ABSTRACT
Construction projects in Tanzania continue to depend on informal workers hired without contracts and operating in unsafe and hazardous environments while lacking formal social protection. Findings from this study confirm that there is a high injury rate in the sector, low enrolment in formal social insurance schemes, and workers lack contracts. To address their social protection needs, informal construction workers are forming associations to collectively search for jobs and provide informal social insurance for themselves. Although not many workers have joined such associations, members appreciate the services offered and acknowledge that associations act as cushioning mechanisms to assist workers in a flexible manner during their times of need. Public formal social insurance schemes seem not to fit workers’ specific social insurance needs including flexibility, timeliness, and rates of premiums against services offered. Thus, there is a need for a more inclusive approach in addressing the low enrolment rate and contribution to formal social insurance schemes.
