Stakeholders working in the field of labour and migration have urged the government to accommodate all workers, including migrants, under the social security net. They also emphasised the need for a visionary tripartite mechanism involving labour, employers and the government to ensure transparency.

“The ultimate aim of the social security fund is to cover all citizens. The present challenge is to keep proper information about all the people,” said executive director of the Social Security Fund, Kebal Prasad Bhandari, at a programme organised by the Nepal Labour Journalists’ Association (NELJA). Citing the widespread misuse of the multiple identity cards issued by the government for tracking purposes, speakers at the programme suggested that a single card be issued.

Contrary to Bhandari’s statement, Shiva Sharma of the National Labour Academy said that there was dim prospect of a contributory social security fund without contributions from the government and employers. “Only 17 percent labourers are paid employees. The other 83 percent are self-employed. In such a situation, it will take ages to start a contributory social protection and social security scheme,” said Sharma.

The government collects one percent of salaries as tax from all the workers to put into the social security fund, along with Rs 1,000 from each migrant worker in the name of the Migrant Workers’ Welfare Fund.

Director General of the Department of Foreign Employment Purna Chandra Bhattrai said that the government was able only to draft the Social Security Act but had failed to implement it. He also criticised donors for not cooperating when it came to implementation. “The main reason behind our failure to enforce the Act is being confronted by a hostile environment while doing anything,” said Bhattarai.

Other speakers, including Nabin Kumar Karna of the International Labour Organization, Saru Joshi of UN Women and Basanta Kumar Karki of HELVETAS, urged the government to respect the contribution of workers and that the funds not be misused at any cost.

Apart from some 700,000 government employees, the state has utterly failed to ensure social security to other workers. Expect for universal welfare programmes like allowances for senior citizens, single women, Dalits, differently-abled persons and government staffers, there is no social security scheme for other workers. The government’s plan to enforce the Social Security Act has been stalled for long.

Published on: 14 December 2012 | The Kathmandu Post