Exposure challenges

The world has been waiting for a long period assuming that countries with mid and low income levels would increase their social security coverage in line with their economic development. At present, it can be seen that this expectation has not been achieved (ILO, 2011). It can be observed that that there is an increasing frequency in the stagnation of work in developing countries. For this reason, a great segment of the world’s population is still does not have access to proper social security treatment.

It has been possible to see some kind of development and extension to social security coverages in several parts of the world but the majority of places in the world have demonstrated idleness and shrinkages in this area. In respect to the instrumental benefits relating to the coverage levels, developments of this nature are narrowly related to the modes of recruitment, predominantly to the eminence of certain jobs and the number available under formal economic conditions. In this kind of atmosphere, governmental institutions have a significant role to play in consulting and cooperating with social partners in order to outline the nature of the groups in society that need that are to be covered. The nature of this exercise eventually requires identifying that clusters of social groups are to be kept outside the parameters of social insurance as well as executing and imposing the provisions of these policies. When launching and preserving social security schemes of a noncontributory nature, it is important to develop an assurance scheme with at least a minimal level of a social security framework for all involved in general.

In the global context, the establishment of PR/SS systems was originally applicable to several identified employment relationships that only did work for certain formal establishments with explicit contracts on a remuneration basis. The countries with

people on low and mid level incomes have not had the capacity to introduce such social formalities and laws that are totally based on government revenues. Many countries of such a nature have introduced PR/SS systems modelled on the nature of social insurance. Such insurances were not helpful to the majority of workers within an informal economy. In many scenarios, a considerable and developing number of workers have not had the opportunity to enjoy any kind of PR&&SS benefits due to uncertain, ambiguous or concealed employment relationships. The majority of the people who fall under this classification are females who work as domestic helpers. It can be seen, in several countries, that small enterprises are relieved from complying with some of the provisions of regulations relating to PR/SS. In the meantime, it has been possible to identify that several workers have been deliberately excluded from PR/SS since the applicable regulations were not at a mandatory or obligatory level. Another factor is non enforcement of applicable laws that affect the numerous workers engaged in small initiatives even though sufficient constitutional coverage has been extended to them (ILO, 2011). The workers employed even by formal nature enterprises are commonly without formal agreements or are called undeclared workers (who would commonly be categorised commonly as part of the comparatively high share of overall temporary employed employment in the developing countries).

It is common practice to provide alternative social security preparations with noncontributory schemes in some of the developing countries. Under these circumstances, it is common that insufficient provisions are allocated to obtain basic level needs such as food and sleep (Marslow, 1943) (which are required by human kind). Such kind of social security coverages are generally provided on pitiable grounds, irrespective of the formal employment relationships. For these reasons, social insurance relating to employment remain as one of the foremost stanchions of the social security systems that are practiced in numerous parts of the world. However, large numbers of social groups within the population is not covered by any kind of a PR/SS system. A comprehensive system of PR/SSs may not be a reality for the majority of the global population. In the selective areas of PR/SS divisions, a marginal group receives the benefits from a fractional method of PR/SS mechanisms.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) is a premier organisation working for the establishment, and streamlining, of social security standards as a global protocol. The goal of setting up the ILO standards was to provide complete protection to as many individuals as possible. In the short run, it aims to provide at least a fundamental level of protection to as many individuals as possible. A Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention held in 1952 commenced by producing a framework for global social security coverage at a minimum level of benefits as guaranteed by Article 102 of the Convention Bulletin (Myers, 1952). The new International Convention was a luxury for only a handful of the world’s population and only a limited amount of individuals were capable of acquiring at least partial social security (i.e., only in some of the social security areas). Thus, the efforts of the ILO attempt to assure that every individual is entitled to at least a primitive level of income security on all platforms of their existence. This will, in turn, improve living conditions and give people access to essential health facilities. It was identified that only a limited number of countries in the world have the means to provide social protection to its population in all areas of security. In many others, protection was restricted to only a few areas and, even then, only a minority of the population has access to these existing arrangements. However, some level of social security for their population is offered by almost all countries in the world.

Every country in the world enables its citizens to obtain at least a basic range of healthcare facilities by making some sort of provision for social health protection from its budget. While some countries offer healthcare facilities free of charge for a number of illnesses, others may not be as liberal, offering only healthcare services to sectors of the population such as toddlers and the elderly (usually those retired from employment). Since most of these schemes are new, the number of people actually reaping their benefits is still inadequate. In the majority of the countries, officially hired employees are entitled to healthcare facilities in the case of employment injuries. However, in most cases, this coverage is not adequate or in line with the requirements of the ILO Convention held in 1952.

Paid sick leave and maternity leave has been facilitated in most countries for at least some of the labour sectors by means of the labour code or through other organisations legally. Though this sort of coverage exists, the actual circumstances

where assistance is given from the security system are infrequent. Comprehensive PR/SS is still restricted to the recognised developed countries although many countries have made countless steps towards the establishment of a comprehensive constitutional coverage for PR/SS. One sector of the countries in the world generally cover seven to eight areas of the ILO requirements and other countries only provide limited statutory protection at an elementary level. At least one legislative lineup is widely available almost everywhere to provide short time welfare for events such as work related injuries, temporary sicknesses, temporary unemployment, disaster survivors (Abeykoon, et al., 2013); such welfare includes family allowances and maternity.

According to the ILO surveys, 28% of the global population have comprehensive PR/SS systems covering all the recognised divisions of the ILO. However, the greater number of these identified classifications and protections are limited to the persons in a formal occupation such as salaried or remunerated workers. Such formally occupied employees constitute less than 50% of the economically active people in the global scenario spread over 70% of the countries with widely spread PR/SS systems. Approximately, 20% of the working age population in the global scenario (including their families) fall into the economically inactive classification.