Social protection

The general trend towards activation has been one of the major issues in recent welfare and labour market reforms in Europe and the US. In many of these countries this issue has dominated the socio-economic and legal debate. Despite considerable variation across national models with respect to the scope and intensity of activation, it is evident that redefining the link between social protection and labour market policies on the one hand and employment on the other has been a common issue in labour market reforms. 

Activation changes the character of social rights once the respective schemes are activated. Although provisions requiring some action by benefit recipients have been in place in most insurance-based benefit schemes, it seems fair to say that especially in countries with a job-related social protection tradition (the so-called Bismarckian type of social protection) they lay dormant before the shift towards activation occurred. This resulted not only in more precise and sometimes more restrictive conditions under which benefit could be claimed, but also in a more consistent implementation of these provisions. 

This has more fundamental consequences as it signals the departure from status protection and a benevolent welfare state to a more basic, means-tested system of social protection and stricter workfare. This is not only a result of the abolition of eamings-related unemployment assistance but also due to the associated cut in maximum duration of unemployment insurance benefits for older workers. 

Securite sociale, introduced in 1945, includes the traditional branches of social insurance (assurance sociale), and thus forms the core area of the French social protection system (Barjot et al. 2004). It was largely conceived on the basis of the social insurance principle, but simultaneously shaped by universalistic principles of coverage for the entire population. With the introduction of universal health insurance, couverture maladie universelle (CMU), the latter notion was put into effect for this branch of insurance. The formerly envisaged aim to incorporate under one regime (regime general) all individual protection schemes which existed at the time securite sociale was established was never achieved. Hence, the social security system continues to be characterised by both diversity and disparity. 

In the first period, they acted as complements for categories which were not covered adequately, within a dynamics that was still marked by the expansion of social protection they included benefits for lone parents (API, Allocation de parent isole, from 1976) benefits for the disabled (AAH, Allocation d adulte handicape,... 

The second leg of the strategy Reforming the funding of social protection/labour law and fostering employment creation... 

Another policy area for activation stands in-between social and tax policies. In comparative terms, the French social protection system is still dominantly funded by social contributions to the level of about 66% of the total bill in 2005 (Barbier and Theret 2004). However, in the 1990s it was agreed that indirect labour costs... 

As a further substantiation of the intrinsic limits of the welfare regime approach, alone or first within the continental cluster, France has embarked on this consistent structural transformation of its social protection both on the side of funding (the significant increase of the funding by tax and special new contributions to the state budget) and on the labour market side (reductions of social contributions for employers). This has resulted in a rather clear strategy to liberalise the system, mainly stressing the demand side of the labour market, and less importantly the supply-side and individual incentives. From the current evaluation studies, the... 

Activation is a relatively recent development in the decade-long process of welfare state building in Switzerland. Traditionally, like in most other continental European countries, social pohces have been of a compensatory nature. Based on the social insurance framework, Swiss social protection has provided replacement income to those unable to work. Its coverage includes the key traditional social risks old age, invalidity, industrial injury, sickness, long-term care and unemployment, which makes the Swiss welfare state a standard continental European social protection system1. 

Hvinden B, Heikkila M, Kankare I (2001) Towards activation The changing relationship between social protection and employment in western Europe. In Kautto M, Fritzell J, Hvinden B, Kvist J, Uusitalo H (eds.) Nordic Welfare States in the European Context. Routledge, London pp. 168-197... 

Barbier JC (2004) Systems of social protection in Europe. Two contrasted paths to activation, and maybe a third. In Lind J, Knudsen FI and Joergensen FI (eds.) Labour and Employment Regulations in Europe. Peter Lang, Bruxelles, pp. 233-254 Bassanini AP, Duval R (2006) Employment Patterns in OECD Countries. Reassessing the Role of Policies and Institutions. OECD Economics Department Working Paper 486. OECD, Paris... 

The Federal constitution of the United States does not tackle the issue of social security. Consequently, there are no individual constitutional rights in this field. But the constitution does not prevent the legislator from implementing social security programmes. More precise are the respective constitutions of some states that make statements concerning social protection. However, they always address the legislator and do not in any way grant individual entitlements. 

Greece Ministry of Employment and Social Protection Ministry of Health and Welfare General Directorate of Working Conditions and Health Centre of Occupational Health and Safety National Council for Health and Safety at Worlg National Health and Safety Institute Soma Epitheorisis Ergasiss (Joint State Technical Inspectors)... 

The General Directorate of Working Conditions of the Ministry of Employment Mid Social Protection throu its Dira torate of Working Conditions has the task of sending the summary information report of the emerging decision as a Presidential Decree (P.D.) and att u hing to it a copy of the state journal containing the relevant list of OELs. 

According to sources at the General Directorate of Working Conditions, Ministry of Enqsloyment and Social Protection. 

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