C130 - Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 (No. 130)

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PART I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

In this Convention--

• (a) the term legislation includes any social security rules as well as laws and regulations;
• (b) the term prescribed means determined by or in virtue of national legislation;
• (c) the term industrial undertaking includes all undertakings in the following branches of economic activity: mining and quarrying; manufacturing; construction; electricity, gas and water; and transport, storage and communication;
• (d) the term residence means ordinary residence in the territory of the Member and the term resident means a person ordinarily resident in the territory of the Member;
• (e) the term dependent refers to a state of dependency which is presumed to exist in prescribed cases;
• (f) the term wife means a wife who is dependent on her husband;
• (g) the term child covers--
  • (i) a child under school-leaving age or under 15 years of age, whichever is the higher: Provided that a Member which has made a declaration under Article 2 may, while such declaration is in force, apply the Convention as if the term covered a child under school-leaving age or under 15 years of age; and
  • (ii) a child under a prescribed age higher than that specified in clause (i) of this subparagraph and who is an apprentice or student or has a chronic illness or infirmity disabling him for any gainful activity, under prescribed conditions: Provided that this requirement shall be deemed to be met where national legislation defines the term so as to cover any child under an age appreciably higher than that specified in clause (i) of this subparagraph;
• (h) the term standard beneficiary means a man with a wife and two children;
• (i) the term qualifying period means a period of contribution, or a period of employment, or a period of residence, or any combination thereof, as may be prescribed;
• (j) the term sickness means any morbid condition, whatever its cause;
• (k) the term medical care includes allied benefits.

Article 2

1. 1. A Member whose economy and medical facilities are insufficiently developed may avail itself, by a declaration accompanying its ratification, of the temporary exceptions provided for in Article 1, subparagraph (g), clause (i); Article 11; Article 14; Article 20; and Article 26, paragraph 2. Any such declaration shall state the reason for such exceptions.
2. 2. Each Member which has made a declaration under paragraph 1 of this Article shall include in its reports upon the application of this Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation a statement in respect of each exception of which it avails itself--
   • (a) that its reason for doing so subsists; or
   • (b) that it renounces its right to avail itself of the exception in question as from a stated date.
3. 3. Each Member which has made a declaration under paragraph 1 of this Article shall, as appropriate to the terms of such declaration and as circumstances permit--
   • (a) increase the number of persons protected;
   • (b) extend the range of medical care provided;
   • (c) extend the duration of sickness benefit.

Article 3

1. 1. Any Member whose legislation protects employees may, by a declaration accompanying its ratification, temporarily exclude from the application of this Convention the employees in the sector comprising agricultural occupations who, at the time of the ratification, are not yet protected by legislation which is in conformity with the standards of this Convention.
2. 2. Each Member which has made a declaration under paragraph 1 of this Article shall indicate in its reports upon the application of this Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation to what extent effect is given and what effect is proposed to be given to the provisions of the Convention in respect of the employees in the sector comprising agricultural occupations and any progress which may have been made with a view to the application of the Convention to such employees or, where there is no change to report, shall furnish all the appropriate explanations.
3. 3. Each Member which has made a declaration under paragraph 1 of this Article shall increase the number of employees protected in the sector comprising agricultural occupations to the extent and with the speed that the circumstances permit.

Article 4

1. 1. Any Member which ratifies this Convention may, by a declaration accompanying its ratification, exclude from the application of the Convention--
   • (a) seafarers, including sea fishermen,
   • (b) public servants,

where these categories are protected by special schemes which provide in the aggregate benefits at least equivalent to those required by this Convention.

1. 2. Where a declaration under paragraph 1 of this Article is in force, the Member may--
   • (a) exclude the persons belonging to the category or categories excluded from the application of the Convention from the number of persons taken into account when calculating the percentages specified in Article 5, subparagraph (c); Article 10, subparagraph (b); Article 11; Article 19, subparagraph (b); and Article 20;
   • (b) exclude the persons belonging to the category or categories excluded from the application of the Convention, as well as the wives and children of such persons, from the number of persons taken into account when calculating the percentage specified in Article 10, subparagraph (c).
2. 3. Any Member which has made a declaration under paragraph 1 of this Article may subsequently notify the Director-General of the International Labour Office that it accepts the obligations of this Convention in respect of a category or categories excluded at the time of its ratification.

