Bernd Merz Dipl.-Ing. (univ.) Assistant to the Prevention Head Devision of BG BAU BG BAU, Berlin, Germany Vice President of AEIP Brussels, Belgium Before: Bavarian State Bank, European Commission Social Protection Institutions managed by Social Partners German institution for statutory accident insurance & prevention for the construction industry

Bernd MerzPage 2 The German social insurance

Seite Bernd Merz The principle of compulsory insurance In Germany nearly 90% of the population is covered by either compulsory or voluntary social insurance. Despite all the debates on possible reforms, the system of social insurance is widely accepted as the core of social security. The German social insurance

Seite Bernd Merz The principle of financing through contributions The social insurance schemes are primarily financed through contributions paid by employees and employers. Contribution rates are established either by the self-governing funds (in the case of accident insurance) or through legislation (for pension, unemployment, health and long-term care insurance). Contribution rates are based on the wage or salary of the employee. The principle of solidarity Risks to be insured are borne collectively by the community of all insured persons. Irrespective of how much each person has paid into the social insurance system, all have access to comprehensive coverage. This solidarity-based approach creates an equilibrium between the healthy and the sick, between those at the bottom and the top of the earning scale, and between families and singles. The German social insurance

Seite Bernd Merz The principle of self-government A further important basis of German social insurance is the principle of self- government. This removes the burden on the State by delegating tasks and areas of responsibility to the funds (subsidiarity principle). This means that the social insurance funds, as corporations under public law, take responsibility for all control tasks under the legal supervision of the State. These funds are thus organisationally and financially independent. The special aspect of this principle is that employees and employers participate directly in this system of self-government. The German social insurance

Seite Bernd Merz The principle of free movement The principle of free movement was introduced within the European Union in the context of the Single Market. It entails the free movement of goods, services and capital within the EU Member States. This freedom, which at first contributed primarily to the pursuit of commercial objectives, initially affected only employers. But the regulation was subsequently expanded step-by-step, in order to give every citizen the option of moving freely throughout all EU Member States and settling in a chosen location. This right is granted to every citizen of the EU, regardless of his status as employee. The German social insurance

Seite Bernd Merz The principle of equivalence A further important principle is the equivalence principle. In the context of German social insurance, this principle applies only to pension insurance and describes the relationship between the amount of the contributions paid and benefits received by the insured person. In principle, the benefits depend on the amount of contributions paid by the insured person while gainfully employed. The German social insurance

Seite Bernd Merz The German Social Accident Insurance is one of five mandatory insurances within the German social security system. One part of the the German Social Accident Insurance is the BG BAU, the accident insurance institution for the German construction industry and building-related services. approx. 2,8 Mio. insured individuals approx enterprises approx private building projects

Seite Bernd Merz The BG BAU delivers prevention and rehabilitation measures and compensation benefits from a single source Funding: The costs incured are covered retroactively by the premiums on a pay-as-you-go basis. Organisation: The BG BAU is managed by employers and insured individuals themselves through an autonomous administration (Representative‘s Board, Governing Committee, Management)

Seite Bernd Merz BG BAU prevention measures

Bernd MerzPage 11 EU-15: Incendence rate of fatal injury

Bernd MerzPage 12 Germany: Occupational accidents

Bernd MerzPage 13 Germany: Days absence

Bernd MerzPage 14 Work-related stress Restructuring Mobbing Working time Lack of support Unclear resposibilities Lack of indenpendency

Bernd MerzPage 15 Source: OECD

Bernd MerzPage 16 Source: OECD

Prevention culture (Safety culture) Bernd Merz Page 17 Behavior / performance

Bernd Merz Page 18 Organizational culture represents the collective values, beliefs and principles of organizational members. Organizational culture is a product of such factors as history, product, market, technology, and strategy, type of employees, management style, and national culture. Culture includes the organization's vision, values, norms, systems, symbols, language, assumptions, beliefs, and habits. Cultural values are collective beliefs, assumptions, and feelings about what things are good, normal, rational, valuable …

Bernd Merz Page 19 The Infrastructure of Every Organization

What are the benefits of a strong Safety Culture? Bernd MerzPage 20 Creating stronger health and safety culture, it also increases productivity, staff retention and the overall organizational culture. It has been observed by OSHA (United States) and confirmed by independent research that developing strong safety cultures can have the single greatest impact on accident reduction of any process. A company with a strong safety culture typically experiences few at-risk behaviours, consequently they also experience low accident rates, low turn-over, low absenteeism, and high productivity.

Interprofessional European Social Dialogue Bernd MerzPage 21 The involvement of the social partners at the European level is organised around three different types of activities: The tripartite consultation comprises the exchanges between the social partners and the European public authorities. The consultation of the social partners covers the activities of the consultative committees and official consultations in the spirit of Article 153 TFEU (Treaty on the functioning of the European Union The European social dialogue as such is the name given to the bipartite work of the social partners, whether or not it stems from the official consultations of the Commission based on Articles 15

AEIP – European Association of Paritarian Institutions Bernd MerzPage 22 The AEIP, founded in 1996, is a Brussels-based advocacy organization representing the Social Protection Institutions established and managed by employers and trade unions on a jointly basis within the framework of the collective agreements. All AEIP members are non-for-profit and cover a number of social protection benefits: Coordinated retirement schemes, Occupational pension funds, Complementary healthcare insurance, Long-term care, Health & Safety at work, Paid holidays, Unemployment benefits. AEIP promotes social security and protection at the European level. It monitors, influences and sometimes opposes the European law making process on the interests of its members and according to its positions. The Association works in close cooperation with the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Economic and Social Committee.