In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on social security, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 12 (workers’ compensation in agriculture), 24 (sickness insurance – industry), 25 (sickness insurance – agriculture) and 102 (social security – minimum standards) together. With regard to Conventions Nos 24 and 25 (instruments considered to be outdated by the ILO Governing Body), the Committee refers to its comments on Convention No. 102, the most up-to-date Convention on social security ratified by Peru (including Parts II and III).

The Committee notes the observations of the Autonomous Workers’ Confederation of Peru (CATP) on the application of Conventions Nos 12, 24, 25 and 102, received in 2016.

Article 1 of Convention No. 12. Extension of coverage to agricultural workers. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to indicate whether the proposed amendment to extend the list of activities covered by the Supplementary Insurance Scheme for Hazardous Work (SCTR) with a view to including a certain number of agricultural activities in Annex V of the Regulations issued under Act No. 26790 on the modernization of social security for health care, as approved by Presidential Decree No. 009-97-SA of 1997, had been adopted, and whether there were plans to continue extending protection against employment injury to other categories of agricultural and industrial workers with a view to progressively achieving full coverage. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that the Ministry of Agriculture has reported that Presidential Decree No. 009-97-SA still does not include in Annex V categories of agricultural workers, and only includes work relating to the extraction of wood and veterinary work. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that Presidential Decree No. 008-2010-SA, issuing the Regulations under Act No. 29344, the Framework Act on universal health insurance, provides in section 105 that the coverage of the SCTR shall be granted to all persons who work, in accordance with section 19 of Act No. 26790 of 1997 on the modernization of social security for healthcare, and that the Ministry of Health shall approve the progressive implementation of the list set out in Annex V with a view to its universal application. The Committee also notes the observations of the CATP which refers to the difficult conditions faced by workers in the agro-industrial sector, “which not only give rise to diseases and health problems that do not enable them to work properly, but are a threat to their personal safety and survival”. The Committee notes this information and requests the Government to report any developments relating to the inclusion of categories of agricultural workers in Annex V of Presidential Decree No. 009-97-SA of 1997.

Part I (General provisions). Article 3 of Convention No. 102. Declaration appended to the ratification. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information, in accordance with Article 3 of the Convention, on the measures adopted to progressively extend the scope of the persons covered, with an indication of whether the reasons for maintaining reduced coverage subsist (50 per cent of the workers in enterprises with more than 20 employees, as declared by the Government at the time of ratification), or whether it renounces the right to avail itself of this exception in future. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, by means of: Act No. 28015 of 2003 to promote and formalize micro and small enterprises; Legislative Decree No. 1086 of 2008 approving the Act to promote the competitiveness, formalization and development of micro and small enterprises and access to decent work; Presidential Decree No. 008-2008-TR; and Presidential Decree No. 013-2013-PRODUCE, it is intended to extend coverage by social protection for workers in micro and small enterprises, setting registration with the comprehensive health insurance scheme (SIS) as the minimum floor for microenterprises, the social security health system (EsSALUD) for micro and small enterprises and, in relation to social insurance, the possibility to register with either the national pensions system (SNP) or the private pensions system (SPP), or also with the social pensions system (SPS). However, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the SPS, governed by Legislative Decree No. 1086 of 2008, has not yet been established as regulations have not yet been issued. In light of the legislative developments in relation to micro and small enterprises through Presidential Decree No. 013 2013-PRODUCE, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to give effect to this legislation. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the implementation of the legislation will result in an increase in the percentage of persons protected which will mean that it can renounce the exceptions of which it is availing itself under Article 3 of the Convention in relation to Articles 9(d), 12(2), 15(d), 18(2), 27(d), 48(c) and 55(d). The Committee also once again requests the Government to indicate whether it intends to avail itself in future of the exception envisaged in Article 3, in accordance with the Convention.

