Vision Zero Fund

ILO supports Social Security Board in strengthening the Employment Injury Insurance scheme in Myanmar

Insured workers in Hlaing Tharyar (Yangon) and Pyi Gyi Tha Kone (Mandalay) will enjoy a more efficient and client-centric process to access the employment injury insurance (EII) scheme of the Social Security Board (SSB). The ILO - Vision Zero Fund has been supporting the SSB in its administrative reform process that aims to bring SSB closer to its clients; the EII pilots in both townships are key steps of the process.

Press release | 19 June 2019
Inquiry counter at SSB Mandalay office
The Social Security Board (SSB) has started a series of administrative, IT, 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 1.3 million workers currently enrolled and those to join the system in future.

On Sunday 26 May 2019 in Hlaing Tharyar and Wednesday 29 May 2019 in Pyi Gyi Tha Kone, the SSB and the ILO shared with workers and employers the enhanced design of the EII scheme, constituting the first tangible outcome of the reform process. The ILO-Vision Zero Fund project has been supporting SSB since 2017 in its administrative reform component, through research on awareness and access to social security, the analysis and mainstreaming of business processes, and the design of a pilot project that could test those streamlined procedures as well as enhanced communication with clients. The two pilots bring all these components together.

The launching in Hlaing Tharyar, at the Awel Metta Hotel, was opened by the Yangon Region Minister of Labour and Rakhine Ethnic Affairs, U Zaw Aye Maung, the ILO Liaison Officer Mr. Rory Mungoven and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour, Immigration and Population Dr. Myo Aung.

“Occupational Safety and Health and improved social protection are a key priority in the new Decent Work Country Program” Mr. Mungoven said to the audience of employers and workers of the several industrial zones in Hlaing Tharyar.

Ms. Mariana Infante Villarroel, Senior Technical Officer of the ILO-VZF explained the process of designing the EII scheme and the expected lessons to be monitored.

U Maung Maung Aye, Director General of the SSB described the broader reform taking place in SSB, discussed the pilot’s implications and presented the new communication material accompanying the pilot.

Office staffs
The launching in Pyi Gyi Tha Kone at the Yadanarbon Supercenter in Chanmyathazi Township of Mandalay was opened by U Myo Thit, Mandalay Region Minister for Natural Resources, Environmental Conservation and Labour, Ms. Mariana Infante Villarroel, Senior Technical Officer of the ILO-VZF, and U Maung Maung Aye, Director General of the SSB. Representatives from the Amyotha and Pyithu Hluttaws and from the Regional Hluttaw were also present. Presentations similar to those in Yangon explaining the pilot and its expected outcomes were also delivered by ILO-VZF and SSB to an audience of workers and employers.

The EII pilots will test a new scheme design that reduces the number of steps and documents required by workers to claim compensation for occupational accidents and injuries in cases of temporary and/or permanent disability, survivor benefits, and funeral grants. The pilot promotes efficiency at township level through a reorganized workflow, improved monitoring and reporting, and a more efficient layout of the office. The pilot brings workers and the SSB closer by allowing workers to claim compensation and receive information (e.g. SSB cards) and benefits directly, instead of communicating through employers as was traditionally the case. The pilot also features new communication materials that target workers with more visual and simpler information.

The pilot will be implemented from June to November 2019 in both townships, with the SSB and the ILO monitoring indicators related to the number of claims and benefits awarded, as well as the number of steps and time taken to process the claims. These findings will provide SSB with evidence of enhancements that could be taken to scale as streamlined procedures for the EII scheme.