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.

April 2020

  1. COVID-19:  Stimulating the economy and labour demand

    The need to scale up investment in health workforces

    03 April 2020

    As the COVID-19 crisis puts pressure on health services across the globe, new data from the ILO’s Department of Statistics highlights the already existing shortages of health workers.

  2. COVID-19: Stimulating the economy and employment

    Are there enough health workers?

    03 April 2020

    Countries’ capacities to recruit and retain health workers vary significantly across regions. This unequal distribution exacerbates inequities in access to health services.

  3. Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth

    Global Survey on Youth and COVID-19

    03 April 2020

    To bring youth voices to the forefront of action and policy responses, the ILO and partners of the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth (DJY) are conducting a survey on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth and the world of work.

  4. COVID-19: Supporting employment and incomes

    Five things SMEs need to survive COVID-19

    03 April 2020

    The COVID-19 outbreak has hit Small and Medium Enterprises and their workers hard. So what do SMEs need and what has worked in previous calamities to help them survive? Here are our top five policy options.

  5. © ILO 2024

    Media advisory

    ILO to publish updated figures on employment impact of COVID-19

    03 April 2020

  6. News

    ILO SKILLS response to COVID-19

    02 April 2020

    Working on addressing the specific challenges faced by countries, workers, enterprises and education and training institutions by facilitating distance learning solutions and encouraging skills development within the context of the current crisis.

March 2020

  1. © ILO 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    Treat seafarers with “dignity and respect” during COVID-19 crisis

    31 March 2020

    Seafarers, ship owners and governments are urging ILO member States to ensure the flow of essential goods, energy, food and medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

  2. © Army Medicine 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    New guidelines to help employers support families during COVID-19

    30 March 2020

    New guidelines issued by ILO and UNICEF call on enterprises to do more to support working families during the pandemic.

  3. COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    The impact of COVID-19 on inequalities in the world of work

    30 March 2020

    The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating already existing inequalities – from catching the virus, to staying alive, to coping with its dramatic economic consequences. Policy responses must ensure that support reaches the workers and enterprises who need it most.

  4. © Matt Ming 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    COVID-19 cruelly highlights inequalities and threatens to deepen them

    30 March 2020

    The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating already existing inequalities – from catching the virus, to staying alive, to coping with its dramatic economic consequences. Policy responses must ensure that support reaches the workers and enterprises who need it most.

  5. News

    COVID-19 Response: SEWA Cooperative Federation on health, livelihood and social protection strategies for immediate and long-term relief among informal women workers

    29 March 2020

  6. News

    The COVID-19 outbreak update from Legacoop, Italy

    27 March 2020

    This update provide insights on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Italian cooperative enterprises, and measures being taken by them to support workers, members/customers, and people in their communities affected by the crisis.

  7. COVID-19: Pandemic in the World of Work

    COVID-19 has exposed the fragility of our economies

    27 March 2020

    The Corona virus pandemic is not just a medical crisis, but a social and economic one too, says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. If our response is to be effective it must take into account all these factors, and be delivered in a co-ordinated, global way. In particular, it must answer the needs of the most vulnerable.

  8. The G20 and the COVID-19 pandemic

    ILO welcomes G20 commitment as a first global step in responding to the COVID-19 crisis

    26 March 2020

    Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labour Organization, calls on G20 countries to work together to protect people, jobs, incomes and enterprises from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  9. © Chassenet / BSIP via AFP 2024

    COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

    COVID-19: Social protection systems failing vulnerable groups

    25 March 2020

    Governments must use the momentum created by the COVID-19 pandemic to make rapid progress toward collectively financed, comprehensive, and permanent social-protection systems.