Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 1990, published 77th ILC session (1990)

Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 [Schedule I amended in 1980] (No. 121) - Bolivia (Plurinational State of) (Ratification: 1977)

The Committee notes that the Government's report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Article 5 of the Convention. The Committee notes from the information supplied in the Government's report that the total number of employers is 602,000, of whom 367,608 are protected by compulsory social insurance. Since the Government has availed itself of the temporary exception provided for in Article 5 of the Convention the Committee wishes to point out that, in order to be in a position to assess whether the requirements set out in this provision of the Convention are fulfilled, it is also necessary to know the total number of employees in industrial undertakings. It therefore hopes that the Government will be able to supply in its next report not only statistics for the total number of wage earners protected, but also the number of employees in industrial undertakings, as defined in Article 1(c).

Article 7. The Government once again states that there is no express provision concerning commuting accidents but that they are considered to be employment injuries for the purposes of insurance by applying case-law and the general principles of justice and equity. In these circumstances, the Committee requests the Government to supply with its next report examples of case-law in this respect.

Article 8. In reply to the previous comments of the Committee, the Government states that section 2 of Supreme Decree No. 14228 of 23 December 1976, which includes the occupational diseases listed in Schedule I of the Convention in those provided for by the Social Security Code, has been brought to the knowledge of the parties concerned (National Social Security Fund, employers, workers, magistrates, etc.) by means of the national press, the publication of the Decree in the Official Journal and specific circulars to management bodies, so that, under section 2 of the above Decree, the occupational diseases listed in Schedule I of the Convention are now considered as such. The Committee notes this information with interest. It would be grateful if the Government would transmit a copy of the text of the circulars sent to the administrative organisations. Furthermore, in order to avoid any risk that the circles concerned may be confused about the content of the legislation in this respect, the Committee considers that it would be desirable, on the occasion of the a forthcoming revision or edition of the Social Security Code, to publish and up-to-date list of the occupational diseases and the activities liable to cause them, in accordance with Schedule I annexed to the Convention.

Article 9, paragraph 3. The Government states in its reply that section 11 of Decree No. 14643 of 1977 - under which persons suffering from a chronic disease and who are no longer entitled to hospital, medical and pharmaceutical care in social security centres are transferred to specialised centres run by the Ministry for Social Welfare and Public Health - is also applicable to workers handicapped as a result of an industrial accident or an occupational disease and who are no longer entitled to medical assistance provided under social security. It adds that the medical care provided in the specialised centres run by the Ministry for Social Welfare and Public Health is identical to the care provided in social security centres. The Committee notes this information with interest. It would be grateful if the Government would supply the texts of any law or regulations specifying the type of medical care provided in the specialised centres run by the Ministry for Social Welfare and Public Health, and, where appropriate, the conditions that must be fulfilled by the persons concerned in order to benefit from such care.

Articles 13, 14 and 18 (in conjunction with Articles 19 and 20). (a) Regarding benefits in respect of temporary incapacity, the Committee notes with interest the Government's statement to the effect that, under Supreme Decree No. 20-991 of 1 August 1985, the benefits for temporary incapacity provided in the event of employment injuries is equivalent to 90 per cent of the proportion of the wage earned by the insured at the commencement of incapacity that was subject to contributions. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would transmit a copy of this Decree.

(b) Furthermore, the Government states that in accordance with the Act that is currently in force, periodical payments are calculated on the basis of the wage that is subject to contributions, without taking into account whether the wage correspond to that of a skilled employee or a labourer, and that family allowances are not taken into account when determining the percentage of the periodical payment awarded to the worker or his dependents. In this connection, the Committee wishes to draw the Government's attention to the fact that, in accordance with Schedule II annexed to the Convention, the amount of the periodical payments prescribed in Articles 13, 14 and 18 of the Convention must correspond for a standard beneficiary to a minimum level (60 per cent for temporary incapacity benefit paid to a standard beneficiary (man with a wife and two children); 60 per cent for permanent incapacity benefit paid to a standard beneficiary (man with a wife and two children); 50 per cent for survivor's benefits paid to a standard beneficiary (widow with two children). In order to determine the minimum level of benefits, two formulas intended to be adapted to the practice in various countries are available to Government's in Articles 19 and 20 of the Convention. The formula envisaged in Article 19 is intended to take into account protection schemes under which the benefits are calculated on the basis of the former earnings of beneficiaries or their family breadwinner. However, if, as is the case in Bolivia, there is a ceiling for benefits or for the earnings that are taken into account in their calculation, the percentage required by the Convention must be reached for a standard beneficiary whose earnings (or the earnings of his family breadwinner) are equivalent to the wage of a skilled manual male employee (Article 19, paragraph 2). On the other hand, the formula established in Article 20 takes into account protection schemes that provide flat-rate benefits, although it can also be used in cases where the benefits provided in respect of employment injuries may not be less than a prescribed minimum. Furthermore, both Article 19 and Article 20 take into account, when assessing whether the percentage required by the Convention has been met, of family allowances payable during employment or during the contingency (Article 19, paragraph 1, and Article 20, paragraph 1). The information called for in Articles 19 and 20 therefore has the sole aim of enabling a comparison to be made between the level of benefits provided under national legislation and the minimum level set forth by the Convention. In these conditions, the Committee once again requests the Government to indicate: (a) the maximum and minimum cash benefits granted in cases of temporary incapacity, permanent total incapacity and death to a standard beneficiary as prescribed by the Convention; (b) the family allowances paid, if any, to a standard beneficiary during the eventuality; (c) the wage of a skilled manual male employee determined according to Article 19, paragraph 6, of the Convention (if the Government intends to have recourse to this provision in calculating the benefits) or the wage of an ordinary adult male labourer determined in accordance with paragraph 4 or 5 of Article 20 (if the Government intends to have recourse to this provision in calculating benefits), and (d) the amount of family allowances, if any, which are granted during employment to a worker with a wife and two children.

Article 21. The Committee would also be grateful if the Government would supply in its forthcoming reports the information called for under this Article of the Convention by the report form adopted by the Governing Body concerning the adjustment of the benefits envisaged under Articles 14 and 18 of the Convention as a result of substantial changes in the cost of living.