Concept Note
our globalising economy, migration has become an increasingly important issue. One of the key factors influencing the international mobility and transnational movement of workers, especially In highly skilled migrants, is the issue of social security. Bilateral Social Security Agreements (SSAs, hereafter) establish provisions which prevent dual contribution of social security, provide exportability of benefits to third countries, prevent loss of benefits (totalisation) and aggregation of the insurance period. Addressing the gaps in social security coverage provided to migrants as well as ensuring effective implementation of existing agreements are crucial for ensuring a smoother transition for high-skilled workers seeking to go abroad.
SSAs in India are of recent origin. The first agreement was operationalised with Belgium in 2009. Since then, India has signed agreements with 19 countries[1]; 17 of them have been operationalised till June 2016; 14 have been signed with European Countries. The purpose of the SSAs is to protect the interest of workers, and promote circular migration by securing social benefits. Available data suggests that there is a rise in the number of Certificate of Coverage (which indicate eligibility and details of coverage) being issued, testifying that the provisions of SSAs are being utilised for circular migration[2].
Given their growing importance to migrant and state interests, it becomes pertinent to undertake a systematic review of the social security agreements that India has signed to become aware of the spatial scope of the policies covered and the global governance around the SSAs. A review of the literature highlights that there exist some gaps in the desired level of social security and the actual reality on the ground.[3]
These gaps could be due to differences in scope and legislation as observed in the case of EU Member States with respect to self-employed individuals. In view of labour mobility, and the fact that many workers move between dependent employment and self-employment, or combine the two, the lack of portability and transferability of rights and entitlements between schemes can result in inadequate social protection coverage, particularly for long-term.
Benefits such as pensions.[1] Similarly, some bilateral SSA’s entered by India[2] cover which country’s law out of the parties to the agreement is applicable in a particular scenario while other SSAs are more comprehensive and also covers equal treatment, the export of benefits, the aggregation of periods and administrative cooperation, and statutory pension rights.[3]
Secondly, there are some countries with relatively weaker mechanisms for social protection and thus, careful deliberation on whether signing of bilateral SSAs will aid in social protection of migrants or a unilateral approach by host and origin countries would benefit the migrant in a more substantial manner is critical.[4] Further, with the current pandemic situation, the question of healthcare becomes a crucial aspect for consideration and hence the need for social protection.
Lastly, the situation of family members also needs to be shed light upon. Only three SSAs mention the law that applies to family members who accompany a migrant worker[5]. In those SSAs, family members benefit from the legal rules that are applicable for posted workers provided that they do not themselves engage in gainful employment. It is essential to deliberate in terms of an expansion of social security benefits to the families of the migrants alongside a provision for certain basic social security guarantees to at least all residents and children.
In this backdrop, the India Centre for Migration seeks to organise a virtual panel discussion titled, “Issues of Social Protection: An Analysis of Social Security Agreements”. The discussion aims to deliberate on (but will not be limited to) the following issues –