52 Can productivity in SMEs be increased by investing in workers’ health?
- Capacity building and raising awareness.
A handbook and information material for SMEs could be developed; best practices from successful models could be collected
in a study. -
Development of data and statistics . A study could be carried out putting together
available data on SMEs from all countries, showing deficits and elaborating methods to improve the data situation.
- Knowledge about practical problems
. A survey could be made in a representative sample of countries, inquiring about the practical challenges of SMEs in the area of
staff management and staff benefits.
8.4. Specific suggestions for organizations and institutions
International organizations . Documenting the total number of employees in
enterprises affected by social protection-related questions would greatly increase understanding about the relevance of available data with respect to SMEs, as exact
differentiation of enterprises would be possible. It is suggested that country studies piloting comprehensive data collection be initiated, with regular update mechanisms. International
organizations could also initiate comprehensive research and development programmes, as outlined above, to better understand and monitor progress in this specific field of social
protection. In particular, international organizations could initiate a research programme to look at the productivity impact of social protection. As said before, this would require trust
and patience and might thus best be approached by a group of international experts and local NGOs working with SMEs in the non-formal economy.
Governments . As can be seen above, the greatest obstacle to gaining access to social
protection for SME workers is informal employment. A reduction in the share of informal employment and registration of the workers in question would increase the number of
employees covered by social protection programmes. This is why studies on how to support SMEs in registration and other administrative issues linked to social protection are
so highly advocated. Organizational development and achieving economies of scale are one option. Key areas of synergy and support include:
- registration of workers;
- payment of contributions;
- information about rights and obligations; and
- reporting and statistics.
Care should also be taken to ensure proper reporting procedures, as the equity of a system will be distorted if a share of the beneficiaries has large incomes that are not
considered for their contributions. This is also the case if workers have a low nominal wage, in order to keep contributions to a minimum, while receiving large undocumented
payments. In the interest of equitable financing such behaviour should be punished.
It is not clear whether the implementation of comprehensive programmes for the informal economy creates an incentive for informal employment, as workers then see less
necessity to register their employment. The collection of contributions from non-registered workers has proven difficult in
some countries, for example Ghana Lagomarsino et al., 2012. The most promise lies with general improvements to business regulation and enforcement, as these have been shown
Can productivity in SMEs be increased by investing in workers’ health? 53
to both decrease informal employment and promote a healthy SME sector Ayyagari et al., 2007; Kawai and Urata, 2001; Carre et al:, 2002.
Social partners . Social protection may not automatically be high on the agendas of
both workers and employers. Both may fear undue influence of the State and overseeing bodies, a substantial drain on resources and a loss of flexibility in forging and severing
employment relations. Thus, the economic and non-economic benefits of social protection need to be marketed and brought close to the practical experiences and needs of small
owner−manager companies and their employees. It is highly likely that no uniform approach would suit the many and at time conflicting needs of the different companies
even within countries, let alone on an international scale.
The social partners might thus wish to focus on awareness raising and encouraging collective agreements that involve the majority of SMEs. This could include the
involvement of social partners in the governance of social insurance and in working towards linking labour market flexibility with social insurance, a model that has been
addressed by the “flexicurity” approach, whereby flexibility in the labour market is combined with extensive social security European Expert Group on Flexicurity, 2007.
