Vendor TORs: Promotional items to support the Social Security Board in Anguilla for the extension of coverage to informal workers

Overview

The International Labour Organization (ILO) Office for the Caribbean is seeking to engage a vendor to provide three promotional items for the Social Security Board (SSB) in Anguilla. This is in support of the SSB’s campaign outreach activity to extend social security coverage to the informal sector and economic units.

Background

Anguilla is a small Caribbean Island, with a relatively high standard of living. However, it faces socio-economic challenges like many other small island nations. Anguilla’s socio-economic situation is characterized by a heavy reliance on high-end tourism and its relatively high standard of living, but also disparities, inequalities, and challenges faced by certain sectors of the population. Income inequality is a concern, with high levels of wealth concentrated among a minority while people in lower-income brackets may struggle to meet their basic needs. Additionally, access to quality education, healthcare, and social services can be limited in certain areas. The government’s focus on sustainable development and economic diversification seeks to address these issues and create a more inclusive and resilient economy.

Regarding social assistance, Anguilla has some social protection measures in place. The government provides a range of social assistance programmes to support vulnerable individuals and families, including welfare and social housing programmes. These programmes aim to help those in need access necessities and improve their living conditions.

Regarding social protection, Anguilla has some initiatives to promote health and education. It also provides free healthcare services to its senior citizens (70+). It also maintains a basket of goods, ensuring access to necessities for everyone in the country.

The Anguillian Government developed a National Social Protection Policy in 2018 to alleviate poverty and mitigate vulnerability. This policy aims to foster effective labour markets, reduce the populace’s susceptibility to various risks., and bolster their ability to handle economic and social challenges. These challenges could include unemployment, social exclusion, illness, disability and the effects of ageing. The policy is designed to establish a unified system for social protection in Anguilla. It aims to support the country in consolidating the three primary elements of social protection into a single, cohesive planning and response framework. These three fundamental elements encompass Contributory schemes such as (i) Social Security, (ii) Non-Contributory schemes like Public Assistance, and (iii) Social Services.

Social Security coverage for those employed in the formal economy can be said to be a success with a generally high level of compliance. However, social security coverage in the informal economy is a more complex issue. The informal economy, consisting of unregistered and informal businesses, workers and the self-employed, often operates outside the formal regulatory systems. This can create challenges in collecting accurate data on income and employment, making it difficult to assess the extent of social security coverage for individuals involved in the informal economy.

Nonetheless, efforts have been made to enhance social security coverage for informal workers. This is evident by the passage of Self-Employed Regulations in 2003, which extended coverage to self-employed individuals in both the formal and informal economies. However, despite having these Regulations, which make it mandatory for individuals in the informal economy to register, comply and pay contributions to access social security benefits, there seems to remain a reluctance to do so.1

Overall, while there are social assistance and social protection measures in place, the specific coverage of social security for individuals in the informal economy requires further attention, improvement, and intervention.

It is within this context, under the JP entitled “Resilient Caribbean: Engaging and Training Youth, strengthening integrated Social Protection sector delivery,” the ILO aims to contribute to strengthen the outreach and promotion efforts of the SSB in Anguilla.

Objectives

The objectives of the campaign are to:

• Develop targeted outreach and awareness programmes to educate workers in the informal economy about the benefits of having social security coverage.
• Encourage active participation from the informal economy in focus group discussions and community meetings.

Products, timelines and payments

The promotional items required to support the outreach campaign are:

1. 100 Headlights for fisherfolk.
2. 100 Flasks (hot and cold temperature).
3. 50 First Aid Kits (see details in Request for Quotation attached).

Additional points to note:

• The vendor will be responsible for printing logos on all items. Formattable logos would be provided by the SSB and ILO.
• The items should be shipped to Anguilla, and in receipt of the SSB by 29th February 2024.
• A Purchase Order would be issued as the binding contract for the supply of the items. Payment would be processed up to delivery and receipt of a signed invoice.

Duration of contract

The contract will start approximately by 20th November 2023 until 29th February 2024.

Requirements

To apply, please complete the Request for Quotations template attached, and submit to [email protected] with copy to [email protected] including the following text in subject: ‘Promotional items for SSB in Anguilla”.

Deadline for submission

The deadline to submit applications is 10th November 2023.

Photos of the three items must be included in the submission.

1. Document referenced: Government of Anguilla (2018). Anguilla National Social Protection Policy, prepared by the Department of Social Development, Ministry of Health and Social Development, with assistance from UNICEF, on behalf of the Executive Council, Government of Anguilla, The Valley, Anguilla