ESSENTIAL workers who kept families, societies and economies going while the world was under lockdown must have better pay and conditions now if countries are to future-proof themselves from the next global crisis, United Nations labor experts said on Wednesday.

'In a number of countries, key sectors are facing labor shortages, because people are increasingly reluctant to engage in work which is not properly, adequately, fairly valued by society and rewarded in terms of better pay and improved working conditions,' said Manuela Tomei, assistant director-general for governance, rights and dialogue at the International Labor Organization (ILO).