Voluntary Social Protection Coverage through services provided by the Sri Lanka Bureau of
Migrant access to social protection: A review of 120 countries and nine Bilateral Labour Arrangements
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Access to social assistance Social assistance is restricted to permanent residents and refugees. The
Social Assistance Act covers temporary residents only if a bilateral agreement signed with the
temporary resident’s country of origin specifically provides for coverage Olivier, 2011, pp. 141-142. There is however an exception, if the visa-holder has a child, as article 28 of
the Constitution provides for “social services” for all children, irrespective of their legal status Human Rights Watch, 2008, p. 33, footnote 37.
Access to healthcare With respect to access to healthcare, both South Africans and foreigners are entitled to
basic healthcare on a fee basis. Emergency healthcare is free, as per article 273 of the Constitution,
which indicates that “No one may be refused emergency medical treatment.” Human Rights Watch, 2008, p. 32, footnote 34. For additional medical coverage,
Zimbabwean workers can register to contributory private schemes, as regulated by the Medical Schemes Act No. 131, 1998 Olivier, 2011, p. 142.
Access to unemployment, sickness and maternity benefits The
Unemployment Insurance Act No. 63 of 2001 provides for benefits against temporary unemployment arising from termination of service, illness, as well as the birth or
adoption of a child Olivier, 2011, p. 131. As per article 31d, the personal scope of application however ex
cludes “persons who enter the Republic for the purpose of carrying out a contract of service, apprenticeship or learnership within the Republic if upon the
termination thereof the employer is required by law or by the contract of service, apprenticeship or learnership, as the case may be, or by any other agreement or undertaking,
to repatriate that person, or that person is so re quired to leave the Republic.” As underlined
by Professor Marius Olivier, this provision affects temporary residents, in particular mine workers and farm workers, as the vast majority of them are working on a fixed-term contract
basis, and have thus to return to their country of origin Olivier, 2011, p. 131.
Access to employment injury benefits Compensation in case of work-related accidents and occupational diseases is regulated
by both the Occupational Diseases in Mines and Works Act No. 78 of 1973 and the
Compensation for Occupational Injuries and Diseases Act No. 130 of 1993. The latter covers Zimbabwean workers, who are temporary residents, as the term “employee” is
defined as a “a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service or of apprenticeship or learnership, with an employer, whether the contract is express or implied,
oral or in writing, and whether the remuneration is calculated by time or by work done, or is in cash or in kind” art. 1 xix, regardless of immigration status or temporary nature of
work. Domestic workers are however explicitly excluded from the personal scope of application by virtue of article 1 xix d v.
Access to long-term benefits There is no compulsory national social security scheme with regard to old-age and
survivors’ contingences in South Africa Deacon et. al., 2015, p. 55. This implies that retirement insurance, for workers in the formal sector, as well as payment of survivors’
benefits to the dependents in the event of death before retirement, are covered through occupational-based schemes or private retirement schemes. For instance, Zimbabwean
workers in the mining industry can be covered through provident funds and therefore eligible to receiving a lump sum at retirement Olivier, 2011, pp. 133-134.
As to the agricultural sector, a small number of farm workers belong to retirement scheme due to the unorganized
nature of the agricultural workforce Olivier, 2011, pp. 134-135.
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Migrant access to social protection: A review of 120 countries and nine Bilateral Labour Arrangements