Vision Zero Fund

ILO supports the Social Security Board, employers, and workers in preparing to scale-up an enhanced version of the Employment Injury Insurance scheme

Workers, employers and the Social Security Board (SSB) gather in Naypyidaw to discuss the results of the employment injury insurance (EII) pilot in Hlaing Tharyar (Yangon) and Pyi Gyi Tha Kone (Mandalay) townships and the options for a scale-up to other townships. The ILO - Vision Zero Fund has been supporting the SSB in its administrative reform process that aims to transform SSB into a client-centric organization. The EII pilot helped 198,000 workers benefit from a more efficient and client-centric process to access the EII scheme.

Press release | 24 January 2020
Group photo
Naypyidaw (ILO News) – 24 January 2020

The Social Security Board (SSB) has started a series of administrative, IT, medical and legal reforms with technical support from the ILO. These reforms aim to strengthen the social security system as envisaged by the Social Security Law (2012), benefiting the more than 1.4 million workers currently enrolled and those to join the system in future.

On Friday 24 January in Naypyidaw, the SSB and the ILO will share with workers and employers the results of the enhanced version of the EII scheme piloted in Hlaing Tharyar and Pyi Gyi Tha Kone in June-November 2019. The EII pilot scheme constitutes the first tangible outcome of the reform process and benefitted 198,000 workers in these two townships, of which 141,000 are estimated to be garment workers and mostly women.

The ILO-Vision Zero Fund project has been supporting SSB since 2017 in its administrative reform component, through research and recommendations on awareness and access to social security benefits, and the analysis and streamlining of business processes. The pilot brought these components together, in a design of a pilot project that tested a subset of those streamlined procedures as well as enhanced communication with clients (workers, employers, and internal SSB staff).

The EII pilot helped cut processing time of EII benefits by half, on average, with the greatest reductions found on processing of temporary disability claims (77% reduction in waiting time for injured workers). Importantly, funeral grants are now awarded the same day. This greater efficiency and better service was achieved through a reduction in the number of steps and documents required by workers to submit claims for occupational accidents and injuries. Piloted process covered temporary and/or permanent disability, survivor benefits, and funeral grants. The pilot promoted efficiency at township level through a reorganized workflow, rational and strategic monitoring and reporting, and separation of front and back office functions. The pilot also brought workers and the SSB closer by allowing workers to claim compensation and receive SSB ID card, information, and benefits directly. The pilot also featured new communication materials that targeted workers with more visual and simpler information.

The findings of the EII pilot will be discussed with employers and workers representatives to provide SSB with elements to design the scale-up strategy of the EII pilot in order for this enhanced scheme to benefit many more workers.