Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2001, published 90th ILC session (2002)

Article 5 of the Convention. 1. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government observes that Article 5 of the Convention does not provide that benefits must be long term, nor does it refer to measures to guarantee their effective payment, nor that beneficiaries resident abroad should receive the benefits due as rapidly as possible. Section 117 of the Social Insurance Act guarantees beneficiaries, irrespective of their nationality, the payment abroad of benefits with regard to parts (d), (e), (f) and (g) of the Convention. To be able to receive a pension abroad, it is sufficient for pensioners who transfer their residence abroad to send in a notification and an authorization for the insurer or administrator of the pension fund to pay the pension in the place indicated. The place of payment selected by pensioners has no effect on their pension entitlements and they only have to comply with the controls established by the body responsible for the payment of the pension with a view to ascertaining that the person entitled to receive it is alive at the time of payment. The Committee notes the Government’s statement. It recalls that Article 5 of the Convention does not apply to all the types of benefit in respect of which the obligations of the Convention may be accepted, but only to invalidity benefit, old-age benefit, survivors’ benefit and death grants, and to employment injury benefit. It therefore only addresses "pensions", that is permanent periodical payments, and not temporary benefits, nor the single benefit payments that are at times provided as the only compensation in the event of permanent incapacity caused by an employment accident or occupational disease. The Committee also recalls that the objective of the Convention is to protect workers against loss of income, which is all the more difficult when it affects persons who are far from their homeland or who have returned to it. Delays in the payment of benefits, in the same way as reductions in their amount, are therefore incompatible with the objectives of the Convention. The Committee is aware that, while the payment of benefits to persons resident abroad is an objective which is often difficult to achieve, States have to make the necessary efforts in this respect. The Committee notes in this regard the information concerning the social security agreements concluded by Mexico with the United States, Spain, Italy and Argentina, with indications on the number of beneficiaries who received pensions abroad. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the application in practice of section 117 of the Social Insurance Act, and to provide statistical data on any payments made abroad, the amount of such payments, the nationality of the beneficiaries and the countries in which the payments are made, with an indication of the controls imposed by the body responsible for paying the pensions, and the administrative costs charged for the transfer of the funds.

2. With regard to the payment of benefits abroad where the beneficiary, such as for example a survivor, has never been resident in Mexican territory, the Government indicates that, in the same way as the Convention, the Social Insurance Act does not explicitly provide for such payments. Nevertheless, section 117 of the Social Insurance Act entitles beneficiaries to receive their pensions irrespective of their nationality or country of residence. With regard to pensions, the social security agreements concluded by Mexico with Spain (1994) and Canada (1995) establish the possibility of paying pensions abroad irrespective of the nationality of beneficiaries who have never been resident on Mexican territory. The Committee notes the Government’s statement. It recalls that Article 5, paragraph 1, in conjunction with Article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention establishes the obligation of the payment of the benefits enumerated in Article 5, paragraph 1, to beneficiaries resident abroad, without any condition as to residence and irrespective of whether or not agreements have been concluded with other countries. The Committee also recalls that, in accordance with Article 3, paragraph 2, of the Convention, in the case of survivors’ benefits, equality of treatment shall be granted also to the survivors of the nationals of a member State for which the Convention is in force. The provision of such benefits abroad is of particular importance for the survivors of persons who work in countries where family reunion is not permitted. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the measures which have been taken or are envisaged to guarantee the payment of benefits abroad to those survivors who have never been resident on Mexican territory. It also requests the Government to provide the texts of the above social security agreements, as well as of any agreement concluded subsequently by the country in this respect.

Articles 7 and 8. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the Government has not concluded new social security agreements. In this context, the Committee notes the statistical information concerning the number of foreign workers now engaged in gainful work in Mexico. The Committee hopes that the Government will continue to make efforts to conclude agreements with States which are parties to this Convention and with which there are migratory flows (such as Brazil, Cuba, France, Germany, Guatemala, Uruguay and Venezuela) with a view to the participation of these countries in a scheme for the maintenance of acquired rights and rights in process of acquisition.