Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) - Togo (Ratification: 2013)

The Committee welcomes the ratification of the Convention and the acceptance of Part V (Old age benefit), VII (Family benefit), VIII (Maternity benefits) and X (Survivors’ benefits). It notes the first and second reports which contain very comprehensive information on how national law and practice give effect to each of the provisions of the Convention. The Committee would be grateful if the Government would provide further information in its next report on the following points.

Part X of the Convention. Survivor benefits. Article 63(2) of the Convention. Reduced survivor pension. The Committee notes that the minimum qualifying period, which must be completed by the deceased insured, so that his survivors can claim a pension, is 180 months of insurance (15 years). It recalls that Article 63(2) of the Convention provides that, where the granting of the survivor’s benefit is subject to the fulfilment of a minimum period of contribution or employment, a reduced benefit must be guaranteed to a protected person whose breadwinner has completed a five-year period of contribution or employment. The Committee asks the Government to indicate the manner in which effect is given to this provision of the Convention.

Part XI. Calculation of periodical payments. Article 65. The Committee notes that the Government has availed itself of the provisions of Article 65 with a view to demonstrating that the national legislation meets the minimum level of benefits required by the Convention with respect to Parts V, VIII and X. The Government states to this effect that, to the extent that the concept of a male skilled worker is not used in national law, the guaranteed minimum inter-professional wage (SMIG) has been used for the purpose of calculating the level of benefits provided. The Committee recalls that the term “skilled worker” in the Convention, is used to refer to a person whose earnings are representative of wage levels in the country, in particular for the purposes of determining the income ceilings taken into account for the contributions. In this respect, Article 65(6) and (7) leave the choice between various options for determining the wage of a skilled worker, such as, for example, a person whose gain is equal to 125 per cent of the average earnings of all protected persons or a worker employed in the major group of economic activities with the largest number of economically active male persons protected in the contingency in question, or of the breadwinners of the persons protected. Accordingly, the Committee would be grateful if the Government would, in its next report, indicate the skilled worker, determined in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, and make the calculations required by the report form for the standard beneficiary specified therein.

To this end, with a view to facilitating the integrated management and comparative analysis of Togo’s obligations under the different international instruments on social security, the Committee invites the Government to refer to the Technical Note on the status of implementation of the social security provisions of the international treaties on social rights ratified by Togo, published in the country profile on the database, which explains all the options given by Articles 65–67 of the Convention for the calculation of the reference wage of the ordinary male adult labourer, on the basis of all available information. The Committee invites the Government to revise the methods used to determine the reference wage of the standard beneficiary and to update the statistical information contained in the technical note by specifying, for future references, the source used and to recalculate the replacement rate for the benefits under all accepted Parts of the Convention on the basis of the revised and updated reference wage.

Articles 65(10) and 66(8). Review of the level of periodical payments. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the latest re-evaluation of pensions dates back to 1998 (Decree No. 98-106/PR). This decree had the effect of increasing the amounts of old-age pensions paid by the National Social Security Fund (CNSS) by 5 per cent. The Committee recalls that under Article 65(10) of the Convention the amounts of periodical payments for old age, but also for occupational accidents and diseases (with the exception of the ones covering working incapacity), invalidity and death of the breadwinner must be regularly reviewed, due to significant changes in the general level of earnings, resulting from significant changes in the cost of living. It therefore requests the Government to indicate, in accordance with the report form, and providing supporting statistical information, how the cost of living and the general level of earnings have changed in the country since the ratification of the Convention, as well as any revision of the rates of periodic payments aimed at retaining the purchasing power of the benefits.

Basic social security guarantees. The Committee further notes that the Government, with the technical assistance of the ILO, has currently undertaken the gradual establishment of a national social protection floor aimed at complementing the existing protection with basic social security guarantees for persons not covered by standing social protection mechanisms. The Committee notes that, in order to effectively combat the spread of poverty, social insurance and social assistance benefits should be conceived as complementary means of action, using related indicators and thresholds and guided by the common objectives of comprehensive social protection, reduction of poverty and social exclusion. The Committee considers that the establishment of the floor calls for a thorough examination of the roles of social insurance and social assistance in achieving these objectives in terms of relative and absolute indicators. The Committee considers that a social security system which provides benefits below the poverty line would not fulfil the objectives of this Convention, even if it gives effect to its technical provisions. It also considers that the social protection floor would not be credible if its benefits do not guarantee the physical subsistence of protected persons and would be more robust if it were based on subsistence indicators for the different age groups of the population, reflecting the financial value of a set of necessary goods and services as suggested by the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202). The Committee recalls that, in 2017, the Government has been asked to reply to the questionnaire sent to it under article 19 of the ILO Constitution on the manner in which national legislation and practice give effect to Recommendation No. 202. In this respect, the information contained in the technical note and its update by the Government, in combination with the information gathered during the Social Security Inquiry, will give the Commission access to all of the statistical data relevant to the country, to efficiently advise the Government on all the options available to extend the social security and to establish a social protection floor, in compliance with the social security standards of the ILO.