Article 5

Any Member whose legislation protects employees may, as necessary, exclude from the application of this Convention--

• (a) persons whose employment is of a casual nature;
• (b) members of the employer's family living in his house, in respect of their work for him;
• (c) other categories of employees, which shall not exceed in number 10 per cent of all employees other than those excluded under subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this Article.

Article 6

For the purpose of compliance with this Convention, a Member may take account of protection effected by means of insurance which, although not made compulsory by its legislation at the time of ratification for the persons to be protected--

• (a) is supervised by the public authorities or administered, in accordance with prescribed standards, by joint operation of employers and workers;
• (b) covers a substantial proportion of the persons whose earnings do not exceed those of the skilled manual male employee defined in Article 22, paragraph 6; and
• (c) complies, in conjunction with other forms of protection, where appropriate, with the provisions of the Convention.

Article 7

The contingencies covered shall include--

• (a) need for medical care of a curative nature and, under prescribed conditions, need for medical care of a preventive nature;
• (b) incapacity for work resulting from sickness and involving suspension of earnings, as defined by national legislation.

PART II. MEDICAL CARE

Article 8

Each Member shall secure to the persons protected, subject to prescribed conditions, the provision of medical care of a curative or preventive nature in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (a) of Article 7.

Article 9

The medical care referred to in Article 8 shall be afforded with a view to maintaining, restoring or improving the health of the person protected and his ability to work and to attend to his personal needs.

Article 10

The persons protected in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (a) of Article 7 shall comprise--

• (a) all employees, including apprentices, and the wives and children of such employees; or
• (b) prescribed classes of the economically active population, constituting not less than 75 per cent of the whole economically active population, and the wives and children of persons in the said classes; or
• (c) prescribed classes of residents constituting not less than 75 per cent of all residents.

Article 11

Where a declaration made in virtue of Article 2 is in force, the persons protected in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (a) of Article 7 shall comprise--

• (a) prescribed classes of employees, constituting not less than 25 per cent of all employees, and the wives and children of employees in the said classes; or (b) prescribed classes of employees in industrial undertakings, constituting not less than 50 per cent of all employees in industrial undertakings, and the wives and children of employees in the said classes.

Article 12

Persons who are in receipt of a social security benefit for invalidity, old age, death of the breadwinner or unemployment, and, where appropriate, the wives and children of such persons, shall continue to be protected, under prescribed conditions, in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (a) of Article 7.

Article 13

The medical care referred to in Article 8 shall comprise at least--

• (a) general practitioner care, including domiciliary visiting;
• (b) specialist care at hospitals for in-patients and out-patients, and such specialist care as may be available outside hospitals;
• (c) the necessary pharmaceutical supplies on prescription by medical or other qualified practitioners;
• (d) hospitalisation where necessary;
• (e) dental care, as prescribed; and
• (f) medical rehabilitation, including the supply, maintenance and renewal of prosthetic and orthopaedic appliances, as prescribed.

Article 14

Where a declaration made in virtue of Article 2 is in force, the medical care referred to in Article 8 shall comprise at least--

• (a) general practitioner care, including, wherever possible, domiciliary visiting;
• (b) specialist care at hospitals for in-patients and out-patients, and, wherever possible, such specialist care as may be available outside hospitals;
• (c) the necessary pharmaceutical supplies on prescription by medical or other qualified practitioners; and
• (d) hospitalisation where necessary.

Article 15

Where the legislation of a Member makes the right to the medical care referred to in Article 8 conditional upon the fulfilment of a qualifying period by the person protected or by his breadwinner, the conditions governing the qualifying period shall be such as not to deprive of the right to benefit persons who normally belong to the categories of persons protected.

