A new International Labour Organization (ILO) report calls for a decisive strengthening of social protection systems worldwide, warning that current gaps in coverage, adequacy, and financing are leaving millions of workers unprotected in an increasingly volatile global economy. The report, Universal social protection in changing labour markets: Protecting workers in all types of employment, emphasizes that reinforcing social protection systems is essential to ensure that all workers - across all types of employment - are protected against social risks and able to navigate profound labour market transformations.
Closing critical gaps in protection
- To address persistent coverage gaps, the report calls for a systematic extension of coverage, ensuring that all workers, including temporary, part-time, and self-employed workers are adequately protected. It highlights country experiences in extending social insurance coverage to worker categories that often face gaps in protection, such as those in micro- and small enterprises, agriculture, domestic work, complex employment arrangements, and self-employment.
- Ensuring that workers in all types of employment are adequately covered not only supports social and economic objectives, but also facilitates transitions from the informal to the formal economy.
From minimal protection to adequate and comprehensive systems
- Beyond extending coverage, the report stresses the urgent need to improve the adequacy and comprehensiveness of benefits to increase their effectiveness in preventing poverty and reducing vulnerability.
- It argues that social protection must move beyond narrow, reactive approaches and provide reliable protection throughout people's life cycles - supporting them during transitions between jobs, sectors, and forms of employment, and across critical life stages, from early childhood and school-to-work transitions to parenthood, periods of unemployment, illness or disability, to old age.
Ensuring sustainable and equitable financing
- A central message of the report is that strengthening social protection requires sustainable and equitable financing mechanisms. It highlights the role of domestic resource mobilization - including social security contributions and progressive taxation - as core to financing strategies, complemented where necessary by public subsidies to include workers with limited contributory capacity. This approach enables risk-sharing, redistribution, and long-term system sustainability.
- The report also recognizes that for countries with insufficient fiscal capacity, international solidarity remains essential to support the development of social protection systems and to prepare for or respond to crises.
Building resilient systems for the future of work
- In a context shaped by climate change, technological transformation, and demographic shifts, the publication underscores that robust social protection systems are indispensable for resilience. They help workers and enterprises adapt to change, support transitions towards more sustainable economic activities, and reinforce social cohesion.
- The Director of the ILO's Universal Social Protection Department, Shahra Razavi, highlighted:
- "Strengthening social protection systems is no longer optional - it is essential. We need systems that reach everyone, provide adequate protection, and are financed in a fair and sustainable way. This is the foundation for resilience, social justice, and a just transition in the changing world of work."
Reference
- International Labour Organization (ILO). 2026. Universal social protection in changing labour markets: Protecting workers in all types of employment. Geneva: ILO.
