Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2014, published 104th ILC session (2015)

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1968)

Application of the Convention in law and practice. The Committee recalls that for a number of years the Free Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CLTM) and the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM) have been reporting serious problems relating to the absence of good governance of the social protection system. The Committee regrets that the Government has confined itself in its report to referring briefly to the provisions of national law, without replying to the substance of the many allegations made by these organizations concerning the very limited coverage of the social security system; the low level of benefits; the obsolete legislative framework; the administrative obstacles to the compilation of benefits files; delays in the implementation of the conclusions of the actuarial studies conducted in 2002 with a view to improving the financial situation of the social security scheme; the absence of the joint management of the scheme and unilateral decisions by the executive authorities; the appropriation by the Government of the assets of the pension scheme to cover its own financial needs; the allegations of social fraud on a broad scale by employers and their recourse to the hiring of unregistered labour through shell companies; the inoperative nature of the services responsible for supervising social welfare institutions; and the failure to adjust cash benefits other than minimum benefits adequately. The Government has also not replied to the proposal made by the trade union organizations to bring together the social partners and proceed without delay to a global overhaul of the National Social Security Fund with a view to ensuring participatory management, the protection of social security assets against bad management and the sustainable financing of social security.

Under these circumstances, the Committee is bound to remind the Government of its overall and primary responsibility under Articles 71 and 72 of the Convention to ensure the sustainability of the social security system through joint and transparent management based on reliable actuarial data, as well as an inspection system and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide a detailed reply to the serious allegations made by the trade union organizations referred to above and to provide a detailed report based on the questions contained in the report form under each of the Parts of the Convention which have been accepted, that is Parts V to VII, IX and X. Please provide all the data required for the calculation of the amount of benefits (under Articles 44 and 65 or 66 of the Convention) with a view to the adjustment of all long-term benefits (under Title VI of Article 65: fluctuations in the cost of living index, the index of earnings and the amount of benefits for the period under review) and for the scope of application of the various social security schemes (under Title I of Article 76: number of employees protected in relation to the total number of employees in the country). In view of the complexity of the issues raised by the trade union organizations, the Committee invites the Office to establish direct contact with the Government with a view to being able to assess the situation and provide any assistance necessary for the preparation of the Government’s next report.

[The Government is asked to reply in detail to the present comments in 2015.]