The 112th International Labour Conference (ILC) came to a close on 14 June, after 12 days of discussions between government, employer and worker delegates from 187 states.
The conference, which sets standards and policies for the International Labour Organization (ILO), addressed a range of issues, including the need for decent work in the care sector. It closed by adopting a resolution from the General Discussion Committee on Decent Work and the Care Economy, which included a focus on the role that co-ops and other social and solidarity economy (SSE) entities play in the provision of quality care, investment in sustainable and modern care infrastructure, and the provision of training and employment.
Resolution
According to the resolution, challenges include the lack of an internationally agreed statistical definition of care work, which makes replication and international comparisons difficult. To address this, the resolution calls for the development of such a definition to promote harmonisation and consistency of data.
“The care economy comprises care work, both paid and unpaid, and direct and indirect care, its provision within and outside the household, as well as the people who provide and receive care and the employers and institutions that offer care,” reads the document.
The resolution adds that SSE entities, including co-operatives and other community-led initiatives, that deliver quality care services should be supported through capacity-building, skills development and access to finance.
The International Organisation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (Cicopa) took part in the conference on behalf of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), which holds an observer status at the ILO. Its delegation said co-operatives offer an answer to the challenges facing the care economy by providing quality work to caregivers and ensuring quality, affordable and uninterrupted care, including to the most disadvantaged persons.
Because they are worker-owned and managed, either exclusively or alongside other stakeholders, co-ops prioritise job quality, added Cicopa. This, in turn, leads to higher job satisfaction and retention, a better work-life balance and investment in staff training. Cicopa also told the conference that co-ops offer a legal and stable employment opportunity in a sector where informal and undeclared work is prevalent.
Street vendors
The apex welcomed the conference resolution and conclusions – particularly “the thorough definition of the care economy”, which, it said, “points out the variety of services within the sector, and the diversity of providers, including co-operatives and social and solidarity economy (SSE) entities” – and the recognition of co-operatives and the broader social and solidarity economy in the provision of quality care.
The conclusions document calls on the ILO to provide technical assistance “to promote the effective protection of migrant care workers; domestic workers; community health and care workers; workers in co-operatives and other SSE entities; care workers in the informal economy; and workers with family responsibilities”.
Informal workers and street vendors, some of whom formalise by setting co-ops, were also represented in the conversations around the care economy. Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (Wiego) along with sister organisations, advocated for recognition of care as a public good, the right to care services and social protection for all workers and for social dialogue to ensure decent work.
“Workers in informal employment usually do not have access to quality, affordable, accessible and appropriate care services,” said Rachel Moussié, Wiego’s director of programmes and care economy specialist. “This includes childcare, healthcare, and long-term care. As the global networks of workers in informal employment, we are advocating here for quality care services for these workers who often do not have the means to pay for care services and require quality public care services.
Wiego also called for maternity protections for self-employed workers in the informal economy and a recognition of the need for quality care services in places that are accessible to workers in informal employment. The organisation described how street and market vendors have limited access to social protection and appropriate care services due to not being legally recognised as workers. The same point was made in the ILO’s conclusions, which highlighted that community health and care workers are often not recognised as workers, and so cannot benefit from social and labour protections.
“During this ILC, we, alongside fellow worker organisations, have been calling for high-quality care services for all,” said Lorraine Sibanda, president of StreetNet International, a global organisation of committed informal traders.
“When we suffer health issues, disability or old age, we can only count on each other, increasing the burden of care for our families and communities, which are already living in difficult conditions and without any legal or social protection.
“Our solidarity has kept us alive but given our contribution to national economies, it is unacceptable that we have no proper care services during our lifetime. It is imperative to ensure high-quality care services to all workers, including those in the informal economy so that we can not just survive, but thrive.”
According to Suntaree H. Saeng-ging, an executive committee member of HomeNet International a global network of membership-based workers’ organisations, one of the main gains for home-based workers is the recognition that care done by women home-based workers for their family members and communities is also a kind of work.
Other wins are the agreement that the responsibility of care work ought to be shared between women and men, and confirmation that access to quality care services is the right of all workers including home-based workers.
Next steps
How will the recommendations inform future actions? Saeng-ging says apex organisations need to promote the conclusions of this general discussion with their own labour ministers to ensure the conclusion is implemented.
“I want to see more support for home-based workers’ co-operatives and other SSE organisations,” she added, “because they are playing the role of care providers. Governments and workers’ organisations, including trade unions or other movements of workers in the informal economy should provide more support.”
The ILO director-general has also been requested to prepare a plan of action on decent work and the care economy for consideration by the governing body at its 352nd session in October-November 2024.
