Working Age

The Family Subsidy System is the set of political and regulatory institutions aimed at the comprehensive protection of both the workers and their families, which exists in Colombia since 1954. The objective of the Family Subsidy System is to alleviate the economic burden on a worker from supporting a family.  The Family Subsidy System includes different stakeholders: workers, employers, the Family Compensation Funds, the Superintendency of Family Subsidy, and the Ministry of Labour.

Armenia’s working-age groups represented approximately 69 per cent of the total population in 2016 and experienced an unemployment rate at approximately 17.4 per cent in 2017. The Government of the Republic of Armenia has implemented active labour market programmes and unemployment benefits as part of its Unemployment Insurance (UI) scheme since 1991. The UI scheme has been designed to promote employment through capacity building programmes and provides financial support to unemployed persons.

Women and men of working-age made up 67.7 per cent of the population of Uzbekistan in 2016. In 1992 the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan amended the national social insurance system in order to provide extended income security to the working age population. Uzbekistan’s social insurance system is implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the National Employment Service.

In 2016, women and men of working age in Viet Nam made up 69.9 per cent of the population. In 2009 the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam launched a national Unemployment Insurance (UI) programme in order to offset risks for wage earners in the case of unemployment and provide support for capacity building and reemployment.

A national social protection floor creates a solid foundation upon which effective mechanisms to reduce poverty and enhance human capital and productivity can be mobilised to promote inclusive, sustainable and resilient development. Upon this foundation, States have moved away from fragmented social protection schemes toward integrated systems that avoid overlap and address gaps in coverage.

The Bolsa Familia Programme, or Programa Bolsa Família (PBF), is a conditional cash transfer implemented by the Government of Brazil designed to alleviate poverty among low-income families. PBF also offers several complementary services to assist in job-seeking and housing. In the decade that the Bolsa Familia Programme (PBF) was introduced, poverty has been reduced by half, from 9.7 per cent to 4.3 per cent, the coverage of the Bolsa Familia reached out to 50 million low-income Brazillians which accounts for a quarter of the total population of Brazil.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia experienced a high rate of unemployment at 6.30 per cent in 2016. In order to provide income security to these groups, the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the Saudi National Unemployment Assistance scheme (SNUA), or Hazif program, in 2011 in order to provide basic income security to working-age Saudi Arabians. The SNUA is an Internet based ‘e-employment’ assistance programme managed by the national Human Resources Development Fund.

The Kingdom ofBahrain experienced an unemployment rate of 3.9 per cent in 2014, with youth and women the most affected., women accounting for 6.7 per cent of the workforce. In order to provide income security to these groups, the Government of Bahrain launched a national Unemployment Insurance Scheme (UIS) in 2007. Bahrain’s UIS is supported by a strong legal framework (Law on Insurance Against Unemployment No. 78/2006) and is designed to provide basic income security for all working-age Bahraini residents and citizens.

The population of the United Arab Emirates reached approximately 9.38 million in 2016, with a workforce totaling approximately 84 per cent of the population. In 1971, the Government of the United Arab Emirates took important steps to guarantee the right of working-age persons to basic income security through provisions in the 1971 Constitution of the United Arab Emirates.

The Republic of South Africa experienced 25 per cent unemployment in 2015, with youth and women being the most affected.  In order to provide income security to these groups, the Government of South Africa established the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) in accordance with the Unemployment Insurance Act (No. 108), of 1996. UIF provides protection for working-age South Africans in circumstances of unemployment and illness, and covers maternity and adoption leave.