DAR ES SALAAM - (ILO News) The International Labour Organisation (ILO) organised a high-level tripartite training workshop on social protection from 13-14 April 2016, in Dar es Salaam, which brought together senior representatives from Trade Unions Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA), Association of Tanzania Employers and Government officials from key line Ministries.
The training aimed at strengthening participants’ knowledge on social protection notably on social protection policy, social protection floors and expose them to the ongoing and future programs and reforms in social protection globally. Participants had an opportunity to discuss in depth on what is a social protection system? Who has access to social protection in Tanzania? Why so many Tanzanians do not even go to the nearest health centre or hospital when they fall sick as they know they cannot afford the treatment. Discussions also focussed on why many families can only afford one meal a day, due to lack of income security while many elderly live in poverty.
In Tanzania, only about 6.5 percent of the labour force (20 million people) are covered by social security schemes. Participants were trained on social protection concepts, Social Protection Floors and assessment based national Dialogue on social Protection and costing tools. They were informed that health care, income security are some of the key components that a social protection system should provide.
Global concept – Local implementation
During the workshop, the Social Security Regulatory Authority (SSRA) held a presentation on actuarial valuation of the social security Pension Funds, commissioned by the ILO. These actuarial valuation reports provide recommendations on social security reforms that tripartite constituents need to understand and make their opinions for informed way forward.
The participants were also asked to identify priorities in social protection for Tanzania on the basis of the training. They identified priorities such as better access to health care for all as well as improving the income security of the most vulnerable groups, in particular the persons with disabilities and the elderly with the implementation of a minimum universal pension.
Participants recommended for social protection to be prioritized in the country’s political agenda, as well as capacity building for all stakeholders in social protection to enable them to actively participate in the subject discussions and fulfil their role in their respective social protection institutions.
Background information
In 2012, the ILO recommendation no. 202 concerning National Floors of Social Protection was adopted with a consensus of 185 countries.
The Social Protection Floor strategy aims to have a nationally defined set of basic social security guarantees that should ensure, as a minimum that over the life cycle, access to essential health care and to basic income security should be provided for all, as defined at the national level. This ILO recommendation has been recognized as a priority in the Sustainable Development Goals, which would lead the international development policies for the next fifteen years (2016-2030).
