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

Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) - Uruguay (Ratification: 1983)

Article 5 of the Convention (branch (g)) (Employment injury benefit) (in conjunction with Article 10).

1. In reply to the Committee’s previous comments, the Government reports that the previous legislature did not approve the draft legislation prepared by the State Insurance Bank to amend section 33(1) and (2) of Act No. 16704 of 1989, which permits the suspension of a pension if the beneficiaries take up residence in another country without designating an agent or proposing another arrangement for payment which is accepted by the State Insurance Bank.

The Committee notes this information. It recalls that under Article 5 of the Convention, the State is obliged to ensure the provision of employment injury benefits to nationals of Uruguay and of any other State which has accepted the obligations of the Convention in respect of branch (g), as well as for refugees and stateless persons, when the beneficiary is resident abroad. The Committee therefore hopes that the draft legislation will be adopted in the near future and that it will contain the necessary amendments to ensure the provision of the above benefits as of right and without any condition or restriction.

The Committee also notes that the Government did not reply to the questions raised in previous comments. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate whether the benefits paid to an agent in Uruguay, under the terms of section 33(1) of the above Act, are freely transferable by the agent to beneficiaries resident abroad. It also requests additional information on the application of bilateral agreements, as well as on the number of beneficiaries resident abroad who are not covered by a bilateral agreement.

2. In its previous comments, the Committee had drawn attention to the incompatibility with Article 5 of the Convention of the residence requirement set out in the last subsection of section 33 of Act No. 16074 of 1989, under which the dependants of workers who have died as a result of an industrial accident or occupational disease, who were living abroad at the time of the accident or the disease, are entitled to receive the benefits only from the date on which they settle in Uruguay and only for the period during which they reside there. The Committee trusts that the above draft legislation will be adopted in the near future and that, as indicated by the Government, it will bring the national legislation into conformity with Article 5 of the Convention by ensuring in all cases the provision of employment injury benefits to the dependants of deceased workers’, who are residing abroad (irrespective of whether the deceased worker was a national of Uruguay or a refugee or a stateless person or a national of a country that has accepted the obligations of the Convention in respect of branch (g)).

Article 6. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the adoption of Decree No. 316/1999, of 6 October 1999, issuing rules concerning the family allowances provided for in section 2 of Legislative Decree No. 15084. The Committee notes that, in the same way as the Legislative Decree, section 6(3) of Decree No. 316 makes the provision of family allowances by the Social Insurance Bank conditional upon compliance with compulsory school attendance of the children in public or private teaching establishments authorized by the competent body. The Committee recalls that, in accordance with Article 6 of the Convention, each Member which has accepted the obligations in respect of family benefit shall guarantee the grant of family allowances both to its own nationals and to the nationals of any other Member which has accepted the obligations of the Convention for branch (i), as well as to refugees and stateless persons, in respect of children who reside on the territory of any such member State, on conditions and within limits to be agreed upon by the Members concerned.

The Committee also notes the information concerning the bilateral and multilateral social security agreements concluded by Uruguay and the statistical information concerning foreign workers resident in Uruguay. The Committee notes that three of the agreements concluded concern countries (Bolivia, Israel and Italy) which have accepted the obligations of the Convention in respect of branch (i) "family benefit". The Committee notes the above information with interest. It hopes that the Government will continue adopting measures to give full effect to Article 6 of the Convention and requests the Government to continue providing information on any progress achieved in the conclusion of bilateral or multilateral social security agreements with States which have accepted the obligations of the Convention in respect of branch (i) and with those with which migration occurs (such as, for example, France).