First published in 1948, the International Social Security Review is the principal international quarterly publication in the field of social security.
With the enactment of Statutory Instrument No. 72 (2019), Zambia is extending pension coverage to workers in the informal economy. We present evidence on the experiences and perspectives of domestic workers and bus and taxi drivers regarding pension scheme coverage in Zambia. We use data generated through interviews and focus group discussions. The analysis shows that pension schemes, as conventionally designed for formal economy employees, are not compatible with the values, beliefs and needs of informal economy workers, and pension coverage was not a priority for them. As a form of social innovation, extending access to pension coverage had a lower relative advantage and lacked incentives to attract informal economy workers. We propose a member-centred framework for initiating the extension of social security coverage to informal economy workers.
Nigeria has a predominantly youthful population and limited job opportunities in the formal labour market, which makes the search for formal employment difficult and can be conducive to the growth of exploitative working conditions. As one response to address the vulnerability of Nigerian workers, the Employee's Compensation Act was passed into law in December 2010. Of note, the Act includes provisions for compensation for mental health injuries, or “mental stress”, suffered in the course of employment. The article examines the strengths and weaknesses of the provisions, in particular the premise for mental health injury claims made in the Act. The wider policy implications of the Act as regards the development of compensation for mental health injuries in sub‐Saharan Africa are discussed and suggestions for the future review of the Act offered.
This article analyses the risk of disability facing workers who contribute to the Argentinian Integrated Social Security System (Sistema Integrado Previsional Argentino— SIPA). Using administrative records as our source of data for the period 2000‐2006, the results indicate that 1.46 workers per 1,000 became disabled annually during that period. The risk of disability rates were higher for men than for women, but increased with age for both sexes. The risk of disability rates have also been broken down by pathology and social security scheme, taking the effects of age and sex into account. To conclude, international comparisons are presented.