Article 16

1. 1. The medical care referred to in Article 8 shall be provided throughout the contingency.
2. 2. Where a beneficiary ceases to belong to the categories of persons protected, further entitlement to medical care for a case of sickness which started while he belonged to the said categories may be limited to a prescribed period which shall not be less than 26 weeks: Provided that the medical care shall not cease while the beneficiary continues to receive a sickness benefit.
3. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, the duration of medical care shall be extended for prescribed diseases recognised as entailing prolonged care.

Article 17

Where the legislation of a Member requires the beneficiary or his breadwinner to share in the cost of the medical care referred to in Article 8, the rules concerning such cost sharing shall be so designed as to avoid hardship and not to prejudice the effectiveness of medical and social protection.

PART III. SICKNESS BENEFIT

Article 18

Each Member shall secure to the persons protected, subject to prescribed conditions, the provision of sickness benefit in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (b) of Article 7.

Article 19

The persons protected in respect of the contingency specified in subparagraph (b) of Article 7 shall comprise--

• (a) all employees, including apprentices; or
• (b) prescribed classes of the economically active population, constituting not less than 75 per cent of the whole economically active population; or
• (c) all residents whose means during the contingency do not exceed limits prescribed in such a manner as to comply with the requirements of Article 24.

Article 20

Where a declaration made in virtue of Article 2 is in force, the persons protected in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (b) of Article 7 shall comprise--

• (a) prescribed classes of employees, constituting not less than 25 per cent of all employees; or
• (b) prescribed classes of employees in industrial undertakings, constituting not less than 50 per cent of all employees in industrial undertakings.

Article 21

The sickness benefit referred to in Article 18 shall be a periodical payment and shall--

• (a) where employees or classes of the economically active population are protected, be calculated in such a manner as to comply either with the requirements of Article 22 or with the requirements of Article 23;
• (b) where all residents whose means during the contingency do not exceed prescribed limits are protected, be calculated in such a manner as to comply with the requirements of Article 24.

Article 22

1. 1. In the case of a periodical payment to which this Article applies, the rate of the benefit, increased by the amount of any family allowances payable during the contingency, shall be such as to attain for the standard beneficiary, in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (b) of Article 7, at least 60 per cent of the total of the previous earnings of the beneficiary and of the amount of any family allowances payable to a person protected with the same family responsibilities as the standard beneficiary.
2. 2. The previous earnings of the beneficiary shall be calculated according to prescribed rules, and, where the persons protected are arranged in classes according to their earnings, their previous earnings may be calculated from the basic earnings of the classes to which they belonged.
3. 3. A maximum limit may be prescribed for the rate of the benefit or for the earnings taken into account for the calculation of the benefit, provided that the maximum limit is fixed in such a way that the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article are complied with where the previous earnings of the beneficiary are equal to or lower than the wage of a skilled manual male employee.
4. 4. The previous earnings of the beneficiary, the wage of the skilled manual male employee, the benefit and any family allowances shall be calculated on the same time basis.
5. 5. For the other beneficiaries the benefit shall bear a reasonable relation to the benefit for the standard beneficiary.
6. 6. For the purpose of this Article, a skilled manual male employee shall be--
   • (a) a fitter or turner in the manufacture of machinery other than electrical machinery; or
   • (b) a person deemed typical of skilled labour selected in accordance with the provisions of the following paragraph; or
   • (c) a person whose earnings are such as to be equal to or greater than the earnings of 75 per cent of all the persons protected, such earnings to be determined on the basis of annual or shorter periods as may be prescribed; or
   • (d) a person whose earnings are equal to 125 per cent of the average earnings of all the persons protected.
7. 7. The person deemed typical of skilled labour for the purposes of subparagraph (b) of the preceding paragraph shall be a person employed in the major group of economic activities with the largest number of economically active male persons protected in the contingency referred to in subparagraph (b) of Article 7 in the division comprising the largest number of such persons; for this purpose, the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities adopted by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations at its Seventh Session on 27 August 1948, as amended up to 1968 and reproduced in the Annex to this Convention, or such classification as at any time further amended, shall be used.
8. 8. Where the rate of benefit varies by region, the skilled manual male employee may be determined for each region in accordance with paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Article.
9. 9. The wage of the skilled manual male employee shall be determined on the basis of the rates of wages for normal hours of work fixed by collective agreements, by or in pursuance of national legislation, where applicable, or by custom, including cost-of-living allowances if any; where such rates differ by region but paragraph 8 of this Article is not applied, the median rate shall be taken.

