Asian Rountable on Social Security 2009

Asia has been badly hit by the global financial crisis since October 2008. Such hits are far more frequent than we would like to believe. Greater are the impacts on Asia given that more than two thirds of Asian workers are informal and they lack a well-functioning comprehensive social security system. It is high time that Asian countries developed national policies and regional policies on social security, whereby all Asians can enjoy basic living protection and workers from different parts of Asia can travel freely and work in whatever Asian country without losing benefits due to variations in social security systems. All Asians will enjoy the fruit of social and economic progress, and decent living and working conditions.

A well-designed and implemented social security system will contribute to social and political stability and to economic development, as it addresses poverty and inequality in wealth distribution. All are important policy goals of any government.

2. Building a social security system that provides basic living protection to all people should be the foremost goal of economic and social development a state should pursue. It helps all people to share the fruit of economic development while cushioning the vulnerable and aid overall resilience during economic downturns.

5. Workers have a right to social security to meet employment contingencies, which should also include a public sector social insurance system that cover all working people and which provides comprehensive employment-related protection as to health care, workers’ compensation, maternity provisions, pension, livelihood loss and unemployment.

6. Countries should establish a just, democratic, accountable, and time-bound compensation system to compensate workers for accidents as well as diseases arising from work.

7. Social security for all requires the practice of transparency and accountability, worker and community participation in management, freedom of association, and collective bargaining.

8. All countries should sign, ratify and implement all UN conventions and declarations on social security, particularly ILO convention 102 and the UNESCR.

11. A minimum wage is the foundation of social security. Governments should ensure that the wage should be adequate to meet the basic living cost for the workers and their families. Workers should retain the right to enhance their wages through collective bargaining, which should not be denied by setting of a minimum wage.

12. Legislation should provide for the creation of a social security fund managed by the participation of workers and the community. The social security fund may have contributions from the state, employer and employee depending on the nature of employment. Enforcement machinery should be adequate, effective and transparent.

13.Given the reality of the high rate of cross-border and internal migrant work, the social security system should provide portability and countries should work towards social security coherence in the region.