BUJUMBURA April 19th (ABP) – The head of the employer affiliation and worker registration service at the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), Mr. Pierre Nshimirimana indicated on Tuesday April 11, 2023, during an interview with the ABP, that the INSS is making a lot of efforts to sensitize more employers to join this institution to comply with the labor code in force.
Mr. Nshimirimana recalled that currently, more than 13,000 employers already have affiliation numbers and more than 240,000 workers have been registered. He specified that this number is still small compared to the companies that exist throughout the national territory. He also pointed out that some employers, especially in the private sector, have not yet understood the importance of registering their workers.
According to him, some employers even manage to refuse contracts for their employees so as not to make them contributions to the INSS. At retirement age, these employees will live in begging following the absence of their old-age pension because their employers refused to grant them their rights.
For all these reasons, Mr. Nshimirimana invites all workers in companies where employers do not fulfill their social obligations, to come to the INSS to denounce these cases so that those involved in social protection can approach these companies to encourage them to join.
He did not fail to point out that the INSS does not have the right to close the company that contravenes the affiliation measures. It is in this context that he asked the general labor inspectorate to make many field visits so that employers who resist are sanctioned.
To find out about the existence of companies not affiliated with the INSS, the ABP contacted 10 journalists from different private media. Among the ten, only three journalists claimed that they have employment contracts and those they have INSS registration numbers. The seven remaining journalists testified that they work without a contract of neither employment, nor contributions to the INSS and even less mutual cards. They ask the general labor inspectorate to visit all the media to see what is happening on the ground.
The same lamentations were noticed among employees of some security companies. Thus, they say: “Despite many complaints, our employers refused to make us contributions to the INSS. We call on the Ministry of Interior, Community Development and Public Security and the Ministry in charge of Labor to intervene”.
As for the General Labor and Social Security Inspector at the Ministry of Public Service, Labor and Employment, Mr. Astère Bizindavyi, he indicated that during field visits, all companies are recommended to respect the labor code including the granting of employment contracts to its employees. According to him, the General Labor and Social Security Inspectorate informs the INSS of companies it finds that are not yet affiliated to the INSS.
Mr. Bizindavyi, for this purpose, promised that his institution will continue to send controllers throughout the country so that everyone, especially private companies, are informed about compliance with the law on the social protection code in Burundi, explaining also that contributions to the INSS are an obligation for employers for the management of occupational risks.