LABOUR LEGISLATION
SOCIAL SECURITY
For me, Social Security
answers a very specific aspect
of mankind's crucial needs,
namely, the universal need for security.
People dislike feeling insecure about the future.
They dislike it
both for themselves and for their families.
For a long time,
uncertainty about the future could be avoided
or partly compensated,
because you were able to find within your family
a way to cover unexpected expenses.
Families provided
for their children, for their sick and elderly,
all the more so because one family
equalled one farm.
Then, economic development brought about
new causes of insecurity
At the same time, it prevented families
from upholding their mission of providing security.
These new causes of insecurity
are work-related accidents, unemployment.
They can also be,
in a certain way, old age.
People live longer,
but without revenue.
As to families, it is well known
that in today's industrialised, urban, working environment,
families live hand to mouth, on a single wage.
And so, public authorities
had to substitute
for families,
to give individuals, workers
the security they needed.
How long has Social Security existed?
Well, Sir, I believe it has been around since 1930, 1931.
Approximately.
Before 1930, did people go to the doctor more readily than nowadays?
Oh, no, Sir.
First of all, their means weren't the same, that's for sure.
There was no help
to reimburse their expenses, to compensate for them.
As to the chemist's... Once I saw...
It was before 1930,
after that even, because Social Security existed then.
A poor...
A man who worked with the buses
left his cap because he couldn't pay for the drugs.
And he went to get his Social Security.
The chemist trusted him.
He left his cap. It had no value, except for him.
See how it was before?
- The doctor was for serious cases only. - Certainly.
I'm sure some kids got diphtheria swollen tonsils, you know,
and were never taken care of or too late.
And so, you had to save money,
in case you fell ill?
You did.
But my clients were factory workers,
and it was even more difficult than nowadays to save money.
Whatever the amount of money families managed to save,
successive devaluations reduced them to very little.
Very quickly, the family unit found itself
unable to protect its members against social risks.
What are the mechanisms or principles we have substituted
for the family unit,
which used to stand for security?
These principles rest on a very simple idea:
solidarity.
What does solidarity mean?
It means that the burden carried by one person,
an unexpected burden,
is shared out among the entire population.
Here, we need to dispel a fundamental misconception.
People believe,
because of the contributions they pay,
that their contributions cover their own benefits,
in other words, that they're paying for what they get.
That's completely wrong.
When you receive benefits,
because you're ill, old or have dependent children,
what you're paid isn't covered by your own contributions,
but by other people's.
Bring us the prescription from the hospital, with the receipt,
and we'll reimburse you.
I have another question.
Article 1 of the Ordinance from October 4th, 1945
intended to insure employees
against all types of risks
susceptible to reduce or remove their wage-earning capabilities.
However, the general scheme protects employees
against some risks only.
That is why we need to study which risks are covered,
who is protected, by what means,
and how that protection is financed.
Which risks are covered?
But first, what is a risk?
A risk is an unexpected event,
resulting in additional costs for a family:
paying the doctor, providing for a child.
It can also diminish or do away with wages
coming into the household.
Disease will lead to sick leave,
no more pay cheque.
With old-age comes a reduction in work capabilities,
no more pay cheque.
A risk can produce both effects:
an increase in expenses,
and a reduction in revenue for the family.
There are 3 risk categories:
physiological,
professional,
and family-related.
Physiological risks are:
illness,
maternity,
disability,
old-age,
and death.
These risks are covered by social insurance.
Professional risks are:
workplace accidents,
and work-related illness.
In France, unemployment coverage exists,
but it relies on mechanisms unrelated to Social Security.
As a concept though,
it belongs to social security.
Professional risks are covered by workplace accident insurance.
Family-related risks are:
pregnancy,
child support,
housing costs,
and disabled children.
FAMILY BENEFITS
These risks are covered by family benefits.
For different risks, who is protected?
For physiological risks,
illness or maternity,
the employee and his family are protected.
For disability, old-age and death,
only the employee is.
For professional risks,
workplace accidents, and work-related illness,
only the employee is.
For family-related risks, there are 2 types of beneficiaries.
People who work, regardless of their legal status,
and people deemed unable to work.
Both categories are covered against family-related risks.
Let's sum this up.
Employees and their families are covered
against illness and maternity,
and against family-related risks.
Only employees are covered
against disability, old-age and death,
as well as workplace accidents and work-related illness.
