The social protection of migrants as Ibero-American citizens

Within the framework of the State visit of President Petro to Spain, Colombia ratified the Ibero-American Multilateral Agreement on Social Security (CMISS), adopted by the heads of State and Government since the Ibero-American Summit in Salamanca, in 2005, and which entered into force in 2011, sponsored and promoted by the Ibero-American Social Security Organization (OISS).

Now, the Agreement will be applied in 13 countries of the Ibero-American space: in Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, Ecuador, Spain, El Salvador, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Dominican Republic, Uruguay and, of course, Colombia.

Thirteen countries covering more than 400 million inhabitants.

Which means that it is the second instrument of this type that brings together the largest number of States and population, only behind the Regulations of the European Union and the only one that covers countries from two different continents, America and Europe.

The purpose of the CMISS is the protection of the rights to obtain contributory pensions of migrant workers, derived from their contribution to the national social security systems, within the group formed by the countries where it is already in force or in the future.

And it applies to people who are or have been subject to the legislation of one or more of those state parties, as well as their family members, beneficiaries and successors, regarding economic benefits for disability, old age, survival (widows and orphans). and those caused by accidents at work and occupational diseases.

Thus, the loss of contributory rights that would be caused by not being able to meet, in each State in which contributions have been made, is avoided, the minimum contribution times required to be entitled to the benefits that, for example, in the case of the retirement range between 15 or 30 years depending on the country in question.

To this end, the Agreement establishes the possibility of accumulating, totalizing, the periods of contributions in each of the member states in which it is in force, thus facilitating compliance with this highly demanding requirement of national legislation.

In addition, this possibility of totaling the periods of contribution to social security shows the importance of the contribution —and, with it, of being in a formal employment situation— to achieve adequate social coverage.

At the same time, it eliminates the uncertainty that supposes, for those who have worked in several States, the question of what their contributions are for if there are difficulties or demands of the national systems that are impossible to meet throughout their working lives.

Undoubtedly, this possibility of accumulation of contributions is the main effect of the CMISS for Ibero-American citizens, but it also contemplates other aspects of great interest and importance, such as: equal treatment, for the purposes of social security, of all people, whatever your nationality;

payment of benefits obtained under its protection in a country other than the one that recognized them;

or the determination of the applicable social security legislation in the case of posted workers.

Assuming the latter, which is becoming increasingly important in a world in which current economic activity increasingly requires that a significant number of workers, employed or self-employed, temporarily move to other countries,

raising the dilemma of whether they are obliged to contribute in the place where they do their daily work or whether they can continue to do so in their country of origin to avoid the loss of social rights in terms of pensions.

This situation is also contemplated and regulated, avoiding duplication of contributions or informality that harm both workers and their companies.

All this highlights the importance of having an instrument that makes it possible to preserve the social rights of citizens, in a space like the Ibero-American, in which millions of people live outside their country of origin, which places this area geographical area as the one where more migratory movements take place worldwide.

The Ibero-American space, in which there is no true political or economic integration, as it does in other areas where there are already multilateral agreements for the coordination of social security legislation, such as in the European Union, which means that the application of this Agreement, which does not entail any change in national legislation, nor any cession of sovereignty, is subject to the decision of each State to join it, as the 13 aforementioned countries have already done and others are doing.

All of this makes the CMISS an instrument that can be described as unique and exemplary, as has been shown not only by the Ibero-American Summits but also by the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Council, which have set it as an example to follow. , or the Portuguese-speaking countries, the African Maghreb States or those of the Russian Federation to which it has been presented as good practice on different occasions.

And that, also, is clearly framed, among others, in the Sustainable Development Goal no. 10: “Reduce inequality in and between countries”.

The Multilateral Agreement is, therefore, of special relevance in its own sphere and, specifically, the incorporation of Colombia means that all the countries of South America, with the sole exception of Venezuela, are already part of it.

More than 400 million potential beneficiaries, of which more than 120,000 have already seen these benefits through the files processed under its protection.

But it also has a special significance for Colombia, because traditionally this has been a country with high rates of emigration and which only had signed bilateral social security agreements with more than five countries: Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Spain and Uruguay.

Now, through their full inclusion in this Agreement, and without prejudice to maintaining the validity of those, in a single act, these countries rise to 12, with seven of which Colombia does not have agreements in force and in which, the fellow citizens who at some point in their lives had to emigrate to them, will see their rights to obtain a contributory pension protected.

From the Ibero-American Social Security Organization, we will continue promoting the application of this important instrument that formalizes employment and guarantees the social protection of migrants, generating Ibero-American citizenship.

General Secretary Ibero-American Social Security Organization

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