Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1987, published 74th ILC session (1987)

Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1977)

Article 16, paragraphs 1 and 3, of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee, while noting the statement of the Government that it will take into account the Committee's comments when formulating the new Social Security Code, had requested the Government to adopt, without prejudice to the announced reforms, the necessary measures to give full effect to Article 16, paragraphs 1 and 3. In accordance with these provisions, medical care should be provided throughout the contingency (paragraph 1 of Article 16) and this period should be extended for prescribed diseases recognised as entailing prolonged care, in the prescribed circumstances (paragraph 3 of Article 16) when the beneficiary ceases to belong to a category of protected persons. No information to this effect being contained in the Government's report, the Committee hopes that the Government will not fail to indicate in its next report any measures taken or envisaged to ensure the application of the Convention on the above-mentioned points.

Article 21 (in relation with Article 22). In response to the Committee's previous comments, the Government states that ordinary sickness benefits are calculated on the basis of the wage on which contribution is levied without considering whether the wage corresponds to that of a skilled employee or an ordinary labourer; for this reason, neither the Institute nor the social insurance management bodies keeps statistics on the question. The Committee wishes to draw the Government's attention to the fact that, according to Articles 21 to 23, the amount of sickness benefit must correspond for a standard beneficiary (a man having a wife and two children) to a minimum level (60 per cent). To determine this minimum level several formulas, intended to meet the practice of different countries, are offered to governments under Articles 22 to 24. The formula prescribed by Article 22 is precisely designed to take account of the system of protection which, like the Bolivian social security systems, provides for benefits calculated on the basis of previous earnings of the beneficiary. However, if, as in the case of Bolivia (see section 28 of Legislative Decree No. 13214 of 24 December 1975 and section 81 of the Social Security Code as amended), a maximum is prescribed for the amount of benefits or for the earnings taken into account for their calculation, the 60 per cent required by the Convention must be reached for a standard beneficiary whose earnings are equal to the wage of a skilled manual male employee (Article 22, paragraph 3). The information required by Article 22 and, in particular, that relating to the wage of a skilled manual male employee, has no other objective than to permit the comparison of the amount of benefits paid under national legislation with the minimum amount prescribed by the Convention. Under these circumstances, the Committee hopes that the Government will be able to take the necessary measures in order to provide the information on the wage of a skilled manual male employee, determined according to paragraphs 6 and 7 of Article 22, and that it will also be able to submit with its next report information on the amount of family benefits paid during the period under consideration, during employment as well as during the contingency, and the maximum limit of the wage on which contribution may be levied. In this regard, the Committee takes the opportunity to draw to the attention of the Government the possibility of seeking the technical assistance of the ILO regional adviser on social security for Latin America.

Article 26, paragraph 1. The Government states in its report that, in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 10173 of 28 March 1972, the grant of medical benefits to persons suffering from tuberculosis can be extended up to a period of 26 extra weeks, in addition to the 52 recognised by the Social Security Code and that, according to section 36 of this Code, sickness benefit is paid throughout the period of medical care. While taking note of this information, the Committee must draw the attention of the Government to the fact that, according to section 30 of Legislative Decree No. 13214 of 24 December 1975 reforming the Bolivian system of social security, sickness benefit is payable for 26 weeks which may be extended for an equal period if this prolongation makes it possible to avoid permanent incapacity. The extension of the payment of the benefit to 52 weeks is therefore not assured in all cases but only in those cases where the extension makes it possible to avoid permanent incapacity. Such a condition is not authorised by Article 26 of the Convention, which prescribes that sickness benefits must be granted throughout the contingency, although the grant of the benefit may be limited to 52 weeks in each case of incapacity. The Committee would therefore be grateful if the Government would indicate the measures taken or envisaged to bring section 30 of Legislative Decree No. 13214 of 1975 into conformity with this provision of the Convention. The Committee also takes this opportunity to suggest resort to the technical assistance of the regional adviser for social security in order to find a suitable solution to this question.