The New Social Insurance Lay Public Alarmed at What Tt May Impose:
A Witness's Troubles From Our Own Paris, Nov."l The French -publié is only just Doginning to realize the far-reaching effects of the new social insurance In, which comes into operation on February 5 throughout France, with, the exception of 'Alsace, which' is apparently not considered ripe enough for such experiments. This measure, voted it April 1928, is an attempt to put into practice the principle that citizens earning only a moderate sum in wages should receive assistance and encouragement. from the community to enable them to make Provision against sickness, _unem. ployment and old age. To this end, every person under 60, French and foreign alike, domiciled in France and earning not more than Frs '15,000 a year, is required to set aside 5 per cent., the employer adding the same amount. These contributions, with others for which the State makes itself Table, will form a fund out of which the allow. tances and pensions to the insured will be paid.
These allowances cover sickness, maternity, disability, unemployment, old age and death, and are therefore fairly comprehensive, From "the first day of sickness the insured person will receive medical attendance and medicines for himself ard his family. After the fifth day of illness he will be entitled to 60 per oont. of his average daily pay he is cured, or up to the end of six months. After six months of illness veortified as reducing the working veapacity by two-thirds, he will entitied toa pension amounting to 40 por earnings, and the m sand medicines will be con old -age pension is due garies according to the number of Payments effected but cannot be leas than 40 per cent, of the average annual wage. The death of the insured person brings his heirs not than 20 por'eent. of his annual In the event of forced unemployment, the insured person will be able to draw 10 per cent, of his "or her average wages for thres months out of every twelve, but this benefit is due only to persons having contributed uninterruptedly to the fund for at least a year.
It is evident from even this brief outline that not only will a large staff of officials be necessary to administer the scheme, but-an immense number of French citizens and foreign residents will find them elves in the position of being in account with the State and obliged to collect a tax on behalf of the community. Large employers of labour will undoubtedly have engage extra clerks and accountants, inasmuch as a separate account must be kept for every employs and workman below the Fra. 15,000 Jimit, Small manufacturers employing two or three hundred hands will very probably have to raise their sto meet the cost of extra Clerical assistance, and in this way the new scheme will tend to increase the cost of living, to which objection the supporters of State insurance might reply that one cannot have reforms for nothing.
Trouble in the Home This social insurance plan is net merely a business matter but one that affects an immense number of homes. Let us take, the ease, for instance, of a small family employing a general servant at a wage of Fre 800 a month—a moderate figure these days. For the purposes of the Act, the employer must reckon not only the actual cash wages but value of the board and lodging supplied by him, any pourboires or Dresonts either in.cash or kind, and on, Reckoning these at' the equivalent of the cash wages, he will arrive' at a total of Frs 600 a month. After having carefully explained to the young woman the provisions of this elaborate plan for her future, be will proceed to deduct Fes, 80 from her wages, after which he will pay Frs 60 to the local office, considerable amount of friction may be anticipated. In many cases the domestic will suspect her employer's-sincerity and will think he 4g concerned in an elaborate plot to deprive her of part of her earnings. She will refuse to agree to the deduction, and the master or mistress will either have to pay the whole amount or do without their servant. The latter course will undoubtedly be followed in many small households, the heads of which will rather do the work themselves than put ap with this extra trouble and expense, The employer has to ill up a form and send ft in whenever he changes a servant, and the quantity of of papers, arguments, disputes and inconvenience involved all over the country is appalling to contemplate, The Employer's Defence So far as can be seen at present the scheme will at first cause great annoyance and expense to the middle lass and additional unemployment. among workers, as it will impel employers to reduce their staffs. 'A large shop, for instance, will throw two departments into one and employ fewer assistants, at higher wages, bringing them above the scope of the Act. We shall hear:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.