Establishing a Social Security System for Private Sector Workers The social protection system in the oPt is very scattered and falls short of providing effective income security and access to health care for all Palestinians. There exist some social insurance schemes for workers in formal employment, which however, cover only few social security contingencies and mainly public sector employees. Even if the Retirement Law No. 7 of 2005 provides the legal basis for old-age insurance for public and private sector employees, the application of the law remains exclusively to the public sector. Besides, neither employment injury benefits nor unemployment and maternity insurance, and health care benefits are yet implemented. Therefore, with the lack of a unified social security law, the oPt remains short of an effective and comprehensive social security system that extends coverage for all workers in the formal economy and their family members, as a means for providing income security, combating poverty and social exclusion. The oPt also lacks a tripartite social security institution which could administer and delivery social insurance benefits to insured workers and their family members. While the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) launched in 2011 a Social Protection Sector Strategy, there is not yet a Social Security Sector Strategy in place. A Social Security Sector Strategy agreed upon by tripartite stakeholders and complementing the Social Protection Sector Strategy, is of utmost importance for complementing the different visions of the respective ministries and for providing a framework for comprehensive social security and protection benefits for Palestinian workers and their families in the long-run. In order to accelerate the process of developing a comprehensive social security and protection system, the Palestinian Prime Minister established at the beginning of 2012 a National Tripartite Social Security Committee, which first task will cover three dimensions: a) a vision for a Palestinian social security sector strategy with clear priorities, b) actuarial study for the establishment of a social security law covering pensions, employment injuries and maternity benefits, and c) tripartite institution building for social security administration, including capacity building for reviewing social security legislation and national social security policies. Against this backdrop, the ILO undertook a series of consultations with the tripartite constituents over the course of 2012 and early 2013 the last of which was chaired by H.E the Prime Minister in order to discuss the key challenges and priorities with regards to social security in the oPt and agree on the scope of the ILO intervention to address these priorities. In line with the National Development Plan and the series of tripartite consultations, ILO’s work under this project will be focused on supporting the work of the National Tripartite Social Security Committee to promote the establishment of a social security sector strategy and the progressive establishment of a comprehensive social insurance system for workers (ILO’s vertical social security dimension). Specifically, it will work to strengthen the knowledge and capacities of tripartite constituents to develop and implement comprehensive social security policies, based on social dialogue, international social security standards and world wide good practices.