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Part VI (Employment benefit)

1. Article 36, paragraph 3, of the Convention. The Committee notes that under section 43 of the new Act, No. 390 of 20 May 1992, on insurance against the consequences of industrial injuries, the periodical benefits granted under the provisions of section 32 of the Act in the event of a loss of earning capacity of less than 50 per cent shall, as a rule, and without the consent of the beneficiary, be converted into a lump sum. In addition, in the event of a loss of earning capacity of 50 per cent or more, part of the benefit (equivalent to 50 per cent of the loss of earning capacity) may, at the request of the beneficiary, be converted into a lump sum. Lastly, at the request of the surviving spouse, the benefit due under section 36 of the Act may also be converted into a lump sum.

The Committee recalls that under Article 36, paragraph 3, of the Convention, periodical payments may be commuted for a lump sum: (a) where the degree of incapacity is slight; (b) or where the competent authority is satisfied that the lump sum will be properly utilized. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate whether, and under which legal provisions, regulations or administrative rules, the competent authorities, in cases other than those in which the degree of incapacity is slight, only undertake the conversion of the periodical payment into a lump sum when they have reason to believe that the resulting lump sum will be properly utilized. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate whether the regulations to be adopted under section 43(2) of Act No. 390 of 1992 contain provisions in this respect.

2. Article 38 (in conjunction with Article 32(c) and (d) and Article 36). The Committee notes that, in the same way as the previous legislation, section 36(2) of Act No. 390 of 1992 fixes the maximum period for the payment of benefit for the death of the breadwinner to the surviving spouse at ten years whereas, in accordance with Article 38 of the Convention, the benefit shall be granted throughout the contingency. The Committee recalls in this connection that in its seventh report on the application of the European Code of Social Security the Government indicated that the possibility of extending the period of ten years was automatically examined and could be granted on the grounds of a series of factors such as age, obligation to maintain dependants and the financial condition of the persons concerned. The Committee requests the Government to confirm that this practice is still in force.

(b) Section 32(7) and section 36(4) of Act No. 390 of 1992 provide, in the same way as the previous legislation, for the conversion of the benefit for loss of earning capacity and for the loss of the family breadwinner, into a lump sum equivalent to double the annual benefit from the time that the beneficiary reaches the age of 67 years.

In view of the fact that the information available to the Committee on this point is relatively old, the Committee requests the Government to indicate, on the basis of the statistical data required under Articles 65 or 66 of the Convention (which alone are admissible for the application of Part VI), whether the amount of the old-age pension which is substituted for the benefit of total loss of earning capacity and the survivors' benefit (granted under Act No. 390 of 1992) continues to be at least equivalent to the percentage set out by the Convention for the standard beneficiary in the corresponding contingencies (50 and 40 per cent respectively), irrespective of any qualifying periods or conditions relating to means.

The Committee reserves the option to examine Order No. 673 of 9 October 1991 on the duty of the unemployed to be available for work in greater detail as soon as it has available the translation of the text which is currently being undertaken.