Before reading the article, you can click "Follow" to facilitate discussion and sharing. Authors will live up to expectations and create better content on time and in quantity.
History of the Orchid Pavilion
Editor|History of the Orchid Pavilion
Social security policy under Wilhelm II
Bismarck stepped down, and Germany entered the era of Wilhelm II. Although this was caused by the disagreement between the new emperor Wilhelm II and Bismarck, during his reign Wilhelm II also attached great importance to social security, paying special attention to the implementation of labor protection legislation, hoping to win over workers by peaceful means.
The emperor's edict published in the Imperial News in February 1890 expressed his idea of reforming social policy and declared the protection of labor a "national task." The labour protection legislation complements the German social insurance legislation and further enriches and improves the modern social security system in Germany.
Thus began an institutionalized social policy reform.
Bismarck was succeeded as the new Prime Minister by Army officer General Leo von Caprivi, an official with democratic ideas and a sense of reform. The new prime minister pursued a policy of détente, unlike the brutal repressive methods of his predecessor, which was in line with the wishes of Wilhelm II.
In May 1890, the Imperial Parliament passed the Draft Legislation on Amendments to the Regulations on the Administration of Industry and Commerce, and in May of the following year, supplementary regulations were promulgated, stipulating: the introduction of a system of Sunday and holiday holidays; Prohibit school-age children from working in factories; There are restrictions on working hours for child workers over the age of 13 and for underage workers; The factory guarantees the safety of workers' lives; Night labor for women, child labor, and underage male workers is prohibited.
In order to stabilize the throne, the "extraordinary law" that had been in place for twelve years was officially abolished at the imperial parliament on September 30, 1890, in order to win over the working class and ease social contradictions.
In 1891, in order to properly resolve labor conflicts, the Imperial Parliament passed the "Labor Dispute Court Law", granting the township the right to appoint judges of the court, which was composed of a president who held public office and a juror from each of the labor and management, and the court mediated and decided in the event of labor disputes.
In 1902, the government made it mandatory for all townships with more than 20,000 inhabitants to implement this system. The government also enacted the Women Workers Act in 1891, which increased the scope and intensity of protection for women workers. Wilhelm II had intended to ease class contradictions through Caprivi's reforms and by changing the repressive policies of the Bismarck period.
However, the growing social democratic party and the continued growth of the workers' movement made Wilhelm II so disappointed with Caprivi's reforms that he decided to revive Bismarck's iron-blooded policy.
However, Caprivi's opposition to the emperor's approach killed Caprivi's own political future, and Wilhelm II removed him from office in October 1894. He was succeeded by Klodevich Hohenlohe - Prince Shellingsfith (1894–1900). He was 75 years old at the time, so he was a little powerless about politics.
Nevertheless, Wilhelm II gradually dismissed his close staff around him, emptying Hohenlohe and leaving him in a state of isolation. It can be said that Hohenlohe's tenure as prime minister was "the term of prime minister without a prime minister".
During this period, the German Government enacted the Disability Insurance Act to provide the necessary medical services to disabled persons. The requirement to establish a common contribution fund (the main source being 40% of social insurance contributions) in order to achieve financial balance among the various insurance institutions is considered the beginning of the centralization of social insurance finances in Germany.
The third Prime Minister during the reign of Wilhelm II was Prince Bernhard von Biulo (1900–1909). Because of his background in the diplomatic service, he focused his efforts on foreign policy during his tenure.
And the main goal of domestic policy is to "be alert to domestic crises". He adopted a policy of softness to bring the emperor closer to the working class and abandoned the past repression of social democracy. In 1900, he reduced the number of years of contribution to the pension allowance from the initial 30 years to 24 years.
The following year, the government began a plan to promote the construction of workers' houses through state subsidies, for which it was necessary to allocate 4-5 million marks per year. The government then repealed the prohibition on association between associations, and in 1903 introduced an amendment to the sickness insurance law, extending the time limit for receiving sickness insurance benefits from 13 weeks to 26 weeks.
In addition, the imperial government enacted the Officers' Pension Act and the Soldiers' Pension Act in 1906 and the Orphans Relief Act in 1907. These decrees not only enriched the German social security system, but also consolidated the rule of the Reich.
The last chancellor during the reign of Wilhelm II was Theobald von Batemann-Holweg (1909-1917). He was a serious but indecisive and slow man to do things.
As a result, the international environment was volatile during his tenure, especially around 1914, and the complex situation made it too busy to deal with. One of the advances made in social legislation during his reign was the compilation of existing social legislation in 1911 into a concise comprehensive social insurance law, the Social Insurance Act of the German Empire.