Article 23

1. 1. In the case of a periodical payment to which this Article applies, the rate of the benefit, increased by the amount of any family allowances payable during the contingency, shall be such as to attain for the standard beneficiary, in respect of the contingency referred to in subparagraph (b) of Article 7, at least 60 per cent of the total of the wage of an ordinary adult male labourer and of the amount of any family allowances payable to a person protected with the same family responsibilities as the standard beneficiary.
2. 2. The wage of the ordinary adult male labourer, the benefit and any family allowances shall be calculated on the same time basis.
3. 3. For the other beneficiaries, the benefit shall bear a reasonable relation to the benefit for the standard beneficiary.
4. 4. For the purpose of this Article, the ordinary adult male labourer shall be--
   • (a) a person deemed typical of unskilled labour in the manufacture of machinery other than electrical machinery; or
   • (b) a person deemed typical of unskilled labour selected in accordance with the provisions of the following paragraph.
5. 5. The person deemed typical of unskilled labour for the purpose of subparagraph (b) of the preceding paragraph shall be a person employed in the major group of economic activities with the largest number of economically active male persons protected in the contingency referred to in subparagraph (b) of Article 7 in the division comprising the largest number of such persons; for this purpose, the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities adopted by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations at its Seventh Session on 27 August 1948, as amended up to 1968 and reproduced in the Annex to this Convention, or such classification as at any time further amended, shall be used.
6. 6. Where the rate of benefit varies by region, the ordinary adult male labourer may be determined for each region in accordance with paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Article.
7. 7. The wage of the ordinary adult male labourer shall be determined on the basis of the rates of wages for normal hours of work fixed by collective agreements, by or in pursuance of national legislation, where applicable, or by custom, including cost-of-living allowances, if any; where such rates differ by region but paragraph 6 of this Article is not applied, the median rate shall be taken.

Article 24

In the case of a periodical payment to which this Article applies--

• (a) the rate of the benefit shall be determined according to a prescribed scale or a scale fixed by the competent public authority in conformity with prescribed rules;
• (b) such rate may be reduced only to the extent by which the other means of the family of the beneficiary exceed prescribed substantial amounts or substantial amounts fixed by the competent public authority in conformity with prescribed rules;
• (c) the total of the benefit and any other means, after deduction of the substantial amounts referred to in subparagraph (b), shall be sufficient to maintain the family of the beneficiary in health and decency, and shall be not less than the corresponding benefit calculated in accordance with the requirements of Article 23;
• (d) the provisions of subparagraph (c) shall be deemed to be satisfied if the total amount of sickness benefits paid under this Convention exceeds by at least 30 per cent the total amount of benefits which would be obtained by applying the provisions of Article 23 and the provisions of subparagraph (b) of Article 19.

Article 25

Where the legislation of a Member makes the right to the sickness benefit referred to in Article 18 conditional upon the fulfilment of a qualifying period by the person protected, the conditions governing the qualifying period shall be such as not to deprive of the right to benefit persons who normally belong to the categories of persons protected.

Article 26

1. 1. The sickness benefit referred to in Article 18 shall be granted throughout the contingency: Provided that the grant of benefit may be limited to not less than 52 weeks in each case of incapacity, as prescribed.
2. 2. Where a declaration made in virtue of Article 2 is in force, the grant of the sickness benefit referred to in Article 18 may be limited to not less than 26 weeks in each case of incapacity, as prescribed.
3. 3. Where the legislation of a Member provides that sickness benefit is not payable for an initial period of suspension of earnings, such period shall not exceed three days.

