social security - FOD Sociale Zekerheid

initiatives of the workers themselves, several christian-inspired employers created family benefitfunds, providing indemnity for workers with children. These were private initiatives; there was noquestion of government contributions yet.Due to the huge crisis which led to the national strikes of 1886 it became clear that governmentintervention was absolutely necessary. From 1891 onwards, the government starts to subsidisethe 'mutualities'. This government intervention has had positive effects, both financially andstructurally. The various local 'mutualities' were grouped, bringing about a more efficientmanagement. Belgium saw the creation of the 'national unions' that we still know today. Still, theunions remained a form of voluntary insurance and the workers had no obligation to participate.The first compulsory insurance was only created in 1903: the insurance against accidents at work.Between the two World Wars, the whole of compulsory insurances has expanded strongly. Salariedpersons were compulsorily insured for old-age and survivor's pensions, occupational diseases,family benefits and paid leave (today known as annual vacation). Self-employed persons wereonly compulsorily insured for family benefits from 1937 onwards. The 'social risks' (sickness,invalidity and unemployment) remained within the subsidised private sphere of 'mutualities' andtrade unions. Another milestone between the World Wars was the first law ensuring a guaranteedincome for disabled persons.During World War Two, representatives of the workers' trade unions, the employers' organisationsand some high officials met to conclude a 'draft agreement for social solidarity'. In 1944, the threeparties involved signed the 'social pact'. The social pact had two major pillars: the social peacebetween trade unions and employers' organisations and the concept of solidarity (the socialinsurance was to improve the living conditions of the workers). In fact, the social pact was themere technical co-ordination of what had grown in an unstructured way before. Yet, the socialpact brought some important innovations:- all social insurances (including unemployment, sickness and invalidity insurance) weremade obligatory for all workers;- benefits went up;- the National Office for Social Security (RSZ - ONSS) was created as a central body tocollect the social contributions;- social security was controlled with equal representation, i.e. by both the workers andthe employers.The social pact contained no clauses about accidents at work and occupational diseases, for thesetwo risks were countered with private insurances, nor about the disability policy, which wasfinanced with tax money. Bear in mind that the social pact only applied to salaried persons andnot to self-employed persons.Already in 1937, there was an obligatory family benefit scheme for the self-employed. Otherinsurances, like those against old age and for medical care, became obligatory only much later.In 1956, the pension insurance became obligatory and eight years later, the self-employed, toowere obliged to insure themselves against the 'big risks' in medical care. Only in 1967, the 'socialscheme of the self-employed' was created, integrating all the existing systems. Since 1971, theself-employed are also insured for benefits in case of incapacity for work.During the period after World War Two, which was primarily characterised by economic expansion,the entire social security system grew enormously. On the one hand, social security was aimed7