Part II (Medical care). Article 10(2). Cost-sharing by beneficiaries for medical care. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application of the Convention in practice in relation to the cost-sharing by beneficiaries for medical care, such that it avoids hardship, both for the public health system (Essential Health Insurance Plan – PEAS – and the comprehensive health insurance scheme – SIS), and for private health insurance schemes.

Part V (Old-age benefit). Article 27(d) in relation to Article 3. Persons protected. With reference to its previous comments relating to the principle of guaranteed minimum benefits, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the measures taken to extend the Pension 65 Programme to all regions of the country, together with details of its implementation and the progress made in this regard. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Pension 65 Programme began by being introduced progressively in the poorest areas of Peru and that, in accordance with the single final supplementary provision of Presidential Decree No. 006-2012-MIDIS of 2012, the coverage provided by the programme was extended to persons living in the departments in which the “Gratitud” Pilot Solidarity Assistance Programme was operating, until it covers the whole of the country, and that according to 2016 data, a total of 196 provinces and 500,000 people are covered. The Committee welcomes the positive information provided and requests the Government to continue providing information on any progress achieved in the implementation of the Pension 65 Programme, and particularly on the extension of the number of persons protected. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the possibility of renouncing the exceptions declared under Article 3 of the Convention has been examined. The Committee also requests the Government to provide statistical data on the number of protected employees who work in industrial enterprises with at least 20 workers, in relation to each pension scheme, with a view to assessing the application of Article 27(d) of the Convention in relation to the exception declared under Article 3 of the Convention.

Article 28, in relation to Article 65. Rate of the benefit. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the minimum amount of each type of pension referred to in comparison with the minimum replacement rates set out in the Convention, and to indicate how such amounts are adjusted. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the provisions which over time have been regulating the manner in which the reference wage is calculated are: Legislative Decree No. 19990 of 1973, which created the National Social Security Pensions System, section 73; Legislative Decree No. 25967 of 1992; and Presidential Decree No. 099-2002-EF in relation to the SNP. The Committee observes that these texts also regulate the rate of the benefit. In relation to the SPP, the Committee noted previously the Government’s confirmation that a replacement rate is not guaranteed in the SPP. The Committee recalls that Article 65 of the Convention provides that the rate of the benefit, or the replacement rate of the benefit, increased by the amount of any family allowances payable during the contingency, shall be such as to attain, for the standard beneficiary indicated in the Schedule appended to Part XI of the Convention, at least 40 per cent of the total of the previous earnings of the beneficiary and of the amount of any family allowances payable to a person protected with the same family responsibilities as the standard beneficiary. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide statistical data so that it can fully assess the extent to which the old-age benefits of the SNP attain the level prescribed by the Convention. More specifically, the Committee requests the Government to indicate: (i) the amount of the wage of the skilled manual male employee selected; and (ii) the amount of benefit granted during the time basis and the amount of family allowances, if any, payable during employment and during the contingency, for the spouse, for a period equivalent to the time basis.

Finally, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measures that it has been considered appropriate to adopt in relation to the SPP to give effect to these Articles of the Convention.

Articles 29(2) and 63(2). Reduced old-age benefit with a qualifying period of 15 years of contribution and reduced survivors’ benefit. The Committee notes the allegation by the CATP that the Insurance Standardization Office (ONP) denied old-age pensions in 2013 to 21,560 people who could not demonstrate at least 20 years of contribution. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, starting with the entry into force in 1992 of Legislative Decree No. 25967, the minimum period of contribution required for entitlement to the pension was set at 20 years for both men and women for the general scheme. The Committee also observes that section 51 of Legislation Decree No. 19990 of 1973 provides that, for entitlement to a survivors’ benefit, the deceased insured person must have been entitled to an old-age or invalidity pension. The Committee requests the Government to report on the manner in which effect is given to Article 29(2) of the Convention, which provides that where the benefit is conditional upon a minimum period of contribution or employment, a reduced old-age benefit shall be secured after a qualifying period of 15 years, as well as Article 63(2)(a) respecting the provision of a reduced benefit to a person protected whose breadwinner has completed, in accordance with prescribed rules, a qualifying period of five years of contribution.