Article 27

1. 1. In the case of the death of a person who was in receipt of, or qualified for, the sickness benefit referred to in Article 18, a funeral benefit shall, under prescribed conditions, be paid to his survivors, to any other dependants or to the person who has borne the expense of the funeral.
2. 2. A member may derogate from the provision of paragraph 1 of this Article where--
   • (a) it has accepted the obligations of Part IV of the Invalidity, Old-Age and Survivors' Benefits Convention, 1967;
   • (b) it provides in its legislation for cash sickness benefit at a rate of not less than 80 per cent of the earnings of the persons protected; and
   • (c) the majority of persons protected are covered by voluntary insurance which is supervised by the public authorities and which provides a funeral grant.

PART IV. COMMON PROVISIONS

Article 28

1. 1. A benefit to which a person protected would otherwise be entitled in compliance with this Convention may be suspended to such extent as may be prescribed--
   • (a) as long as the person concerned is absent from the territory of the Member;
   • (b) as long as the person concerned is being indemnified for the contingency by a third party, to the extent of the indemnity;
   • (c) where the person concerned has made a fraudulent claim;
   • (d) where the contingency has been caused by a criminal offence committed by the person concerned;
   • (e) where the contingency has been caused by the serious and wilful misconduct of the person concerned;
   • (f) where the person concerned, without good cause, neglects to make use of the medical care or the rehabilitation services placed at his disposal, or fails to comply with rules prescribed for verifying the occurrence or continuance of the contingency or for the conduct of beneficiaries;
   • (g) in the case of the sickness benefit referred to in Article 18, as long as the person concerned is maintained at public expense or at the expense of a social security institution or service; and
   • (h) in the case of the sickness benefit referred to in Article 18, as long as the person concerned is in receipt of another social security cash benefit, other than a family benefit, subject to the part of the benefit which is suspended not exceeding the other benefit.
2. 2. In the cases and within the limits prescribed, part of the benefit otherwise due shall be paid to the dependants of the person concerned.

Article 29

1. 1. Every claimant shall have a right of appeal in the case of refusal of the benefit or complaint as to its quality or quantity.
2. 2. Where in the application of this Convention a government department responsible to a legislature is entrusted with the administration of medical care, the right of appeal provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article may be replaced by a right to have a complaint concerning the refusal of medical care or the quality of the care received investigated by the appropriate authority.

Article 30

1. 1. Each Member shall accept general responsibility for the due provision of the benefits provided in compliance with this Convention and shall take all measures required for this purpose.
2. 2. Each Member shall accept general responsibility for the proper administration of the institutions and services concerned in the application of this Convention.

Article 31

Where the administration is not entrusted to an institution regulated by the public authorities or to a government department responsible to a legislature--

• (a) representatives of the persons protected shall participate in the management under prescribed conditions;
• (b) national legislation shall, where appropriate, provide for the participation of representatives of employers;
• (c) national legislation may likewise decide as to the participation of representatives of the public authorities.

Article 32

Each Member shall, within its territory, assure to non-nationals who normally reside or work there equality of treatment with its own nationals as regards the right to the benefits provided for in this Convention.

Article 33

1. 1. A Member--
   • (a) which has accepted the obligations of this Convention without availing itself of the exceptions and exclusions provided for in Article 2 and Article 3,
   • (b) which provides over-all higher benefits than those provided in this Convention and whose total relevant expenditure on medical care and sickness benefits amounts to at least 4 per cent of its national income, and
   • (c) which satisfies at least two of the three following conditions:
     • (i) it covers a percentage of the economically active population which is at least ten points higher than the percentage required by Article 10, subparagraph (b), and by Article 19, subparagraph (b), or a percentage of all residents which is at least ten points higher than the percentage required by Article 10, subparagraph (c),
     • (ii) it provides medical care of a curative and preventive nature of an appreciably higher standard than that prescribed by Article 13,
     • (iii) it provides sickness benefit corresponding to a percentage at least ten points higher than is required by Articles 22 and 23,

may, after consultation with the most representative organisations of employers and workers, where such exist, make temporary derogations from particular provisions of Parts II and III of this Convention on condition that such derogation shall neither fundamentally reduce nor impair the essential guarantees of this Convention.

