Public and private companies owe more than 9 billion dinars to social security funds, Nader Ajabi, director general of social security, said on Monday.
Speaking at a study day organized by the Parliamentary Academy at the Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) on social policy in Tunisia, Ajabi added that the private sector owes social security funds 8,200 million dinars, of which 3,500 million dinars are considered large debts that are difficult to pay.
At the same time, public companies owe 1,200 million dinars to the social security funds, of which 420 million dinars are owed to the social security institutions by a single company operating in the transport sector, the same source added.
Ajabi stressed the need to find new mechanisms to ensure the survival of the social security funds, whose situation today requires major reforms to maintain their financial equilibrium.
In this context, he pointed out that the social security system is based on the sharing of contributions between generations, noting that the improvement in life expectancy at birth and the increase in the number of people receiving retirement pensions have complicated the financial situation of the social security funds.
Ajabi further said that the social security system in Tunisia meets the international standards of the International Labor Organization, with the exception of the unemployment pension.