Article 30. Provision of benefits throughout the contingency. In its previous comment, the Committee noted that the old-age benefits managed within the private administration system are calculated on the basis of the capital accrued in the individual accounts of each insured person. Once the capital is exhausted, the entitlement to a pension may cease to exist and insured persons who exceed the average life expectancy could be deprived of their sole source of income (see section 45, programmed retirement, of the single harmonized text of the Act on the private system of administration of pension funds, approved by Presidential Decree No. 054-97-EF). The Committee concluded that such a situation is not consistent with the principle laid down in international Conventions whereby benefits are to be paid throughout the contingency at a guaranteed minimum rate. The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to Act No. 30425 of 2016, amending the single harmonized text of the Act on the SPP, and the 24th final and transitional provision of the single harmonized text of the Act on the SPP, under the terms of which an insured person as from 65 years of age is entitled to “choose between the provision of the pension to which she/he is entitled under any retirement system”, or apply to the pension fund administrator (AFP) to “provide up to 95.5 per cent of the total funds available in her/his individual capital account (CIO)”. An insured person who adopts this option shall not be entitled to any guaranteed state benefit, and this includes insured persons covered by the special early retirement scheme (REJA). The Committee recalls that Article 30 of the Convention requires that old-age benefits shall be granted throughout the contingency. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on any measure that it is considered appropriate to adopt in relation to the SPP to ensure that it complies with the requirement set out in this Article of the Convention.

Part IX (Invalidity benefit). Article 56 (in relation to Article 65). Rate of the benefit. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the rate of invalidity benefit attains, irrespective of the type of pension selected (in the SPP or SNP), the percentage set out in the Convention for a standard beneficiary.

Part XIII (Common provisions). Article 70(1). Right of appeal of claimants of social security benefits. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the repercussions in practice of the ruling in Case No. 05561 2007 PA/TC of 24 March 2010, in which the Constitutional Court (TC) found that the participation of the Insurance Standardization Office (ONP) in court proceedings pertaining to the payment of statutory or accrued interest on pensions to be an “unconstitutional state of affairs”. The Committee also urged the Government to speed up the process of the assessment and payment of benefits due to workers by simplifying complaint and appeal procedures. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that all processes relating to the payment of statutory and accrued interest have been settled in accordance with the ruling of the Constitutional Court and notes a list of cases attached. The Committee also notes with interest the information provided by the Government on the creation of the Administrative Tribunal on Social Security with a view to making appeal processes more flexible, and hopes that this development will make it possible to give effect to the right of persons protected to lodge complaints and appeals, as envisaged in the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the time limits for dealing with cases, the rules applicable in the event of appeal and the merits of complaints and appeals to the Administrative Tribunal on Social Security.

Article 71(1) and (2). Collective financing of social security. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to explain the extent to which the principle of the collective financing of social security is given effect in the national pensions system. The Committee notes the confirmation by the Government that in the SNP, which forms part of the public pensions system, contributions are entirely borne by insured persons, in accordance with section 2 of the Second Transitional Provision of Act No. 26504 of 1995 adopting modifications, among others, to the SNP and the private pension fund system. The Government indicates that the employer only acts as an agent for the deduction of contributions. The Committee recalls that it noted previously that, also in the private pensions system, contributions are only made by insured persons to individual capital accounts and for the financing of premiums for old-age, invalidity and survivors’ insurance, and that the administrative costs are solely borne by workers registered with the AFP. The Committee wishes to recall once again that Article 71 of the Convention provides that the cost of social security benefits and the cost of the administration of such benefits shall be borne collectively by way of insurance contributions or taxation in a manner which avoids hardship to persons of small means (paragraph 1) and such that the cost of the total of the insurance contributions borne by the employees protected shall not exceed 50 per cent of the total of the financial resources allocated to the protection of employees and their wives and children (paragraph 2). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the origin of the resources for each system examined for each of the Parts of the Convention that have been accepted, with an indication in particular of the rate or the amount of the deductions made from earnings to finance the system, either through contributions or taxation, and the insurance contributions borne by the employees protected.

