Venezuela

The social security system organic law published in the Official Gazette on 30 December 2002 established a system based on solidarity and redistribution, without individual capitalization, covering workers in relation to the following: health, sickness and maternity/paternity, work injury, disability, involuntary loss of work, unemployment, old age, survivors, household, recreation, family benefits and other derivatives of contingencies not envisaged under this law.

Healthcare Service System: Responsible for the Healthcare Scheme, which aims to develop a national public health system that will progressively harmonize the various existing schemes into a homogenous structure with common goals and benefits. Preventive care is planned through the Barrio Adentro I & II programmes, intermediate comprehensive diagnosis and curative care centres at popular clinics, and high-level surgery at large hospitals.

Social Insurance System: Responsible for the following schemes: social services to elderly persons and other categories of people; employment, pensions and other allowances; and work health and safety.

Housing System: Responsible for the Housing Scheme. In addition, two monitoring entities are planned: the social security oversight, which will audit, monitor and control social security financial resources, and the social security treasury, which will collect, redistribute and invest social security financial resources. Both entities will be independent institutions, with their own legal personality and assets.

Work Health and Safety Scheme: has the following aims: promoting health and safety at work; controlling working conditions and environments; work injury and similar subjects; promoting development of recreational programmes; use of leisure time, rest and social tourism; comprehensive care of workers who are victims of work injury as well as of children with conditions or deformities that result from their parents’ work. For work injury, the entity in charge is the national institute for work injury and safety. Psychosocial aspects of work are incorporated through recreation, use of leisure time, rest and social tourism.