INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE.

Evening Star, Issue 14688, 4 October 1911, Page 8

INDUSTRIAL INSURANCE.

j [By 11. 1). Bedford.] j No. o. j INVALIDITT. There are only two countries which so * far have developed a comprehensive scheme of insurance against, invalidity. These countries are Austria and Germany. As T have before mentioned, invalidity means a more or less permanent loss of earning power, especially that duo to the gradual deterioration of the physical powers of the I worker. Disability, arising; from uuuj porary sickness, is provided for by a, speI cial fund. Only when the sickness l>ei comes chronic is it accounted invalidity. 1 The provision for old age naturally merges i in any scheme covering invalidity, and so ! wo find that in both the countries named old age iff regarded as being one particular : kind of disability. I will first dead briefly with the system lin Austria.. According to the law of j 1906. all persons holding positions with I private employers who are 13 years of age 1 and over, and” whose weekly wages exceed 10s. arc compelled to insure against in- | validity. There are a number of classes of : workers exempt from the scheme, but the I great bulk of wage-earners ore included. 1 The svstoui is based upon the contributions j of the employed and the employer?, supple- ' mooted by grams from the State. Any } insured person, regardless of age, is cn- ■ titled to an invalidity pension in case he I is disabled from following bis ordinary ocj cupation. Disabilities arc not regarded j unless they are “ occupational,” which j means a physical or mental inability to peri form the labor 011 which the injured peri son has previously been engaged. The 1 pension, however, is not granted where j the insured person, though disabled, is able ; ui earn an amount exceeding the pension, I or where the disability was caused by him j intentionally with, a view to the pension. I or during the commission of an illegal act j for which he has been convicted. The | benefits provided by the. law consist of, j (irstlv, an old ape pension ; secondly, what ' is specifically called an invalidity pension: j thirdly, a pension to the surviving widow; fourthly, schooling benefit, for the surviv!mg children. The claim to an old age : pension may be made utter for 480 j month? have been paid, regardless of ) whether the claimant is disabled in any 1 f.,rni or whether he continues to be employed. The period of 4SO uiomhs ordij ua.fi!v mean? 4(1 year.?, and as the obliga- > tion to insure begins with the 18th year. the normal date 0/ beginning the. old ag" I pension is at the 58th year of age. It is 1 to be observed that this pension is in m> | way dependent upon the poverty even j incapacity of the person insured. _ Every- ; one has an absolute right to claim his pension after working for 40 years and paying i the contributions levied on him during : that time. Where Ihe insured person ■ dies. leaving a widow, she becomes entitled to one-half of the pension which her busj band was receiving or entitled to receive, at j (he. time of his death. To be eligible, tor | a widow’s pension the marriage must have j taken place one year before the death of | thi* husband, and '.he hitter roust have : been under 50 year? of age at the tune of i his marriage Divorce or separation Horn 1 the husband disentitles the widow to the : pension. .File pension runs from the tu.-- ! dav of the month following the- husband ? 1 death until the decease or remarriage 01 i the widow. In the latu-r event a settlement is made by paying three times 1m amount of the annual pension to which Air was entitled. 'Che schooling bunein amounts to one-third of the pension to I which the deceased father would have hwn entitled. The. pension is devoted to the education of the children, and continuer until each chib! has reached the age ol u 1 wars. Thi.? bermiit i,- iu addition to tb. pension received by the widow. It must lie noted that each child is entitled to the one-third iodical-vl. but so long as themother is receiving the widow s pension the total benefit received by the children i cannot, exceed 13 per cent, of the amount, j 1,0 which the, deceased fnlbe.r would have been entitled if living. The German scheme of invalidity insurance is substantially the same as the Austrian, and has been in operation jor over i2O year?. In 1908 there were 15.?,26.000 persons insured, which represented 242 per thousand of population. Emm this it. will he seen that nearly the whole of the adult male population conn- within the scope. 01 the system. The income providing the j insurance fund 1? about iv 14.000.000 3. yeai. 1 Of this eight million pounds was, in 1903. distributed tor benefits, and rmaiiv ■ £1.000,000 whs absorbed iu the cost of ad-

j ministration. '1 he balance was eafried to til., reserve funib This latter fund now stands at over .0 million pounds. Tit” total receipts of the insurance, system for the year mentioned ncre. contributed in 1 foil,■■wjng ]iro|K.r tions : —£4.400,000

