A report has highlighted the “direct and immediate relationship between the provision of social protection and decent work”. Better coordination between social protection, labour market and anti-poverty policies are also needed to enhance the living conditions and income stability of the world’s most vulnerable populations, according to the World Labour Report 2000. The report discusses how under-funding, inflated bureaucracy and lack of democratic institutions prevent social protection schemes from “reflecting workers’ legitimate aspirations”. It points out that in Mexico, for example, while casual workers are entitled to health insurance in exchange for a nominal payment, bureaucracy and difficulties in disseminating information have greatly limited uptake.
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UK does little to help school to work transfer
The UK has one of the worst records of all OECD countries in easing the transition for young people from education into work. Hungary and Canada were also singled out from the 14 nations surveyed as having ineffective policies, while Switzerland, Japan, Austria and Norway did particularly well. The report highlights a set of key ingredients of successful transition systems. They include a well functioning labour market, well organised pathways connecting educational qualifications to work and opportunities to combine education with work experience.
