workers who provide vital necessities and services in good times and bad.”
To guarantee the continuity of basic services during future pandemics or other crises such as natural disasters, the report recommends a greater investment in infrastructure, productive capacity and human resources in essential sectors.
Lack of investment, especially in the health and food systems, contributes to a decent work deficit that undermines both social justice and economic resilience. Among other recommendations, the report calls for:
- Guarantee that occupational health and safety systems cover all branches of economic activity and all workers, clearly specifying duties and rights, through collaboration between the government and the representatives of workers and employers
- Improve pay to compensate for the undervaluation of essential workers and reduce the wage gap between essential workers and those who are not, including through negotiated or statutory minimum wages
- Ensure safe and predictable work hours through regulation, including collective bargaining
- Adapt legal frameworks so that all workers, regardless of their employment status and contractual arrangements, are covered by social protection, especially paid sick leave
- Increase access to training so essential workers can do their jobs effectively and safely
The report outlines a framework that countries can use, as part of a social dialogue process, to identify gaps in decent work and economic resilience with regard to their key workers and basic services, and develop a strengthened national strategy.
