Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Workmen's Compensation (Agriculture) Convention, 1921 (No. 12) - Burundi (Ratification: 1963)

Article 1 of the Convention. Coverage of agricultural workers in the informal economy. In observations received in 2012 and sent to the Government in the same year, the Trade Union Confederation of Burundi (COSYBU) indicated that workers with an employment contract are covered by the employment injury benefit scheme and that, regarding agricultural workers in the informal economy, a national social protection policy had been put in place in 2011, which, inter alia, aims at promoting the social protection coverage of informal workers. The COSYBU considered that the Government, while pursuing this policy, should act in a more inclusive manner and take into account experience gathered by community health mutual organizations, in particular the project PROMUSCABU (promoting health insurance funds for coffee growers).

The Committee notes that, in its report, the Government’s did not respond to the above observations. In view of the large share of informal agricultural workers in the country and the high occurrence of employment injuries in agriculture, the Committee wishes to recall that social security is an important tool to support the transition from informal to formal employment, the ILO’s constituents adopted the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), which provides guidance with a view to implementing social protection floors comprising basic social security guarantees, as fundamental elements of national social security systems, within strategies for the extension of social security that progressively ensure higher levels of social security to as many people as possible. Employment injury benefits guaranteeing access to essential health care and basic income security form part of the basic social security guarantees that may be provided by a national social protection floor to informal agricultural workers currently excluded from the scope of the social security. The Committee notes in this respect that the Decent Work Country Programme for the period 2012–15 included a component on reinforcing the capacity of the social security system to cover groups of persons excluded from the scope of the social security system, especially as regards health care and old age coverage. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the ongoing implementation of the objectives of the national social protection policy, and to indicate any progress achieved or concrete measures taken with regards to the coverage of informal workers in agriculture with employment injury compensation for occupational accidents.

Part III of the Report form. Application of the Convention in practice. Labour inspection. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that due to insufficient financial and human resources, the labour inspection agency is not able to fulfil its mission to control the implementation of the laws and regulations on the coverage of agricultural workers as regards employment injury benefits. Referring to its comments under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures, taken or envisaged, to ensure that labour inspectors are provided with sufficient staff and resources to fulfil their duties, also with respect to issues related with occupational accidents.