The Devaluation of Essential Work: An Assessment of the 2023 ILO Report

The ILO report makes a crucial intervention by foregrounding the misalignment between the poor economic and/or social recognition of essential work and the vital contribution this work makes to society.This stark contrast was immediately visible from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, as highlighted in early reflections on the use of essential work designations in response to the pandemic (e.g.The Lancet, 2020;Reid et al., 2021; Stevano, Ali and Jamieson, 2021a).This was further demonstrated by public expressions of appreciation for essential workers during the lockdowns (Catungal, 2021), at least in some countries.Yet, in the aftermath of the pandemic, 14677660, 0, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.