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The International Labour Organisation has issued a Note on Social protection responses to Covid 19 crisis based on Country responses in Asis & Pacific. The Note also deals with protection of employment and wages and initiatives to be taken by the Government to support employers in preventing unemployment and hardships to employees

The Note outlines the implications of the Covid-19 crisis for national social protection systems and highlights specific social protection responses taken in countries in the Asia and Pacific region. It builds on a more comprehensive ILO Brief which offers policy considerations regarding the role of social protection in responding to the possible impacts of COVID-19 crisis. The Note also contains measures taken by various countries to protect employment and support enterprises.

Key Guidelines & Responses
Support job and income security for those affected by the crisis.

Contribute to preventing poverty, unemployment and informality

The absence of unemployment protection measures, including partial unemployment or partial income compensation, reduces the ability of companies to preserve jobs while coping with the financial impact of the crisis.

Several governments have taken measures to extend publicly financed sickness benefits to workers who are not otherwise entitled to paid sick leave

In view of the rapidly deepening economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis, many governments have put in place measures to provide income support to the population through social assistance or other tax-financed benefits.

Temporarily modifying the payment of social security contributions and tax payments for enterprises

In order to alleviate liquidity constraints on enterprises, many governments have decided to allow enterprises to postpone the payment of social insurance contributions and taxes.

In China, provinces are allowed to exempt medium, small and micro-sized enterprises from employers’ contribution to three social insurance schemes for up to five months, namely: pension, unemployment and employment injury. Larger enterprises can reduce their contribution by 50 per cent for up to three months

The Employee Provident Fund in Malaysia reduced worker contributions from 11 per cent of their salary to four per cent. This is expected to increase the cash on hand in households