I hv the employers, and tbe same amount- by ! ih,. employe.*,; £2.200.000 represented tin : sui.tvi-dv of tie Imtvrrt'.il Ur.vc-rnment.; anr i mmt-her £?..OOO.COii aeented as itrteteat an. : earnings of 'he. reserve fund. 'The eontn j iniMnni; >»I '.•tn[iioyer:- ami employed : made’ by moans of the’ purrhase. of m..ui , ane.e stamps, the struttit being preserve: i v the pavers a.-, eva'lenre ot the payrneuts : The iJ:v.'.n e-d perse.;:.-. :ie.y be. housed ale i ..:ared tor in iTovei rnucut ir.6tiiuLiou.-i i I they so desire in lieu ,-f receiving poi ..inw. About £1.000,000 a year is spent it .tier tipkccp <;t such ilistitutinns tint! it ; juedical irt-iUnem. It is noticeable, tna I while tbe. pensioiks ier aid age absorb les J I] ia ti £ 1,000.000 M year the } a-ten I ne, 1 1 i r-tbe.r lores of invalidity core in It-Oct ee. t : £6.000,C*.X). An iittporl.-tni bra neb oi -h ; invalidity insuvane.. system is that of pi<i viding special tivnl.tncn; b’ prevent the le. 1 .if earning powe’* thi’oiigh, <ij.-s ase- ot b»i■ _ duiation : for ti-i-ttnici’. puim-nuiry ta liercnlosie. thn;? an earnest effort, is ina-T to prevent and cure invalidity as well .; i to relieve the lina.neial di-trtis caused by 'it. Tlterc. are some 40.CU0 jtersonc. undm aoiug .special treatment for utbi-rruba.-i.-. a 1 i.!w 'present time in connection with tie :n.-iuatuc oysveui, end it is iotiod that n ; over SO p-er cent, of the eases treated th , disa-bility is eitle;.- removtvi or arre.-ted about' £2O. ' it. is i.nierwding tv mole the use made o | the rccteiv. fund. This is not.- im reb invested with the object of ciunting ntt in 1 Conic, but. in applied in such ways jis ui; ! promote the general welfare of the per.-on. | for whot-.c heii'di; the. insurance, system i i esiahlishwl. For instance. in 11XJ: : £II.CQO,COO was devoted to the- bin'idim ; ot workmen's »Iwrllmgs. : over £4.00v,C- 1 I was lout on mortgage of land to :■■. agriculturists, to eonstrtut braneU iad i ne.vs. and 1 v impnovc- roads ; £16.000.00 1 was expended in building convalescent m 1 stilntes, sanato'ia, homes lor the b.imi ite. Many millions ot m.imdis have l.,o; i supplied f«y the teserve \'mid for t;i 1 building of tulx-reulosis ho.-pitais. 'I he-; i lignres give - itie a fait idea, of the vast.ne; j of the s-cale- upon which invalidity insiti ! anon is piovidcd in (lermariy. It embr.i.v ! ail \t age-e«u tiers, and wnilet relieving i-c, : distress, occasioned by the misfortur.' •i to which industrial life is incident, i j tscapos the st tgnta of pauperism by the cot. j rributionvi which all imured persons nr I required to make in time of health an . 1 cuength. . The next important brunch of indiustrit 1 insuram.*'- is that, of pioriding against. !os , ! from wain- of cmployiucnt. The workc , 1 may 1k» physically able and willing t . i work, bnt be-cawre ot keck of opjcortuiiit . \ may bo plunged into distress just as sevoi ! j .'..c "if he had" suffered a i-css of ability t . . work. Whilst a good deal of unentphy 5 merit as well as sickness may be due. to f.b , i laborer’s own fault, a large amount aria , 1 from, chansing markets and the. man | j causa* wliich dislocate industry. Ir, . | therefore recognised in most Kurepe-a t j countries that seine provirion shonkl 1 I Duide to meet the cases of involuntary unen ! ployment. Relief of thin kind was Cr: j undertaken by trad© unions. As early t 18bl a. system of ou£of-work benefits w; ■ adopted by a British trade union. So ft , all efforts at providing for the distress chi - to unemployment have run along volut tary linos. Only otre attempt at compu i Bory insurance against unemployment he • been made, and that was at the Swu ■ Canton of . St. Gall. For reasons large! local and peculiar to the circunistancis th sy stem had to bo abandoned. The ,Tiffe; f ent schi.-racs in ojieration for Uk> relief t - unemployment will have to be dealt wit in xuy injxt, .arUclo.