prijava
SARAJEVO, March 30 (FENA) - As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to grow exponentially, it is essential to support working families to minimize the negative effects on children, warned today UNICEF and the International Labor Organization (ILO).
In new, preliminary recommendations released today, UNICEF urges employers to consider the impact of their business decisions on employees' families - and to support social protection wherever possible.
"The effects of the pandemic - losing jobs, prolonged periods of stress and mental health problems - will affect families for years," said UNICEF's Chief of Early Childhood Development, Dr. Pia Rebello Britto.
UNICEF and the ILO also urge governments to step up social protection measures, especially for vulnerable families, inter alia by helping employers not lay off employees and continue to pay salaries, and to guarantee financial support for those who lose their jobs.
“Social dialogue - consultation and cooperation between governments, workers and employers and their representatives - is essential. In order for the responses to be effective and sustainable, they must be built on trust and broad experience,” said Manuela Tomei, Director of the ILO's Department on Conditions of Work and Equality.
Policies and practices that take into account the needs of the family, including job and income protection, paid leave to take care of family members, flexible working conditions and access to quality care for children in emergencies can make a crucial difference. They enable employees to protect and care for themselves and their children and increase productivity and a sense of worker safety, UNICEF BiH said in a statement.
(FENA) A. B.
