International Trade Union Confederation

Building on the engagement over the past years, the outcome document of the 4th WWC (2022) and the 5th ITUC Congress (2022) identified the care economy as one of the key political priorities to realise our demands for a New Social Contract, accelerating gender equality in the world of work and building a fairer and more inclusive society.

The International Day for Care, 29 of October, is an awareness campaign aimed at giving visibility to the importance of the care economy and, therefore, to pressure governments to foster:

• Increased public investments in the care sector.
  Public investments in the care economy - as part of the national governments GDP – creating million of new jobs, granting women economic participation and guaranteeing universal access to quality public health, education and care services.

• Adoption of CARE policies.
  Inclusive labour market policies, family-friendly workplace polices and gender responsive social protection grant a more equitable sharing of care responsibilities and promote flexible working arrangements on a gender-neutral basis.

• Decent work for all care workers.
  Care jobs need to be formal and decent, with safe working conditions, and adequately remunerated, including equal pay for work of equal value. Care workers must be free from gender-based violence and harassment, and from any type of discrimination. Care workers must be free to organize and to bargain collectively.

The 2022 ITUC report “Putting the Care Economy in Place: Trade Unions in Action Around the world”, presents six case-studies showing trade union wins at the national level.

Equal Times’ articles on CARE:

• High value, low pay: the care sector in Spain
• By workers, for workers: in India, cooperatives are addressing care workers’ own caregiving needs
• In Canada, a historic move towards a nationwide childcare system draws praise, and criticism
• Can improving child and adolescent care infrastructure boost the economy and promote equality in Argentina?
• Spain extends rights for domestic workers but excludes the undocumented
• Trade unions in Dominican Republic want work-life balance rights to be recognised

Hashtags: #InvestInCare #Care2023

The International Day for Care is supported by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Public Services International (PSI), UNI Global Union, Education International (EI), International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) and Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO).