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In its previous comments, the Committee pointed out that the Convention establishes the principle of equal treatment between national workers and foreign workers from any country that has ratified the Convention, without any condition as to residence and irrespective of any bilateral agreements that may have been concluded. The Committee noted that section 94(3) of the Social Security Code establishes national treatment for workers from States that have social security agreements with Senegal or whose legislation gives Senegalese workers the same entitlements, and requested the Government to provide statistical information on the number and nationality of all foreign workers employed in Senegal and on any employment injury benefits transferred abroad, in particular to States parties to this Convention which have no bilateral social security agreement with Senegal.

In its latest report, the Government sends information showing that, in all, there are 188 foreign workers from 12 countries employed in Senegal. The Government also sends statistics on the transfer of benefits abroad to victims of employment injury or their dependants, classified by the Social Security Fund as annuitants. According to this information, 1,134,636 CFA francs were paid to beneficiaries in Côte d’Ivoire, 2,490,069 CFA francs to beneficiaries in Italy and 39,311,495 CFA francs for persons residing in France.

In comments on the application of the Convention, the National Confederation of Senegalese Workers (CNTS) asserts that the abovementioned statistics do not reflect reality and that surveys covering the whole country should be carried out in order to gather fuller information. Furthermore, the transfers of employment injury benefits concern only countries with which Senegal has social security agreements. In response to these assertions the Government states that the statistics come from the only body competent to compile them, namely the Social Security Fund.

The Committee takes note of this information. It would be grateful if the Government would specify the period covered by these statistics since, according to other information such as the 1997 Survey on migration and urbanization in Senegal (EMUS), there were 120,000 foreign nationals in the country, most of whom were from countries such as Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria or countries in Europe. The Committee therefore asks the Government to send its comments on this matter. It would also be grateful if, in its next report, the Government would send more detailed information on how the payment of cash benefits for employment injuries is organized and operated in the case of countries with which Senegal does not have any bilateral social security agreements but which are, nevertheless, parties to this Convention, which so far has 120 ratifications.

The Committee reminds the Government that the purpose of the Convention is to ensure equal treatment between national workers and workers from countries that have ratified Convention No. 19. This principle implies that if employment injury benefits are paid to Senegalese nationals residing abroad, they must also be paid to nationals of countries bound by the Convention.