The Code entered into force in the old-age insurance system on January 1, 1912, in the work-related accident insurance system on January 1 of the following year, and in sickness insurance in the third year. The development of sickness insurance accelerated by the promulgation of the Imperial Insurance Code.
The coverage of sickness insurance was extended to agricultural and forestry workers, domestic servants, casual workers, itinerant traders, and industrial workers with an annual salary of less than DM 2,500 were also covered. The Imperial Insurance Code abolished community sickness insurance organizations and transferred responsibility for these funds to local sickness funds and the newly created state health insurance funds.
Various insurance institutions have been unified, the national medical insurance institution has become the mainstream of social medical insurance, and employers and employees elect the chairman of the insurance institution.
By 1913, 14.55 million people were insured for sickness, of which 13.56 million were legally insured. The conditions for participation in work-related accident insurance have also been adjusted to include workers earning less than DM 5,000 per year. By 1913, all employees were covered by accident insurance, accounting for about 1/3 of the total population.
Since then, due to the increasing number of accident arbitration courts and the further improvement of relevant laws and regulations, workers' rights and interests have been more effectively protected.
In the same year, in order to win over the bourgeoisie and agricultural people to resist the pressure of labor, the German government enacted the Survivors' Insurance Act and the Staff Insurance Act. The Survivors' Insurance Act applies to orphaned widows, widows who have not remarried are entitled to widow's alimony in the amount of 3/10 of the disability maintenance received by the husband during his lifetime, and the Government also subsidizes DM 50 per family per year.
Orphan support is available until the child reaches the age of 15. An orphan receives 3/20 of the deceased's disability alimony, with the government subsidizing DM 25. When the number of children is large, the second orphan is entitled to 1/40 more than the total number of orphans. However, the total amount of widow's and orphan's alimony may not exceed 1.5 times the deceased's disability alimony.
The Employees' Insurance Act covers employees with an annual salary of DM 2,000 to DM 5,000, of whom 3/4 already have a part of the benefits of the current workers' insurance.
The cost of insurance is borne by the employer and half by the employee, and the employee pays a higher premium than the worker's insurance premium. At the same time, employees also receive twice as much insurance as workers on various types of insurance. The retirement age for employees is 65, and employee insurance also provides unconditional alimony and disability benefits, as well as annuities for orphans up to age 18.
In World War I, labor committees were set up in important sectors such as the arms industry, agriculture, and medical care in order to meet the needs of wartime economic development.
It is attended by both employers and employees on an equal footing, gives workers "joint decision-making rights", and is tasked with promoting harmony between workers and employers. At this time, the working class began to gradually change from a simple object of relief and a protected social weak to a self-responsible participant in social security.
In addition, in order to stabilize the rear at the end of World War I, the imperial government promulgated the Law on the Promotion of Small Housing Construction and the Law on Housing Protection to protect the interests of renters through government intervention.
The enactment and implementation of a series of insurance legislation has promoted the development of the German social security system. By the time of the First World War, the scope of insurance in the German Empire was expanding, and the level of social security was gradually increasing.
By 1914, the number of people participating in sickness insurance in Germany reached 15.61 million, the number of people participating in work-related accident insurance increased from 3 million at the beginning to 28 million in 1913, and the number of participants in old age and disability insurance increased from 11.49 million in 1891 to 16.55 million in 1914.
By 1913, the German Empire's social insurance reserves had reached 3 billion marks, while in the same year social insurance expenditures were 850 million marks, accounting for 3% of the GDP of that year.
Regarding unemployment insurance, in fact, such claims were made as early as the 70s of the 19th century in the labor movement.
For example, the Central Federation of German Furniture Workers' Associations, established in 1883, clearly proposed that the government should establish a central organization, peer halls and employment agencies for the relief of migrant workers, and actively strive for the formulation of unemployment insurance.
However, due to various reasons, it was not until July 7, 1927, that the Imperial Parliament passed the Law on Social Insurance for Unemployment Insurance. The Act entitles workers to time-limited unemployment insurance benefits after paying certain unemployment insurance premiums.
bibliography
[1] Meng Zhongjie, "Modernity and Social Policy Reform——— An Analysis of German Social Policy from 1890 to 1933", Anhui Historiography, No. 5, 2004.
[2] [US] Koper S. S. Pinson, translated by Van der I: Modern and Modern German History, Commercial Press, 1987, p. 279.