Employment injury benefit is implemented in many countries in Asia and the Pacific and protects workers from occupational accident and disease by providing medical care and income security, sometimes combined with prevention strategies. Employers can escape from liability burden by paying their contributions to EII scheme, which can achieve risk pooling by social insurance operation.

However, there are challenges to be addressed. Compared with other regions, Asia and the Pacific has higher portion of employer liability system, about 60% of the Asia Pacific region’s employment injury scheme type. Besides, even though some countries have their own employment injury insurance, the scheme needs to be extended to small enterprises and informal workers, and the level of benefits EII provides be enhanced. Lastly, the synergies with injury prevention are weak.

In this context, ILO/Korea Partnership Programme has been providing technical support for the introduction and development of employment injury insurance scheme in the Asia Pacific region.

For more information on the EII in the Asia Pacific region, click here.