“Enhance the coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all”

Access to an adequate level of social protection is a basic right of all individuals. In many countries a large proportion, sometimes a majority, of workers and their families lack or are excluded from access to basic protection. A major objective of the ILO therefore is to enable countries to extend social protection to all groups in society and to improve working conditions and safety and health at work.

For the ILO, social protection corresponds to a set of tools, instruments, policies which aim, through Government action and constant social dialogue, at ensuring that men and women enjoy working conditions which are not only not harmful, but as safe as possible, which respect human dignity, take into account family and social values, allow for adequate compensation in case of lost or reduced income, permit access to adequate social and medical services, and respect the right to free time and rest.