Social Security Reforms

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Social Security Reforms

• Paper presented by
• Vimbai Mushongera
• Zimbabwe Congress Of Trade Unions

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Presentation outline

• Background
• Introduction
• UN Declaration 1948- 22 25
• ILO Social security convention
• Social security status
• WHO Standards
• Proposed reforms
• Recommendations
• conclusion

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Background

• ZCTU was formed in 1981, 28th of February
• It is a membership driven organization
• The Congress is composed of thirty five
  affiliates with a total membership of more than
  four hundred thousand workers
• Has organised informal economy workers rural
  urban based 1.25 Million- Zimbabwe Chamber of
  Informal Economy Assoc -MOU

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Introduction

• Article 22 of the Universal Declaration states
  Everyone, as member of society, has a right to
  social security.
• ILO Conventions
• 102/1952 Social Security Minimum standards
• 118/1962 Equality of treatment
• 121/1964 Employment Injury Benefits
• 128/1967 Invalidity, Old Age survivors benefits
• 130/1969 Medical care , Sickness Benefits
• 157/1982 Maintenance of Social Security
• 168/1988 Employment promotion protection
• 182/ 1985 Child Labour
• 183/ 2000 Maternity Protection
• 189/1998 Job Creation in small size
• ILO Recommendation 169 Social Protection as
  cornerstone to transformation of IE activities
• WHO
• UNICEF

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EXISTING ARRANGEMENTS

• NSSA
• National Aids Council
• Private Pension Schemes
• Insurance Schemes
• Private Medical Aid Schemes
• Housing Cooperatives
• Employment Creation Micro- Credit Schemes
• Informal arrangements
• Funeral Plans
• Traditional and cultural

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GAPS WITH EXISTING SCHEMES

• Low pension payouts
• Does not support Low Cost housing scheme
  facilities to contributors
• Excludes medical aid cover
• Has been politicised
• Lacks transparency in investment portfolios
• Has not been subjected to regular annual audit
• NSSA Act
• Pensions Provident Fund Acts
• Weak National Policy Framework
• No social Protection Floor Not Sustainable

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ZCTUS VIEWS

• Need to undertake a an imperial study of
  sustainable Social Protection Needs for all
  workers
• There is also need to de mystify Actuarial
  Sciences medical aid
• A clear distinction between benefits given to
  those injured at work and the pensioned off
• Investments should be targeted at benefiting
  contributing members
• The need to extend social protection to informal
  economy rural workers as a means of
  transforming the precarious activities
• Recognising informal work rural work
  worklabour act.
• Recognise the bilateral and tripartite
  structures for Social Dialogue

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Social Security Convention 102/52

• It covers the following
• - medical care
• - sickness benefits
• - unemployment benefits
• - old age benefits
• - employment injury benefits
• - family benefits
• - maternity benefits
• - invalidity benefits
• - survivors benefits

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10 Basic Principles in Pensions

• Universal protection
• (2) Right to benefits
• (3) Protection against
• Right to decent work
• (4) Income security
• (5) Actuarial equivalence between contributions
  and benefits
• (6) Guarantee of minimum return
• (7) Gender equity
• (8) Stable financing
• (9) Fiscal responsibility
• (10) State responsibility

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Social security status

• The current social security systems in
  Zimbabwe have failed to address the question of
  social security protection, calls for a need to
  come up with a local strategy that would address
  the aspects of social protection floor, a concept
  which tries to provide a logical and coherent
  framework for the core content of the basic
  social rights even in times of crises

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Proposed Reforms

• Adequate social protection for all drawing on
  basic social protection floor as endorsed by the
  98th session of the ILC as part of the global
  jobs pact
• Promotion of the global jobs pact including the
  social protection floor
• Need for the advancement of social and employment
  policies

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How could Social Security Standards be fostered

• Universal access to a basic social benefit
  package was never codified in any ILO social
  security Convention. Thus, a new mechanism could
  complement Convention No. 102 and the other
  social security Conventions to ensure that
  social security standards provide the best
  guidance to its member States for the
  establishment of a basic benefit package (social
  protection floor) and help countries, once the
  package has been established, to move towards
  more comprehensive social security protection,
  including a higher level of income security in
  relation to the contingencies, as well as
  improved medical care benefits, as laid down in
  Convention No. 102 and the other up-to-date
  social security Conventions.

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Global Jobs Pact(ILC 2009)

• Requests countries that do not yet have
  extensive social security to build adequate
  social protection for all, drawing on a basic
  social protection floor, including
• Access to health care ,
• Income security for the elderly and persons with
  disabilities,
• Child benefits, and
• Income security combined with public employment
  guarantee schemes for the unemployed and the
  working poor

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Recommendations

• Call for a stakeholders conference
• Research into what other Countries have done in
  the area of social security
• Research into the policies and legal framework .
• The surplus of contributions to NSSA should be
  given back to the Contributors so that they
  invest it in projects of their choice
• Need for workers to take control of their
  pensions

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Conclusion

• Social security is a right for all
• Benefits should be spread beyond contributors
  and seek to redress the imbalance in standards of
  living .
• Health Insurance should not be through additional
  contributions by workers
• A call to review the payouts on retirement is a
  must.

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• THANK YOU!