Opinion | Who pays for Nepal’s informal workers’ security?
Summary
Nepal’s social security system still covers only a tiny fraction of its informal workers, despite most of the workforce being employed informally. The article argues that the real challenge is not registration alone, but creating portable, affordable and sustainable protection that follows workers across jobs and locations.
Key Points
- Over 86 percent of Nepal’s workers are in informal employment, but only about 1,500 informal or self-employed workers are registered with the Social Security Fund.
- The biggest barrier is not just enrollment but funding and portability, since informal workers often change jobs, locations and incomes frequently.
- India’s e-Shram portal and Social Security Code are presented as examples Nepal can learn from to build a broader database and delivery system.
- The article calls for subsidised protection, flexible contributions and local-government-led registration to turn social security into real coverage.
