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Workmen's Compensation (Accidents) Convention, 1925 (No. 17) - Zambia (RATIFICATION: 1964)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 5 of the Convention. Guarantees for the proper utilization of the compensation paid in the form of a lump sum. Under section 2, paragraph 1(b), of Schedule II to the Public Service Pensions Act, the compensation paid to the victim in the case of an occupational accident resulting in permanent incapacity may be paid, with his consent and the agreement of the competent authority, in the form of a lump sum. Section 3, paragraph 5, of this schedule also provides for the payment of compensation in the form of a lump sum to the dependants of a worker who has died as a result of an occupational accident. The Committee requests the Government to specify the authority competent to decide on the payment of a lump sum and to indicate the guarantees usually required for the proper utilization of compensation.

Article 7. Additional compensation paid to persons whose physical state requires the constant assistance of another person. The Committee notes that the Public Service Pensions Act does not contain specific provisions on the payment of a supplement to persons injured in such a way as to require the constant help of another person. However, the Committee notes that section 4, paragraph 3, of Schedule II of the Public Service Pensions Act provides for supplementary compensation in the event of unavoidable expenses directly attributed to medical examinations and treatment for occupational injuries incurred. The Government is therefore requested to explain how the protection provided for under this provision of the Convention is guaranteed to the persons covered by the abovementioned Act.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee thanks the Government for the statistical information provided in its report on Convention No. 12 as regards the number of registered occupational accidents and recognized occupational diseases. It also notes from the World social security report 2010/11: Covering people in times of crisis, published by the ILO in 2010, that, although Zambia has very specific social security arrangements for formal employees, not all workers are reached by existing social security provisions. One of the obstacles to achieving greater social security coverage is the fact that nearly half (49 per cent of the total, 54 per cent of women and 47 per cent of men) say either that they do not have a contract with their employer or that they do not know whether they have one. Accordingly, half of all employees (but only 19 per cent of public sector employees) say their employers do not contribute to social security or that they do not know whether their employer contributes. Similarly, more than half of all employees (again 19 per cent of public sector employees) indicate that they are not aware of their paid, sick or maternity leave entitlements as regulated by the Employment Act. As regards self-employed workers, which constitute about 60 per cent of the labour force, these are mainly own-account workers, most of whom are to be found in the informal economy with a considerable number working in rural areas and agriculture. The estimate of legal coverage against employment injury is at only 14.4 per cent of the economically active population. Given the structural nature of the problems to which the social security system is confronted, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the policy measures that have been taken or are envisaged, as well as the results achieved, in order to foster compliance with the requirements of the national legislation as regards affiliation of workers to the employment injury scheme as well as other contingencies protected by the social security system.