ILO commences a comprehensive review of the Social Protection System of Suriname at the request of the Government

The Government of Suriname has embarked in a major legislative reform in the social sector. In this framework, important social laws were adopted in 2014 and 2019, which are part of the development of a social protection floor in Suriname. More recently, the priorities of the Suriname Government were detailed in the Multi-Year Development Plan 2022 – 2026 which specifically addresses social protection reforms.

In February 2022, the President of the Republic of Suriname requested the Ministers of Labour, Employment Opportunity and Youth Affairs, Social Affairs and Public Housing and Finance and Planning to advise the Government on the issue of social security system review and to enable its assessment in 2022. Consequently, the Government of Suriname requested the support of the ILO to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the social protection system of Suriname.

Mr. Ariel Pino, Specialist, Social Protection and Occupational Safety and Health, ILO Decent Work Team and Office for the Caribbean, embarked on a four-day mission to Suriname from 5-8 July 2022, to attend consultations with officials from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Youth Affairs, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Housing, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, workers’ and employers’ representative organizations as well as other relevant public institutions, on the ILO project and to identify social protection programmes and reform priorities. The mission also included a capacity building session of social protection policy and financing. Mr Arthur Van de Meerendonk, ILO Consultant, was part of the mission.

During the briefing to stakeholders and capacity building sessions, Mr Pino highlighted the importance of reviewing the social protection system from different angles, such as legal and operational frameworks, financing structures and coordination mechanisms. He also highlighted that fragmented systems pose key challenges to achieving universal social protection.

Minister of Labour, Employment and Youth Affairs, the Hon. Steven Mac Andrew, addressed stakeholders and indicated that the Government is looking forward to receiving the report with concrete recommendations. Minister Mac Andrew thanked participants for the overwhelming participation and engagement and committed the full support of the Ministry to conclude the project with success.

The support provided by the ILO to conduct a comprehensive review of the social protection system of Suriname sets the basis for future interventions that would lead to concrete reforms aimed at providing rights-based, universal, adequate, sustainable, and responsive social protection coverage throughout the life cycle. Additionally, it will pay particular attention to vulnerable groups such as children, women, youth, people with disabilities, workers in the informal economy and the elderly.

The main objectives of the comprehensive review are:

1. to identify the scope of the social protection system and programmes in Suriname in terms of risks and needs covered as well as existing gaps in coverage;
2. to establish the costs in terms of annual expenditure (e.g. benefits and administration expenditure) and financing structures (e.g. the composition of the “income” of the social protection sector from different sources, such as social security contributions/general taxation, financing at different levels of the general Government and private financing, subsidies).
3. to analyze the effectiveness of the performance of the existing social protection schemes in terms of its coverage, adequacy, sustainability and responsiveness. Coverage will be analyzed both in terms of the proportion of the relevant population covered and in terms of the levels/quality of coverage (replacement rates etc.);
4. to identify gaps towards the implementation of the social protection floor in Suriname;
5. to identify linkages with other public policies that support the achievement of the objectives of the social protection system;
6. to identify fiscal space for the extension of social protection coverage; and
7. to make recommendations for the development of a Social Protection Strategy for Suriname.

The ILO support to Suriname on social protection is part of the Decent Work Country Programme of Suriname and the ILO Flagship Progamme on Social Protection, which supports 50 countries worldwide. The next mission is scheduled for October 2022.


In photo - From left to right: Arthur van Meerendonk (ILO Consultant), Ariel Pino (ILO Social Protection and OSH Specialist), Rowan Noredjo (Inspector General of the Labor Inspectorate), Glenn Piroe (Deputy Director of Legal and International Affairs and Chairman of the Monitoring Committee DWCP SU II), Naomi Esajas- Friperson (Deputy Director of Labor Market), Meena Kandhai-Ramai (Head of Minister's Office)