Members of the Decent Work for Equitable Food Systems Coalition joined the over 5,000 delegates from governments, employers, workers, Civil Society and multilateral organizations at the 112th International Labor Conference (ILC) in Geneva from June 3-14th 2024. This year, governments, workers, and employers from the International Labor Organization (ILO)’s 187 Member States are addressing issues in relation to the protection of workers against biological hazards, decent work and  care economies, and a safe and healthy work environment as a fundamental principles and rights at work – all issues relevant to the aim of achieving decent work for all. 

 Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), and CARE paid specific attention to the ILC’s committee on Decent Work and Care Economies, which rightly put the care economy at the heart of the ILO’s programme of work. Care is the cornerstone of economies and societies; it is a human right (everyone in need of care has a right to receive it) and public good (everyone in a society benefits from care services). Yet, no country in the world has achieved a fully caring economy. Care work is either performed as unpaid care – largely by women and girl, who perform 3 times the amount of care work than men and boys – or as underpaid care work. Care is a largely informal, and feminized sector, which means women perform paid care without regulated decent work standards, often without legal and social protections. As such, care work – paid and unpaid – is at the heart of the social justice and decent work agenda.  

Most care givers are women who belong to the informal economy and must be considered within social security and social protection schemes. “We wanted to ensure that the general discussion on the Care Economy includes those workers that are working in the informal set-up and are unregistered under any group or organization” explains Jyoti Macwan, General Secretary, SEWA. The product negotiated during the ILC effectively talks about social protection and scope of social dialogue for such workers. It also promotes fundamental principles and rights at work of these workers including the freedom of association and right to collective bargaining. 

Care work is hugely valuable – unpaid care work alone adds US$10.8 trillion to the global economy each year. Yet, global systems are unjust. Where public services and care infrastructure is insufficient, women step in to perform care as unpaid labour: “De facto, women subsidize growth in every country of the world, at the expense of their own economic potential,” stated Mareen Buschmann, CARE’s Global Advocacy Lead on Women’s Economic Justice. At the same time, the care work sector is one of the fastest growing sectors globally, promising up to 150 million new jobs by 2030. Investing in the care sector can be a vital steppingstone towards universal public care provision, and would mean tapping into a growing market, helping meet increasing caring needs, and foster women’s and girls’ economic rights and opportunities. As a contribution to the discussion, CARE’s and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women’s new report, Building Caring Economies as a Pathway to Economic and Gender Justice, presents decision makers with strategies and practices that work to build caring economies in line with the feminist concept of the 5Rs. At the example of four case studies of women entrepreneurs from the UK, Kenya and Vietnam, the paper shows how investment in the care economy can strengthen women’s entrepreneurship, work opportunities and gender equality more broadly. 

Care to the care givers is an important aspect which we welcome and support, Decent work is key to for women’s economic justice, including for women working in the informal economy. SEWA intervened during the workers group discussion that the women workers of the informal sector also have right for Care and the childcare centers should operate according to the timings of these workers. “This has had a direct and positive impact on the income of the worker” said Ms Jyoti Macwan. “We also intervened to include issuance of identity cards to the care workers as that will increase their recognition as a worker.” 

“Decision makers should invest in the care economy, it is a win-win scenario for gender equality, economic prosperity and achieving the international development goals alike,” Mareen Buschmann said. “The International Labour Conference’s conclusions on decent work and care economies present a great starting point to build a feminist future with caring economies at its heart.”