2030 Agenda, a tool to generate consensus in the face of the pandemic.
First virtual transmission: Social protection for the day laborer population in Mexico: Occupational safety and health in the agricultural sector, with a gender focus.
The first virtual session of the series: Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for temporary agricultural workers was held before COVID-19, organized by the United Nations interagency team Mexico in coordination with the Directorate of the 2030 Agenda of the Office of the Presidency of the Republic, as part of the actions in response to the current pandemic and those who participate in the project: Closing gaps: Social protection for women in Mexico .
This seminar is the first of six that aims to make visible the importance of occupational safety and health (OSH) and social protection in the agricultural day laborer population, taking into account the challenge of addressing the vulnerabilities of women in this sector.
“The impact that the crisis due to COVID-19 will have on the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the 2030 Agenda, making it more difficult not to leave anyone behind, but also as an opportunity to position the Agenda as a tool for generate consensus. “Domestic workers and workers in the agricultural sector comprise the most vulnerable groups of women in the country and therefore must be supported in a systemic and cross-cutting manner. Not only promoting the social protection of women, but also giving conditions and incentives to companies to promote these important sources of employment,” said Gemma Santana, Director of the 2030 Agenda in Mexico.
“Before COVID-19 the situation is complex, which is why the implementation of projects and strategic alliances to accelerate social protection actions for women in Mexico becomes relevant. Closing Gaps: Extending Social Protection for Women in Mexico, with the fulfillment of the goals of the 2030 Agenda, it is necessary to strengthen the differentiated support policies for family, indigenous and Afro-Mexican agriculture; the sustainable productivity of the agricultural sector carry out affirmative actions to transform inequalities related to gender injustices”.
Helmut Schwarzer, Social Protection Specialist at the International Labor Organization (ILO), emphasized: “The countries of the world must face the COVID crisis with policies articulated around four pillars: fiscal and monetary policies, business support to support workers' incomes, to be able to distance from work those people who can telework and the fourth pillar, social dialogue, consensus between workers, employers and government agencies”.
“The importance in times of COVID-19 of complying with occupational safety and health and social protection, through the international conventions that Mexico has ratified: Convention 102 of Minimum Standards of Social Security and Convention 105 of Standards minimum safety and health at work”.
Lourdes Colinas, Coordinator of Economic Empowerment Projects of UN Women in Mexico, stated: “The pandemic by COVID-19 has brought and made visible the barriers that women face, income security, in the particular case of women workers agricultural, a particularly vulnerable group. Women have lower wages for the same job, less access to credit and are overrepresented in the informal market, and social protection is often interrupted by care work. Most indigenous and Afro-descendant women do not have access to social protection and cannot work remotely, which generates uncertainty in their remuneration, especially due to the absence of a formal contract.
"Food security may be affected by difficulties in accessing food due to the closure of services in rural areas, coupled with the crisis of gender violence that is being experienced by confinement at the intra-family level, in addition, transfer measures should be promoted immediate cash that addresses gender difference, in order to guarantee the exercise of human rights".
