Dialogue held on care economy

By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Feb. 20: To highlight the 'vital yet undervalued and invisible' role of care work, the Embassy of Canada to Nepal and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Nepal organised a dialogue on 'Advancing Decent Work and the Care Economy' in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

According to them, a strong care economy leads to a healthier workforce, job creation, and increased productivity. However, care workers, especially women, often face low wages, poor working conditions, and lack social protections.

Numan Özcan, Director of the ILO Country Office Nepal, said that care work is the silent force that many often don’t realise, but it keeps societies and economies running. It is a shared responsibility for all governments, employers, and workers to promote international labour standards, invest in research, expand care services, and close financing gaps.

"We stand ready to support Nepal’s journey in building a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable care economy,” he said.

In June 2024, the International Labour Conference (ILC) adopted a resolution concerning decent work and the care economy, further refining the definition of care work. An action plan for implementing the resolution’s conclusions is currently being discussed globally.

A joint study on 'Public Investments in Nepal’s Care Economy' commissioned by the ILO, UN Women, and the National Planning Commission (NPC) of Nepal, revealed that investing Rs. 272,232 million (approximately US$ 1,957,348,080) to address Nepal’s care coverage gaps in education and health would generate a total of 1,386,000 jobs (directly and indirectly), with at least 60 per cent of them filled by women.

Likewise, the 16^th National Development Plan of Nepal prioritizes the promotion of decent work and the care economy under productive employment, decent work, and sustainable social security, healthy, educated, and skilled human resource capital, and gender equality, social justice and an inclusive society.

Dr. Prakash Kumar Shrestha, a member of the NPC, said that Nepal as a pathfinder country of Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions has care as one of the priority sectors. 

Ian Trites, First Secretary, Embassy of Canada to Nepal, said that Canada remains committed to supporting Nepal in advancing decent work and gender equality within the care economy.

Likewise, Patricia Fernandez-Pacheco, Country Representative of the UN Women Nepal, stated that promoting decent work in the care economy is a key pathway to advancing women’s economic empowerment and achieving gender equality.

Speaking on the occasion, representatives of workers’ organisations highlighted issues such as low wages, lack of social protection, and difficulties in unionisation. Meanwhile, representatives of employers’ organisations pointed out key challenges, including low skill levels among care workers, lack of policies for protecting and financing the care sector, and regulatory gaps.