PHILLIMON MHLANGA
John Sharara, an informal worker engaged in welding at the popular Siyaso Magaba home industrial area in Mbare, Harare,works for more than 12 hours daily.
But the 49-year-old no longer has social security cover, following his retrenchment from a Graniteside-based company four years ago.
This means he is exposed to serious vulnerabilities.
“I had two serious injuries during my time at my former company in Graniteside, Harare. But that was catered for because I had social security cover. The National Social Security Authority (NSSA) is a key player in the economy. As the informal sector, we need a social security programme,” Sharara said.
He added: “I am working here daily, sometimes for more than 12 hours trying to take as much as I can because my income is now irregular.
However, my retrenchment affected my access to social protection under the, which means I am now vulnerable and more exposed to some serious risks.
If NSSA has a programme for us who are self-employed, I would be the first one to join because I experienced the benefits of social security when my injuries were taken care of.”
He is not alone.
Deepening economic crisis over the years, characterized by severe liquidity crisis, low-capacity utilization, foreign currency shortages, among a plethora of changes, forces many companies to close, throwing thousands of workers onto the streets.
This affected their access to social protection.
To eke out an honest living, most turned to vending.
But, they are not covered by NSSA social protection programmes.
According to NSSA deputy director for social security, Tambudzai Jongwe, only 24% of Zimbabwe’s working populace are covered, meaning nearly 80% of the country’s workforce has no social security.
This implies that the larger majority of the labour force in Zimbabwe, dominated by the informal sector, is not covered against important risks.
This is attributed to the increasing informalization of the Zimbabwe economy.
Jongwe also revealed that out of a total of 3.2m registered members, about 1.8m were inactive contributions and 1.4m active contributions, due to company closures and retrenchments.
This means the majority are vulnerable.
Jongwe said NSSA was working on a plan to cover the hugely increasing informal sector.
She is bullish the programme will kickstart in the first quarter of 2022.
“We have seen a compelling need to extend coverage to the informal sector and we are working with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) closely for technical guidance.
“We are hoping that by the first quarter of 2022, we will have our fully fledged voluntary scheme running.
We are taking this issue seriously because we are covering only 24% of the working populace as the informal sector is ballooning,” Jongwe said.
Informal, Jongwe said are broadly vulnerable workers facing decent work deficits on a day-to-day basis.
This means that the informal workers are trapped in a vicious cycle of vulnerability, poverty and social exclusion.
In fact, the lack of social protection constitutes a significant source of vulnerability for workers in the informal economy.
This constitutes an enormous challenge not only to their individual welfare and enjoyment of human rights, the right to social security, but also to Zimbabwe’s economic and social development.
According to the ILO latest report, the lack of protection of informal workers is a significant obstacle to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goal number 1 on ending poverty, goal three on ensuring health lives and promoting well-being, goal number 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, goal number 8 on promoting sustained , inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and production employment and decent work, among many.
The right to social security is rooted in Article 22 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 91966). The later provision refers to the ‘right of everyone to social security’.
Zimbabwe’s informal sector has grown over the years to become a significant contributor to gross domestic product.
This means that the planned NSSA’s voluntary contributory scheme targeting the informal sector is critical.
Jongwe said that social coverage was an important issue for workers in the informal sector.
She said NSSA saw an urgent need to tackle this challenge given that informal employment represents the larger majority of the labour force in Zimbabwe.
