Tenders are invited for Comparative Review of Injury and Death Benefits in the GCC Countries. Closing Date: 13 Jun 2025 Type: Consultancy Themes: Disaster Management/Protection and Human Rights Background and Rationale for the assignment: Despite progress in occupational safety and health, 2.9 million workers die every year as a result of occupational accidents or work-related diseases. In addition to these avoidable deaths, many workers are victims of non-fatal work-related injuries; 395 million non-fatal work-related injuries each year result in more than four days of absence from work. These numbers show that work-related accidents and diseases still occur too frequently, with devastating impacts on workers, enterprises and entire communities and economies. Employment injury benefits schemes sit at the core of national social protection systems; they serve to mitigate the severe financial and social consequences that arise from work related accidents, occupational diseases, and deaths. In line with up-to-date social security standards, - especially the ILO Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964 (No. 121) and its related Recommendation (No. 121), the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102), and the Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), C019 - Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation), and 1925 (No. 19), and Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention, 1962 (No. 118) States should ensure the protection of workers in the event of employment injury and occupational diseases through the provision of adequate medical care and rehabilitation services as well as periodical cash benefits (income replacement) in case of temporary incapacity for work, partial and total disability, and death (i.e., survivor benefits to dependents). The objective is not only compensatory but also preventive and integrative, supporting reintegration into the labour market through rehabilitation services and linking with workplace safety systems. Beyond income protection, a robust employment injury and death compensation system contributes to national development goals. It upholds fundamental rights to social security and safe working conditions, reduces productivity losses through timely medical care and reintegration support, and prevents impoverishment of families due to deaths or disabilities. Moreover, such a system can serve as a gateway for broader social insurance inclusion, particularly in GCC countries where key elements of national social insurance schemes are still evolving for both national and migrant workers in the private sector. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the strategic relevance of employment injury protection schemes is particularly acute. GCC economies are characterised by large-scale, labour-intensive development agendassuch as Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 and its infrastructure expansion for the FIFA World Cup 2034, in addition to ongoing urban and logistic mega-projects in several countries. These initiatives rely heavily on labour, both national and migrant workers, especially in high-risk or vulnerable sectors such as construction, agriculture, domestic work, transport and energy. The high-risk nature of the work in these sectors, coupled with widespread subcontracting, increases the likelihood of employment-related injuries, while also making accountability diffuse and weak. Without effective and enforceable employment injury including death compensation schemes, the economic and physical risks of these development strategies are disproportionately externalised onto low-paid and vulnerable workers. Notably, employment injury protection is becoming increasingly important for nationals. As part of economic diversification efforts, GCC governments are encouraging nationals to join private-sector and non-traditional occupationsmany of which are now subject to the same workplace risks long faced by migrant workers. Amongst others, these include jobs in logistics, construction management, and platform-based delivery work, with variations of number of national workers employed in these sectors amongst GCC countries. In the absence of universal employment injury schemes, nationals entering these sectors face growing exposure without adequate coverage. This underlines the urgency of integrating employment injury schemes into a broader, inclusive social insurance framework that support both equity and labour market transitions. This reality is further compounded by both traditional and emerging risks in the GCC labour market. Conventional occupational hazards (e.g., falls and machinery accidents) are now being amplified by new challenges. Chief among these is climate change, which is driving a surge in heat-related illnesses and fatalities, especially for outdoor workers during increasingly hot weather. According to ILO estimates, 2.41 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat each year. In the Arab States region (including the GCC), the percentage of workers exposed to excessive heat goes up to 83.6%, and the number of occupational injuries attributable to excessive heat was 1,771,890 in 2020. Across the GCC, migrant workers employed in the private sector are, in principle, entitled to receive medical care and income support during periods of recovery following employment injury, in addition to lump sum-compensation in case of permanent disability or death caused by an employment injury6, as provided under national labour laws. In most jurisdictions benefits are payable by the employer under employer liability arrangements, though some countries have introduced mandatory social insurance schemes, and in other countries private insurance products are available in the market for employers to manage their liabilities.7 The coverage of occupational diseases is inconsistent across countries and schemes. Separate mechanisms are in place under traditional law for compensation of disability or death cases that result from unintentional killing or culpable homicide (including typically in the case of road accidents), sometimes referred to as blood-money compensation. There is limited consolidated evidence on enforcement and monitoring of these entitlements, and a concern that level of effective access are limited especially amongst most vulnerable workers. All GCC countries require employers to report occupational injuries to relevant authoritiestypically the police and the Ministry of Labour or its equivalentwhich are then expected to initiate an investigation. But there is little evidence of systematic oversight to ensure that compensation and medical costs are actually paid. In practice, legal provisions are often disregardedwhether due to lack of awareness, administrative neglect, or because compliance imposes significant costs on employers (due to employer liability schemes). As a result of these different factors, the formal rights of injured migrant workers are frequently not upheld in practice, leaving many, especially those working in remote areas, and in vulnerable sectors, without adequate redress. In addition to employment-injury specific arrangements, most legislations provide employer-financed benefits for natural death and disability, in the form of an end-of-service indemnity (EOSI). The complementarity between compensation schemes for employment and natural disability/death is important in the region, in relation to the mechanisms for determination and presumption of causes of death and accidents. Concerns with access to benefits and enforcement, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, have led to number of ongoing efforts at reforming EOSI systems across the region. Countries of origin have also adopted several measures to reduce risks and protect their workers abroad, including overseas welfare funds that provide some compensation for both work-related and non-work-related injuries and deaths, and mandatory insurance packages, especially life and injury insurance. While such measures do not substitute the responsibility of countries (and employers) of destination, the provide important complementary protection. They have at the same time be criticized because of the fragmented and duplicative nature in which they operate, and for the fact they put an additional financial burden on workers. As mentioned, GCC countries vary in how they regulate employment injury compensation including social insurance schemes, employer liability schemes, and private insurance schemes. This diversity provides an opportunity to conduct a comparative review of national frameworks, identify reform opportunities, and support alignment with international standards. Notably, three GCC countries - Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Oman - have established social insurance-based employment injury schemes covering both national and migrant workers. While these offer more institutionalized and rights-based forms of protection in line with international social security standards, they are not exempt from challenges related to effective access, especially for most vulnerable categories of workers. Recent international scrutiny of occupational deaths and injuries in the GCCparticularly in high-risk sectors such as constructionhas also further increased political and public pressure for reform. Additionally, the current momentum provides a strategic opportunity to support policy dialogue and legal reforms. In particular, Omans ongoing employment injury reforms and the anticipated FIFA World Cup 2034 in Saudi Arabia are expected to serve as catalysts for system-wide improvements in employment injury, including death compensation, prevention and rehabilitation. These developments can serve as entry points for advancing inclusive and comprehensive employment injury protection for all workers, including migrants and women. As part of the new STREAM programme, in addition to advancing policy and regulatory reforms of Tender Link : https://reliefweb.int/job/4157162/comparative-review-injury-and-death-benefits-gcc-countries
