Key workers are defined as those who, during the pandemic, ensured that certain essential activities continued to be performed to meet society’s basic needs and functions, also facing a greater risk of exposure to the virus. 

According to the report, essential workers are among eight main occupational groups: food system workers, health workers, retail workers, security workers, manual workers, cleaning and sanitation workers, transport workers, and technicians and clerical workers.

Across the 90 countries with available data, key workers comprise 52 per cent of the workforce. However, the share is lower in high-income countries (34 per cent), and women represent 38 per cent of all key workers globally.

For their greater exposure to the virus, key workers suffered higher mortality rates from Covid-19 than non-key workers. 

Among them, transport workers had the highest rates of excess mortality from Covid-19, even higher than health workers with high levels of contact with infected patients, because they had less access to occupational safety and health (OSH) protections, confirming their importance to preventing illness.

The report also shows that key enterprises - that provided goods and services deemed essential by governments.

- faced many challenges, such as managing disrupted supply chains, financial uncertainty, investment declines, staffing problems, and implementing emergency OSH guidelines.

Key workers share the following characteristics: high OSH risks, excessive use of temporary contracts (also with considerable national and sectoral differences), long and irregular working hours, low wages (key workers earn 26% less than other employees), underrepresentation, shortcomings in social protection including paid sick leave and insufficient training:

Laws, collective bargaining agreements, workers’ and employers’ organisations, labour administration, and inspection systems should aim to achieve safety and health protections that apply to all branches of economic activity and all workers, equality of treatment for all contractual arrangements, safe and predictable working hours as well as wages that reflect key workers’ social contribution, universal social protection, and training, for an adaptive and responsive essential workforce.

The report highlights that investments in physical and social infrastructure in key sectors are necessary for improving working conditions, strengthening business continuity, and creating resilient economies.

Governments and employers’ and workers’ organisations should ensure that enterprises have adequate resources to reinforce their capacity to maintain the delivery of key products and services during a crisis.