Looking at the broad history of Western Europe, one can say that it was during
the 18th century that civil rights were introduced, in the 19th century, political and
economic rights, in the 20th century, social rights.
This was not easily realized nor did it happen at the same pace in all countries.
Quite often, there were social and political struggles, economic crises, conflicts, wars,
revolutions.
Since the end of the 20th century, we see a global decline in social rights more or
less everywhere: in France, in Europe, in all the rich and developed countries.
Governments and bosses say that with economic and financial globalization, each
country must do better than the other. They have installed everywhere a fierce rivalry
between economies, in the name of freedom of trade and free exchange. To be
more “competitive”, they push for imposing less social rights, a lower buying capacity
of the majority of workers, more difficult working conditions, the reduction of financing
and competency of public services.
Its very visible aftermath is the steep increase in inequalities between a minority of
privileged persons and the majority of populations.
Origins of social protection in Western Europe
The social protection that gradually took shape was aimed at protecting the life of
each person against life’s risks, and this from birth to death. Therefore, it consisted
in assistance for the family (with child-birth), assistance in illness, unemployment,
exclusion, old-age.
New needs for social protection are coming up because of economic, social,
demographic developments and changes in the way of life among peoples (more and
more living in cities, more and more broken families due to divorce and separation of
couples; more and more persons who are aged and dependent for their daily needs;
greater mobility and precariousness of employment, etc.)
This social protection has a price. It consists in 1/3 of gross domestic product, 1/3 of
economic activities of rich countries and used for solidarity such as: solidarity among
single persons, childless couples, parents with children; solidarity from healthy
persons with the sick, the handicapped, dependents; solidarity from young and able-
bodied persons with the aged.
The sum alloted to the totality of social protection represents more than that used by
the states, regions and communes to finance public works, public services, public
administration.
But, these «expenses» yield great returns : better health for the population in
general, and therefore equally better health for labour ; less tough and less difficult
personal lives; a slightly better social climate; financial gains for numerous sectors of
the economy (chemical and pharmaceutical industries, health industries, retirement
homes, etc.).
During the 19th century, solidarity was essentially practised within the family. It was
necessary to have many children in the hope that they be able to work and help
their aging parents. Most families lived in the rural areas and several generations
lived under the same roof, which necessitated a minimum of solidarity between
generations.
Alongside this, one may get « charity » coming from churches and rich benefactors.
At the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century, in England, Germany,
France, in the U.S., industrialization intensified. Populations moved within countries
and big migrations took place between countries (from certain European countries
towards other more industrialized European countries; from Europe to the U.S., etc.)
Families broke down. Old types of solidarity became more difficult (to realize) and gradually
disappeared.
The struggles that ensued, on the one hand, and the need among certain employers
to maintain available and qualified labourers, on the other, enabled the birth of
solidarity systems, though still minimal and quite insufficient, within certain big
companies : maritime, mining, railway, etc.
After the war of 1914-1918, systems of social contributions among employers and
employees were progressively put in place to cover accidents at work, old age,
invalidity, sickness.
These forms of solidarity were often professional, limited to a company or to a
professional sector, but obligatory in this sector or this company for all salaried
workers and all the companies in the sector.
In the years 1920-1940, the systems made available to a minority of workers were
extended to others. With the crisis of 1929 and the sudden rise of unemployment, a
special solidarity for the unemployed was sometimes put in place.
The installation of Social Security in France, from 1945–1950
After the war of 1939-1945, new political power struggles in each country, in France
in particular, as in the international geopolitical power struggles, led to important
legislative developments. In France, it is with the 1945 laws that a whole legislation
and regulation were to be formed to gradually build the system of social protection
which prevailed in this country during the period called the “Glorious Thirties”.
Little by little, almost the whole population were to benefit from a system of social
protection, either through a particular scheme or through the general scheme. In
1945, legislation had envisaged a universal system, identical and equal for all, but
this could not materialize, due to the attitude in certain social categories which did
not want to “lose” the level that was already achieved by their particular (trade or
industry) scheme (railway employees, electricians, mine-workers, etc.) or did not
want to contribute to the high level demanded by the general scheme (free-lancers,
craftsmen, traders, agricultural planters, etc.)
The funding of social protection systems has always been the subject of big debates :
whether it be by taxes, with the understanding that all persons of a country will
benefit from the social protection, whatever their situation may be within an economic
activity ; or by social contributions, paid by both employer and employee, which
means that in order to benefit from this social protection system, one must first have
contributed to the fund.
In Germany, it’s the obligatory professional insurance sytem that predominates.
Contributions are paid proportionate to one’s salary and social rights are justified
either by the practise of a professional activity or by kinship with the worker.
In England, the system of financing through taxation predominates. Social rights
ensue from citizenship.
The French system has recourse to both: to contributions of employer and
employee; and to taxation, to taxes more or less directly alloted to funding for certain
social security expenditures.
