Coronavirus will cancel 6.7% hours worked worldwide in the second quarter of 2020, equal to 195 million full-time workers. The International Labor Organization (ILO) writes it in a report published on its website. "The worsening of the crisis will have devastating effects" on the world of work, stresses the ILO.
More than 4 out of 5 people (81%) in the global workforce, which amounts to 3.3 billion workers, are currently affected by the total or partial closure of production activities. The sectors most at risk are those of housing, catering, manufacturing, retail and commercial and administrative activities. "Workers and businesses are facing a catastrophe, both in countries with an advanced economy and in developing ones," said the director of the ILO, Guy Ryder. "We need to move quickly, decisively and jointly. Timely effective measures could make the difference between survival and collapse," he stressed.
The ILO defines the crisis triggered by Covid-19 as "the worst global crisis after the Second World War", and approximately 1.25 billion workers are employed in the sectors identified as at high risk of "drastic and devastating" increase in layoffs and reductions in wages and working hours. "Many carry out low-paid and low-skilled jobs, where a sudden loss of income can be devastating", stresses the ILO, explaining that integrated and large-scale measures must be adopted, focused on four pillars: supporting businesses, employment and income; stimulate the economy and employment; protect workers; and establish a social dialogue between employer and worker governments to find solutions to this crisis. "This is the biggest test for multilateral cooperation for over 75 years," explains Ryder. "If a country fails, then we all fail. We must find global solutions that help all segments of our society, especially those who are most vulnerable or least able to help themselves." So "the choices we make today will have an impact on how this crisis will evolve and on the lives of billions of people," added Ryder, therefore stressing that "by taking effective measures we can limit the impact of this crisis and mitigate the scars it will leave ".