Finally, all workers,
regardless of their legal status,
employees, employers, independent workers,
are covered against family-related risks.
Non-workers,
i.e. people who are deemed unable to work,
unemployed or disabled people, housewives with 2 children,
they too, are covered against family-related risks.
Now, let's turn to means of protection.
Here's the first precept:
when the risk occurs,
Social Security compensates for it by paying sums of money.
We call this compensation.
But you need to remember a second precept.
Compensating for a risk is always a stopgap.
It's much better to prevent the risk,
or minimise its consequences, if it couldn't be avoided,
by trying to readapt the victim
to normal life as soon as possible,
and by trying to reinstate him or her into the normal production track.
Through its health and social work,
Social Security aims to prevent, rehabilitate
and redeploy victims.
That's why we need to examine, first,
risk reparation by Social Security,
and second, Social Security's health and social work.
First, risk reparation.
It involves the payment of sums of money
called benefits or allowances.
There are 2 types of benefits.
One type aims to help families
bear the increase in costs associated with the risk.
These are referred to as benefits in kind.
The other type aims to compensate
wage loss or decrease.
We call them cash benefits.
Let us study compensation for each risk category.
First, physiological risks.
Concerning illness,
we have the reimbursement
of medical, surgical, drug
and hospitalisation expenses.
These reimbursements are benefits in kind
paid to the insured person and his or her family.
On the other hand, health insurance also includes wage replacement.
They are cash benefits,
paid as daily compensation
to the insured person
who had to stop working because he or she fell ill.
Maternity.
There is no charge
for medical and surgical care
related to pregnancy and delivery.
They are benefits in kind for the insured person
or the wife or daughter thereof.
Also, wages are replaced.
They are cash benefits paid to the insured person
during maternity leave.
Disability.
All medical expenses are reimbursed.
They are benefits in kind.
Additionally,
wages are replaced.
They are cash benefits
paid in the form of a quarterly disability pension
to the insured only.
In old-age, wages are replaced
by a quarterly pension paid to the insured person.
Finally,
in the event of death,
some of the bereavement costs are compensated,
and the family gets temporary support in the form of a small sum of money.
We have just seen how physiological risks are repaired.
Now, let us study how professional risks are repaired.
Professional risks include
work-place injuries and illnesses.
On the one hand,
medical, surgical and pharmaceutical care is free.
They are benefits in kind
paid to the employee
suffering from a work-place injury or illness.
On the other hand,
wages are replaced.
They are cash benefits in 3 possible forms:
either daily compensation
or a quarterly pension
or, in the event of death, a pension paid to the family.
FAMILY-RELATED RISKS
Now, let's see how family-related risks are repaired.
Their purpose is to cover expenses
related to the birth of children.
Pregnancy and birth-related expenses,
excluding medical costs
which are covered by maternity insurance,
are covered by 2 types of allowances.
The prenatal allowance
is paid in 3 instalments during pregnancy.
The maternity allowance
is paid in 2 instalments,
one, when the child is born, and the other, 6 months afterwards.
Other child maintenance expenses
are compensated by family allowances
paid monthly.
A single wage allowance is also paid
to households with only one source of professional income.
Some expenses related to raising disabled children
are covered
by a special education allowance.
Finally, housing costs
higher than what the family can afford
can be covered by the housing allowance.
SANITARY AND SOCIAL ACTION
The security of workers
and of their families
isn't only about money.
More than money, what they really want,
is to not fall ill or have an accident.
They want to live under normal conditions
without having to appeal to one of the Funds.
That's why Social Security has been naturally led
to withdraw
a very small portion from contributions
to finance what we usually call
either prevention or health and social welfare.
Indeed, we need to distinguish
in Social Security work
between first, work-place accident and illness prevention,
where technical issues are at stake,
and tools and machines need to be adapted.
Even traffic accident prevention is included.
Second,
health and social welfare
regards medical and social issues.
That is why Social Security Funds
dedicate rather sizeable amounts of money
to hospital facilities
to fill existing gaps,
improve sanitary equipment,
and set up hospitals where they are needed.
They manage sanatoria,
children's facilities for example.
They strive to improve
maternal and child welfare.
It's one of their essential roles.
They organise or finance a good portion
of the assistance given to disabled children.
Here's an example of Social Security's health and social action:
The Institute for Child Dental Prophylaxis.
