EATUC Advocacy Tool to Enable Portability of Social Security Benefits within the EAC Region
ADVOCACY TOOL TO ENABLE PORTABILITY OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS WITHIN THE EAC REGION THROUGH THE DRAFT EAC SOCIAL SECURITY PORTABILITY BILL
ADVOCACY TOOL TO ENABLE PORTABILITY OF SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS WITHIN THE EAC REGION THROUGH THE DRAFT EAC SOCIAL SECURITY PORTABILITY BILL
What is social security?
The International Labour Organization (ILO), defines social security as “a set of public measures that a society provides for its members to protect them against economic and social distress that would be caused by the absence or substantial reduction of income from work as a result of contingencies like sickness, maternity, employment injury, unemployment, invalidity, old age, death and health care”. Social security is instrumental for the wellbeing of workers and their immediate family as well as the elderly and firms or enterprises performance alike. With regard to workers, it helps in providing them and their families with access to health care and with protection against loss of income while for the elderly, it provides them with income security. For firms or enterprises,
Background
The East Africa Community (EAC), Common Market Protocol (CMP), which came in to force on July 1, 2010, provides for free movement of goods; capital, services and more importantly free movement of persons and labour across the region. However, this is yet to be realized despite the fact that the CMP which allows for this process has been in place for ten years. The above fact notwithstanding, a specific directive on coordination of social security benefits was developed and agreed by the Partner States in 2011. Although Partner States have undertaken a number of social security reforms to facilitate harmonization/coordination of social security systems, not much has been accomplished.
