Prevention pays

Lazarus Sauti

ACCIDENT Prevention and Workers’ Compensation (APWC) Schemes are oldest and most widespread forms of social protection coverage in the world.

They provide medical care, vocational rehabilitation, and cash payments to workers who are injured on the job or who develop occupational diseases, said National Social Security Authority (NSSA) Acting Director for Contributions, Collections and Compliance, Agnes Masiiwa.

Addressing a virtual Insurance and Pensions Journalism Mentorship Program (JMP) 2020 hosted by the Insurance and Pension Commission (IPEC) and NSSA recently, Masiiwa said APWC schemes are designed to avert accidents at workplaces and to recompense workers who get injured in work-related mishaps or contract work-related diseases.

“In Zimbabwe, the APWC scheme, which is governed through the National Social Security Authority (Accident Prevention and Workers Compensation Scheme) Notice, 1990 (S.I.68 of 1990), is 100 percent funded by employers,” she said.

Masiiwa further said the scheme, under the Occupational Safety Health and Rehabilitation Division, covers all workers in the country save for civil servants, domestic workers, and workers in the informal sector.

In his paper, Political economy of the design of and implementation of existing employment funds, presented at the Consultative Workshop on Employment Injury Protection in Southern and Eastern Africa at Rainbow Towers in Harare from 20 to 21 October 2014, Henry Chikova said the APWC scheme is fully-funded by employers who pay premiums to NSSA on a monthly basis.

“Premiums are determined by multiplying employer’s total basic wage bill by the industry premium rate – the rate that applies to all companies that are within the same industrial sector and is calculated basing on the risk rating of the particular sector,” he said.

“The calculation is based on accident statistics, claims history, and claims costs of the industry over a specified period of time expressed as a percentage of total wages of the industry over the same period of time.”

Chikova affixed that the APWC scheme requires all workplace accidents to be reported within 14 days regardless of whether the worker has completed treatment.

“In cases of serious fatalities, employers are required to report to the nearest NSSA office and the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP),” he said.

“The scheme meets all costs related to workplace injuries, like hospital fees, drugs, transport, and artificial appliances such as dentures, hearing aids, spectacles, artificial limbs, crutches as well as other apparatus used by People with Disabilities (PWDs).”

IPEC Commissioner, Grace Muradzikwa affirmed that workmanship compensation promotes good health and wellbeing.

“Through workmanship compensation, households are protected from accident injuries, disability, and high cost of medication,” she added.

However, access to workmanship compensation and occupational health and safety in Zimbabwe and other countries is still low, according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a specialised agency of the United Nations (UN) system responsible for establishing and overseeing international labour and social security standards.

The organisation, comprised of representatives of government of member-states, employers, and labour, noted that more than 2 million work-related deaths and about 300 million non-fatal occupational accidents occur annually in the world, resulting in global economic costs contributing to 4 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product.

“Less than 15 percent of the global workforce, primarily in big enterprises in developed states, has access to workmanship compensation and occupational health and safety, and the situation is dire in expanding economies like Zimbabwe and other African states,” reported ILO.

NSSA Chief Social Security Officer, Tambudzai Jongwe concurred, saying NSSA’s APWC and Pension and Other Benefits (POB) schemes are contributory-based covering the formally employed who constitute 5.5 percent of the working populace leaving 94.5 percent of informal sector workers vulnerable and not covered.

Jongwe also said the shrinking contribution base is negatively affecting the financial viability and sustainability of NSSA schemes in terms of financing and expenditure as well as benefit levels.

“Over the years, the contribution base of NSSA has been shrinking due to the volatile economic climate in the country, high unemployment levels, and continued rise of the informal sector where NSSA does not collect contributions,” she said.

Jongwe asserted that the total number of registered employers in the country is 106 310, and out of this, 26 997 employers are active while 77 313 employers are inactive.

She further avowed that Zimbabwe has experienced high levels of migration of the economically active citizens due to the economic challenges the country has faced, and this also affected NSSA’s contribution base.

“Not only does migration negatively affected the contribution base; there is also no portability of benefits between countries, hence no continuity leaving migrants exposed,” Jongwe added.

Occupational Health and Safety expert, Peace Sibanda said Zimbabwe and other expanding economies in Africa face numerous challenges that hinder coverage and access to workmanship compensation and occupational health and safety (OHS) services.

“Shortage of human resource capital and inadequate training and development in the OHS field pose serious challenges on the expansion of workmanship compensation and workers’ access to other OHS services in southern African economies,” he said.

Sibanda added that countries like Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have expanding economies with active agricultural and mining activities that pose health and safety risks to the working population.

“Keeping in mind that prevention pays, these countries should strengthen APWC schemes to avert occupational mishaps,” he told insure263.co.zw.

Sibanda continued: “In Zimbabwe, for instance, the APWC scheme is well organised and focuses on the welfare of the employee and his/her family in the event of an accident or work-related illness.

“Conversely, the workforce covered by this scheme is very small since it caters for only 30 percent of the national labour force in formal employment.”

He, therefore, urged NSSA and its partners to develop harmonised and comprehensive legal strategies targeted at civil servants, domestic workers, and players in the informal sector since a multitude of health and safety hazards also affect them.

Sibanda said strengthening mechanisms should also include indexing pensions for inflation, conversion of employer liability schemes to social insurance, improving benefits for occupational diseases, strengthening reporting systems, and improving compliance.

Sharing the same sentiments, Jongwe also advocated for an increase in the retirement age and the reduction of the number of years in which workers access a pension.

“Currently for NSSA schemes, 55 years is for early retirement in laborious occupations, 60 years for normal retirement, and 65 years for late retirement,” she said.

Jongwe also believed that investment in employment creation initiatives to widen the pool of contributors is critical.