IDEA team had been monitoring the process of registering street vendors for the NSSF scheme. IDEA CAMBODIA
The government’s recent announcement of a pilot healthcare project for self-employed individuals has so far not sparked significant registrations in the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), according to the Independent Democracy of Informal Economy Association (IDEA).
IDEA president Vorn Pov said on July 10 that the association had been monitoring the process of registering street vendors for the NSSF scheme. However, he noted a low uptake in registrations thus far, attributing this to the recent nature of the announcement and a lack of awareness about the NSSF benefits.
Pov also highlighted additional hurdles, such as a lack of widespread dissemination of the announcement by local authorities and issues with national identification (ID) cards, which some individuals used as collateral for loans, preventing their registration with the NSSF.
“These obstacles have resulted in a low number of self-employed individuals registering with the NSSF. The situation is particularly challenging for those living in districts far from the provincial centres, where registration facilities are located,” Pov said.
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Current figures from IDEA and NSSF show that of the more than seven million workers in the informal economic system, just over 2,000 have registered with the NSSF.
Heng Sophannarith, deputy director-general of the NSSF, outlined the advantages of registration, stating that self-employed individuals would enjoy the same benefits as factory and company employees, including hospitalisation, outpatient consultation, emergency services, medical rehabilitation, and pre and postnatal care. The NSSF also provides transportation for deceased or sick individuals and offers maternity benefits.
“By registering with the NSSF, self-employed individuals can contribute to reducing poverty and healthcare spending while gaining access to 24-hour health insurance,” he explained. For these benefits, self-employed individuals need to pay just 15,600 riel ($3.80) to the NSSF each month, based on a calculated monthly income of 600,000 riel.
The NSSF pilot healthcare project for self-employed individuals was announced on June 20, 2023, to operate on a voluntary basis.
