2 Background and Rationale Pandemic Scars and Enduring Problems More than two years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world continues to confront its long-term impacts. As numerous reports and studies have shown, the pandemic has not only caused the loss of life and other health complications, but it has also undermined efforts to raise living standards for millions across the globe. For example, the World Employment and Social Outlook for 2022 paints a dismal picture of post-pandemic recovery. The report indicated that "many gains in decent work made before the pandemic have been significantly impacted upon, and pre-existing decent work deficits are dampening the prospects of sustainable recovery in many regions."1 By the numbers, the document mentions that COVID-19 and the shocks it caused are estimated to have yielded working- hour deficits "equivalent to 52 million full-time jobs" in 2022.2 One recurring theme in many of these global assessments is the role that existing structural inequalities play in compounding the impacts of the present pandemic. The regional companion report for Asia and the Pacific of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) World Social Protection Report 2020-2022 states that only 46.9% of the world population was "effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit," with 30.6% of the working population "legally covered by comprehensive social security systems."3 Arguing that "social protection remains a central element of ensuring income security for women and men of working age,"4 the companion report noted that just two fifths, or 42.8% of workers in Asia and the Pacific were covered for sickness benefits. Only one in four workers are covered for work-related illness and injury, while just 14% of unemployed workers receive unemployment benefits.5 In terms of minimum wage coverage, around 327 million people worldwide are paid at or 1 International Labour Organization, World Employment And Social Outlook: Trends 2022, at 11, available at https://www.ilo.org/global/research/globalreports/weso/trends2022/WCMS_834081/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed November 3, 2022). 2 Id. at 13. 3 International Labour Organization, World Social Protection Report 2020-22: Regional Companion Report For Asia And The Pacific, at 9, available at https://www.ilo.org/asia/publications/WCMS_853860/lang--en/index.htm (last accessed November 3, 2022). 4 Id. at 22. 5 Id. at 23.