LABOR

Social Security. The International Labour Organization (ILO) published a report on social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean in late July. The document concludes that more than half of the region’s workers do not pay contributions to a system of coverage for illness, disability, old age or loss of employment. The agency urges governments and companies in Latin America to adopt programs to stimulate and promote jobs, labor inspection, trainings and social protection policies to reduce levels of job insecurity and unemployment. In the coming months, the ILO is expected to hold negotiations with businesses, trade unions and governments to promote these measures.

The report warns that the labour market is being reconfigured as a result of technological changes, the emergence of new forms of recruitment and mobility from the productive sectors to the service sector. Statistics indicate that this transition has an impact on higher rates of informality and self-employment. The situation calls for countries to assess certain key aspects of their social security systems, such as their areas of application, access and financing conditions.

According to the ILO, between 2005 and 2015, almost all countries in the region have increased public spending and the scope of their social security systems. However, progress is mixed and coverage gaps remain. Only 6 of the 16 countries studied have contributory coverage over half of the working population. On average, 55 per cent of the employed population, around 145 million people, make no contribution whatsoever. This percentage is even higher in the Andean and Central American countries where it exceeds 68 percent.

Next steps

The ILO report gives an account of the organization’s diagnosis of progress in terms of labour development rights. The legislators and heads of state of the region will take this survey to feed into eventual bills and executive regulations. The ILO is expected to dialogue with its constituent sectors (companies, trade unions and states) in the coming months, with the aim to produce a document containing recommendations to address this problem.