1. 2. Each Member which has made such a derogation shall indicate in its reports upon the application of this Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation the position of its law and practice as regards such derogation and any progress made towards complete application of the terms of the Convention.

Article 34

This Convention shall not apply to--

• (a) contingencies which occurred before the coming into force of the Convention for the Member concerned;
• (b) benefits in contingencies occurring after the coming into force of the Convention for the Member concerned in so far as the rights to such benefits are derived from periods preceding that date.

PART V. FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 35

This Convention revises the Sickness Insurance (Industry) Convention, 1927, and the Sickness Insurance (Agriculture) Convention, 1927.

Article 36

1. 1. In conformity with the provisions of Article 75 of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952, Part III of that Convention and the relevant provisions of other Parts thereof shall cease to apply to any Member having ratified this Convention as from the date at which this Convention is binding on that Member and no declaration under Article 3 is in force.
2. 2. Acceptance of the obligations of this Convention shall, on condition that no declaration under Article 3 is in force, be deemed to constitute acceptance of the obligations of Part III of the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952, and the relevant provisions of other Parts thereof, for the purpose of Article 2 of the said Convention.

Article 37

If any Convention which may be adopted subsequently by the Conference concerning any subject or subjects dealt with in this Convention so provides, such provisions of this Convention as may be specified in the said Convention shall cease to apply to any Member having ratified the said Convention as from the date at which the said Convention comes into force for that Member.

Article 38

The formal ratifications of this Convention shall be communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration.

Article 39

1. 1. This Convention shall be binding only upon those Members of the International Labour Organisation whose ratifications have been registered with the Director-General.
2. 2. It shall come into force twelve months after the date on which the ratifications of two Members have been registered with the Director-General.
3. 3. Thereafter, this Convention shall come into force for any Member twelve months after the date on which its ratifications has been registered.

Article 40

1. 1. A Member which has ratified this Convention may denounce it after the expiration of ten years from the date on which the Convention first comes into force, by an act communicated to the Director-General of the International Labour Office for registration. Such denunciation shall not take effect until one year after the date on which it is registered.
2. 2. Each Member which has ratified this Convention and which does not, within the year following the expiration of the period of ten years mentioned in the preceding paragraph, exercise the right of denunciation provided for in this Article, will be bound for another period of ten years and, thereafter, may denounce this Convention at the expiration of each period of ten years under the terms provided for in this Article.

Article 41

1. 1. The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall notify all Members of the International Labour Organisation of the registration of all ratifications and denunciations communicated to him by the Members of the Organisation.
2. 2. When notifying the Members of the Organisation of the registration of the second ratification communicated to him, the Director-General shall draw the attention of the Members of the Organisation to the date upon which the Convention will come into force.

Article 42

The Director-General of the International Labour Office shall communicate to the Secretary-General of the United Nations for registration in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations full particulars of all ratifications and acts of denunciation registered by him in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Articles.

Article 43

At such times as it may consider necessary the Governing Body of the International Labour Office shall present to the General Conference a report on the working of this Convention and shall examine the desirability of placing on the agenda of the Conference the question of its revision in whole or in part.

Article 44

1. 1. Should the Conference adopt a new Convention revising this Convention in whole or in part, then, unless the new Convention otherwise provides:
   • (a) the ratification by a Member of the new revising Convention shall ipso jure involve the immediate denunciation of this Convention, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 40 above, if and when the new revising Convention shall have come into force;
   • (b) as from the date when the new revising Convention comes into force this Convention shall cease to be open to ratification by the Members.
2. 2. This Convention shall in any case remain in force in its actual form and content for those Members which have ratified it but have not ratified the revising Convention.

Article 45

The English and French versions of the text of this Convention are equally authoritative.