The Angolan Insurance Regulation and Supervision Agency (“ARSEG”) and the General Labour Inspectorate (“IGT”) signed, on 14 August, an institutional cooperation protocol with the aim of strengthening the protection of workers and ensuring compliance with legislation relating to occupational accidents and occupational diseases (the “Protocol”).

Through this Protocol, the parties agree to establish forms of collaboration that will enable: the establishment of premises to ensure increased supervision in order to safeguard the right of workers and their beneficiaries to insurance against occupational accidents and diseases; the carrying out of joint activities to raise awareness among companies regarding the need to contract such insurance; the provision of training to IGT technicians on insurance matters; and the promotion of digitalisation and the exchange of information necessary to enforce workers’ rights.

Under the terms of the Protocol, the IGT is required to intensify the verification of the existence of occupational accident and disease insurance policies in all companies, and to issue reports and notifications, as well as recommendations for the correction of irregularities, against companies lacking such insurance. ARSEG, in turn, is obliged to provide information regarding institutions that do not hold such insurance policies, so that they may be targeted for inspection actions.

Companies must ensure that they observe this legal obligation, thereby guaranteeing the protection of workers and avoiding situations of non-compliance during inspections, which are expected to become more frequent.