I'm putting in a small, white dressing.
Keep it for 8 days and when you come back,
your tooth won't hurt at all anymore.
Look, it's plaster. In your mouth it goes!
There's a good boy!
Did it hurt?
It didn't. You couldn't feel a thing.
Bite on this, now. Does it bother you?
Not at all?
I'm going to add water.
I need you to spit it out, in the small sink over here.
Spit.
A health education class
in this clinic:
... don't wet it before.
Here.
For you.
I'm going to show this to your friend and you do the same.
Watch closely.
Close a little...
Always brush from pink to white.
Watch closely.
Repeat this movement 5 times.
On your little front teeth, count 5 times.
And now, go to the side,
always from pink to white.
3, 4, 5.
The same on the other side.
2, 3, 4, 5.
Now,
on the chewing surfaces.
On either side,
top and bottom.
And now, our teeth are clean enough,
and we can rinse.
Not too much though, only once or twice.
Now, rinse.
And spit.
Good. One more time.
There. On the other side too.
From gum to teeth.
Very good.
Same thing, on the other side.
Social Security's screening van.
HEALTH EXAMINATION
- Chemin des Roules? - Yes.
- Your profession? - Bricklayer.
Come in here.
Your chest against the plate.
Fill your lungs completely.
Stop breathing.
Breathe.
It's over.
Get dressed and go for a blood test.
Medical and social work go hand in hand.
Social work is done mainly through Family Allowance Funds.
They finance family housing
and summer camps for children.
They manage social workers
and domestic help.
Broadly speaking,
they are involved in all the projects benefitting children and families.
All this represents approximately
2 % of the global budget of the general Social Security scheme.
It doesn't amount to much,
relatively,
but it is very efficient.
I believe
that the time board members spend on health and social welfare
is a major part of what they do,
and an essential contribution
to our country's health and social welfare progress.
FINANCING
Social Security expenses
are covered by contributions
paid by employees, employers, independent workers,
and, for some time now and for a small portion,
by motorists.
In many countries,
social security funds come, to a large extent, from taxes.
In France, that is not the case.
The national budget hardly contributes to Social Security,
and only to specific schemes
such as the agriculture or mining schemes.
The national budget hardly contributes to the general Social Security scheme.
Is choosing one option over the other really important?
Ultimately, it's still about our country's economy
bearing the weight of Social Security.
However, choosing a financial mechanism
can have an impact, especially an economic one.
From a general, social point of view,
let us not believe that Social Security in itself
represents a burden.
At the very least, the burden doesn't match the figures.
Indeed,
the money paid to Social Security to be distributed afterwards,
doesn't leave the country's economy.
It is a redistribution of income between people
who would have had either higher or lower incomes,
if we hadn't made these payments.
But the country's global economy
grows neither richer nor poorer
because of cash flows
taking place inside the country's economy.
Actually,
you could also safely uphold that, to a large extent,
these flows benefit the country's economy.
They are beneficial for 2 reasons.
First, because money is given
to men or families who spend it, instead of hoarding it.
Consequently, it breathes life into the economy.
It helps develop purchases and consumption, hence production.
It is beneficial for another reason.
It enables families,
and especially the sick, to be cared for.
Sustaining of human capital
is ensured through Social Security.
Many people, families, invalids who couldn't get treatment, now can.
They get their working power back faster.
They live when they wouldn't.
Human capital is part of our national wealth.
Basically, Social Security should be understood
as the redistribution of a portion of the national income,
thus achieving solidarity
between people who can work and those who unwittingly can't.
Such is the philosophy of the whole organisation.
The purpose of this programme
was to explain the basic principles of the general Social Security scheme.
It applies to most employees in the Industry and Commerce sector.
Other schemes will be featured in future programmes.
SEND YOUR CLAIM BY POST
AND YOU WILL RECEIVE A COLBERT MONEY ORDER
IN THE SERIES PRESENTED BY ANDRÉ GROUSSET
A PROGRAMME BY MADELEINE JUSSAUD
WITH MR PIERRE LAROQUE,
SECTION PRESIDENT OF THE CONSEIL D'ÉTAT,
AND THE CENTRAL PRIMARY FUNDS OF THE PARISIAN AREA
TECHNICAL TEAM
DIRECTED BY PIERRE BUQUET
Subtitles: Élisabeth Fuchs & Julie Manuel