Most vulnerable miss out on targeted support

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International Labour Organization. Picture: SUPPLIED/ILO FACEBOOK

The most vulnerable in the informal economy including micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, women and youth, tend to miss out on targeted support such as during a pandemic.

This was according to International Labour Organization office in the Pacific.

“For example, even before the second wave, the absence of tourism resulted in increased job losses and the closure of hotels and tourism-oriented businesses with multiplier effects throughout the informal economy,” stated the office.

“It was stated pre-COVID-19 the share of people employed in the informal sector in Fiji was 66.2 per cent.

“Since the start of COVID-19, and this was picked up by the Rapid Assessment supported by ILO; we have seen a mass transition of redundant formal sector workers to informality.

“As the majority of the informal sector enterprises in Fiji are home-based and rural community driven, containments, lockdowns and the curfew would have significant impact on their capacity to access raw materials and get their finished produce to the market.”

ILO had not conducted a recent impact assessment in 2021 in Fiji, however the office stated it was clear that the labour market situation had exacerbated resulting in the second wave of the virus.

The impact assessment that was carried out in 2020 was stated to be still valid.

The lack of timely data, particularly on livelihoods, jobs and business continuity in various sectors, had make it difficult to understand the vulnerability aspects with regard to the business closure and mobility between containment zones stated ILO.

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