In the first half of 2023, the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) saw an uptick in registrations from construction workers. More than 600 builders signed up, marking a 23 per cent increase from the same period in 2022, according to a recent report.

Heng Sophannarith, deputy director-general of the NSSF, noted that as of June 2023, a total of 436 construction companies, with a total of 28,330 workers, 5,172 of them women, had registered with the NSSF.

Sophannarith noted a particular increase from January to June of this year.

“Thirty-three construction companies, with a total of 671 workers, including 145 women, registered for the NSSF cards,” he said.

This highlights a surge of 43 per cent in enterprises and 23 per cent in workers compared to the same period the previous year.

The process of registration has not been straightforward.

“The irregular movement of workers in and out of the sector and a lack of identity cards are some of the challenges we faced in registering construction workers,” he explained.

To counter these issues, the NSSF has partnered with the General Department of Identification to make workers aware of the social security system benefits and to avoid ambiguous changes.

Sophannarith urged the owners of construction companies and contractors to register accurately, report the correct number of workers, and responsibly contribute to the scheme.

He described this as the “most important and virtuous” act for an employer, whether they are a company or a contractor.

Separately, Yan Thy, secretary-general of the Building and Wood Workers Trade Union Federation of Cambodia (BWTUC), outlined the unstable nature of the construction industry.

He mentioned that as per earlier reports from the Ministry of Land Management, between 200,000 to 250,000 construction workers face inconsistent working conditions, wage limits, and occasional abandonment by contractors who fail to pay.

“The BWTUC currently has a membership of 11,364 construction workers. However, only 8,117 of them have been registered by their employers to receive the NSSF cards,” Thy stated.

This implies that a significant number of these workers lack the NSSF safety net and are forced to pay out-of-pocket for any medical expenses or accident-related costs.

He expressed his concern that these challenges may lead to poverty for workers who experience accidents.

The trade union secretary-general identified the core issue as under-registration with the NSSF, with some companies only registering senior employees.

The complexity of finding those responsible for workers’ problems is compounded by the large number of sub-contractors, most of whom do not register their businesses.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) provides sobering statistics to put these issues into perspective.

Every year, more than 3 million workers worldwide die from occupational accidents and diseases, while a further 374 million workers suffer from work-related accidents.

These figures underscore the urgent need for comprehensive security schemes such as the NSSF card for workers in high-risk sectors like construction.