Present debates and stakes of social protection
Policies concerning the family
The policy regarding assistance to families can be concretized in several ways :
granting special leaves to facilitate maternity (days of leave paid to the mother,
before and after delivery); granting days of leave to facilitate care for the child’s first
months (for mother and father); direct allowances to help pay for certified nannies or
private persons, or the opening of day nurseries and care centers for little children.
All through infancy and the youth of children, forms of aid are still be accorded ;
this continues to be practised in France, with allowances given to parents up to their
child’s majority age, “family” allowances paid according to the number of children, or
deduction in the taxes parents would normally pay according to their income.
There are ongoing debates: Should “allowances” be given to all families
with children, including families with high income and owning big properties?
Should the allowance given from the first child on be increased or should a ceiling
be set starting from a certain number of children? What ceiling should be fixed for
fiscal advantages related to the presence of children in the couple? In a woman’s
professional career and ultimate retirement, how to take into account the fact that
it is mostly the women who interrupt, in varying lengths of time, their professional
activities to ensure the care of young children?
Health policies
In France, financing mostly comes from social contributions of employees and
employers, though we know that these latter have more and more ways of getting
totally or partially exempted from certain social contributions (for reasons of
placement or employment incentives, etc.) Besides, since the start of the 1990s,
a Generalized Social Contribution (CSG) exists, more or less paid by all earning
families and adjusted according to their income.
Its objective is to cover the health expenses of persons, by contributions, on
the one hand, and by public services, on the other. This concerns the cost of
medical consultations (at the general practitioners, specialists, etc.), the cost of
medication bought in pharmacies, the cost of special treatments (massage, radiation,
reeducation, etc.), the cost of surgery and hospitalization, the cost of transport
(ambulance), cost of preventive measures against possible future illness (medical
tests, etc.)
The policies employed for twenty years now have resulted in raising the remaining
cost directly charged to each patient who quite often must pay more obligatory social
contributions, who must try to spend for a complementary insurance or a private one
which will take full or partial charge of the complement which is not reimbursed by
Social Security’s Health Insurance. Medicines which are paid beforehand by Social
Security are not covered by these.
Hospitalization is a very important health and financial issue. The current
governments are reducing the resources attributed to hospitalization in the public
sector, favouring the network of private clinics, some of which are now on the stock
exchange list.
Debates are still on about financing private medicine, about financing the
pharmaceutical industry, from production by the chemical industry to retail distribution
by pharmacies. With the pretext of creating responsibility among the sick,
governments are leaving parts of certain medical fees to be personally paid by the
patient; its most frequent aftermath is that the poorest families lose access to certain
treatments (dental, for example).
Old Age
Concerning retirement or pensions, the attacks by government have been numerous
during the past fifteen years.
While the country is suffering massive unemployment (around 10% of the working
population), since 1993, through diverse steps and reforms, the retirement age
has been pushed higher. In fact, while the legal age is still 60, many persons
are forced to work more years (if they can) to try to gain a less feeble retirement
pension. Normally, a retirement pension should take into account 75% of the
quoted salary (that of the best 10 years of the person’s professional career).
As a whole, despite several attempts of governments and managements, retirement
in France is still working according to the so-called system “of distribution”: it is
today’s active workers, by their contributions deducted monthly from their salary, who
pay for persons who are presently retired. And the act of contributing now gives the
active workers the right to receive, “when their turn comes”, a retirement more or less
adjusted according to their employment salary and the number of years they have
worked and contributed.
There are constant attacks of banks and financial institutions to render inevitable
a system that works on the basis of capitalization, where each individual can gain
retirement benefits according to profits, during retirement, of the capital which he will
have gathered during his active professional life.
Unemployment and Social exclusion
Assistance for the jobless is also subjected to attacks, to questionings and
diminution. There are already ongoing fights around the inventory of unemployed
and “jobless” persons.
Regularly, restrictions are established to diminish the number of unemployed persons
who could apply for benefits, to reduce the level of their unemployment benefits, to
get something back in exchange, etc. Assistance towards reintegration is particularly
inefficient; what is essential is to have dynamic economic and financial policies that
create employment linked to a policy of reducing working hours; but the opposite is what is happening.
Dependence
With the aging of part of the population, old and very old persons are having
difficulties assuring a decent daily life, whether on their own or with the help of
relatives.
These new needs are still far from being effectively addressed by the collectivity, be it
by social protection or by territorial public services.
Handicap
Persons can suffer from handicaps, be they physical or mental, since birth or in the course
of life, eventually in line with their professional activity, by illness or due to accidents. In
France, the coverage of handicapped persons is still very much insufficient in many fields :
schooling, professional training, access to jobs adapted to handicapped workers ; rendering
city life and the surroundings accessible to handicapped persons.
Gérard Gourguechon, Solidaires
14th Sept. 2009