Articles 71(3) and 72(2). General responsibility of the State for the due provision of benefits and the proper administration of institutions and services. Health system. In its previous comments, the Committee observed that Act No. 29344 of 2009 provided for at least nine alternatives for insurance in the health branch, administered by public, private and mixed bodies, and it suggested that the Government examine the possibility of a simplification of the system to achieve the harmonization and rationalization of health services. The Committee notes the allegation by the CATP concerning the high level of fragmentation of health schemes, with the coexistence of various systems which suffer from a lack of communication between them and that this situation is an obstacle to the achievement of economies of scale and is a source of inequality. The CATP also alleges that there are inefficiencies in the comprehensive health insurance scheme (SIS) intended for persons living in poverty and extreme poverty and that important weaknesses have been identified in the framework of the EsSALUD insurance scheme, such as the approval of special contribution schemes for specific groups who are not vulnerable, which has a negative impact on the income of EsSALUD. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted with a view to improving the administration of health services. It also requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted to improve effective access to health services, and more specifically to explain how the provision of medical care and sickness benefit is guaranteed in the manner and at the levels required by the Conventions for all persons protected.

Articles 71(3) and 72(2). General responsibility of the State for the due provision of benefits and for the proper administration of institutions and services. Social security. In its previous comment, the Committee observed that the obligation to improve the collection of social security contributions falls within the State’s general responsibility for the proper administration of social security institutions and services under the terms of Article 72 of the Convention and it requested the Government to intensify its efforts on the issues of the payment of contributions by employers, to reinforce collaboration between social security institutions and the tax authorities, and to provide information on the legislative progress achieved with regard to the bills proposing that the National Supervisory Authority for Tax Administration (SUNAT) takes over the functions of the collection of contributions and inspection for the SNP and the SPP. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication concerning the creation of the National Supervisory Authority for Labour Taxes (SUNAFIL), through which it has been possible to increase efforts to ensure compliance in the areas referred to above. The Committee notes that the SUNAFIL has concluded two agreements for inter-institutional cooperation with the EsSALUD and the SUNAT for the purposes, among others, of developing mechanisms and procedures of inter-institutional cooperation, the exchange of information on the processes developed by the various institutions and the establishment of joint supervisory and/or inspection of compliance with social security obligations. The Committee also notes the information provided by the Government that, according to the reports of the Labour Inspection Information System (SIIT), the Labour Inspection System (SIT) has issued a number of inspection orders and guidance on the registration of workers with the social security system. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing statistical data on the results achieved by the SUNAFIL and the action of the SIT in combating evasion of the requirement for registration with the social security system and in improving the collection of contributions in practice, and to provide information on any other measures adopted or envisaged to attain these objectives.

Article 72(1). Participation of insured persons in management. Health system. In its previous comment, the Committee requested the Government to examine the possibility of the establishment in private health providers (EPS), institutional providers of health services (IPRESS) or private health insurance companies of a mechanism through which representatives of insured persons could participate in their management or be associated with them in an consultative capacity, without prejudice to the public oversight mechanisms that may be established in due course by regional or local governments, with a view to bringing the legislation into accordance with Article 72(1) of the Convention. The Committee notes the allegation by the CATP that, in the health sector, the participation of insured persons is not envisaged in health insurance fund administrators (IAFAS), EPS, IPRESS, or private health insurance companies. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted or envisaged in the private health insurance sector in relation to the right of the representatives of the persons protected to participate in their management or to be associated with them, in a consultative capacity, in accordance with the required conditions.