English version of the article: Social Protection Floors as an Investment (in Central and Eastern Europe) Link: http://www.prohuman.sk/socialna-praca/social-protection-floors-investment-central-and-eastern-europe Introduction
Social inclusion, according to the prominent think tank "Friends of Europe," is merely a rhetorical flourish in the European Union which, without actual implementation, causes a decline in the EU's legitimacy. We must understand what social inclusion means in practice and how member states can achieve it. Universal access to social services is a basic characteristic of the European social model and should be further supported by a social investment strategy to ensure access, for example, to quality childcare. European policy must be understood together with quality protection of minimum income, minimum wage, and social benefits according to the possibilities given by economic development in each EU member state (p. 35, Unequal Europe, 2015).
Fundamental changes in Eastern Europe began twenty-five years ago. Radical privatization schemes (in Slovakia, "looting" to the sound of jangling keys) and a flourishing infallible market economy built on foreign investment were not only seen as a path to democracy but even as a measure of the level of democracy in these countries. Democracy in Eastern European countries did not mean a set of independent political structures and civil society practices built on equality, freedom, autonomy, and the principle of citizen sovereignty, but rather merely a state where everyone is subjugated to the market principle (pp. 48-49, Brown, 2005). I know of a mayor who privatized a brewery, sold the building, used the money to buy a large car, and then wrecked it. People lost their jobs and Slovakia lost a brand that is among the best-selling in the USA. In my family, they refused to privatize dilapidated agricultural enterprises because the land needs care and none of us have a relationship with the land anymore. Others did not have such a moral problem. The result is abandoned fields. Property also implies social responsibility, but that was not "in fashion" here. Already during the French Revolution in the 18th century, it was established that private property must not harm society, and if it does, it can be taken away.
The European Union fully ceded the space for "democratization" to non-European agencies of the Bretton Woods system of neoliberal think tanks. What was not mainstream thinking was presented here as the only possible view of capitalist democracy. Subsequently, generations grew up nurtured on this deviation. The social system in Central Europe was changed more toward a Latin American model than toward a common European social standard (p. 43, Pension Issues, 2005). Pension reform was carried out using non-standard procedures within the EU, for example in Slovakia by even abolishing social dialogue (p. 296, Hetteš, 2011). EU experts did not understand. A colleague from Denmark called me asking how to translate a certain term from our pension system that he had never heard of in his life. Incidentally, the entire "reform" was delivered by a private company. The impact of this "reform," which is difficult to reverse today, can be seen in privatization that raises entirely serious concerns about the possibility of the survival of welfare states in this region of Europe. Slovakia remained alone with its savings model, much like North Korea is alone with its social model. Social work as a human rights discipline is called into question by these developments. Voices are asking whether it will survive. According to many Slovak ideologues, everything can be bought and privatized, even love for one's neighbor.
SOLIDARITY OR PECUNIOUSNESS
People live in an environment almost devoid of any intergenerational solidarity (grandparents – parents – children living in harmony; rather, questions arise like "Mommy, when will you die?") or regional solidarity ("wealthy" Bratislava and regions without hope). The growth of a dependent population with no economic activity of their own and the increasing share of poor people (together with their children) threatens social life and the guaranteed social rights of future generations. This, of course, is subsequently reflected in the radicalization of attitudes, since no one cares about them.
Social security systems are threatened by constant cuts that undermine the sustainability of a decent life. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), every single year of extension in life expectancy improves GDP outcomes by 4% (pp. 138-139, Social Policies, 2013). Therefore, it pays to invest in the social sphere to maintain economic growth. The World Health Organization (WHO) stated that the average dependency between a 1% increase in unemployment in EU countries causes a 0.8% rise in suicides (p. 11, Impact of Economic Crises on Mental Health, 2011). This means there is no acceptable level of unemployment except for the few days you stay at home before starting a new job. The increase in so-called savings generates social and life insecurity. Constantly reducing social expenditure without securing investments in the future is not a way to achieve and ensure a dignified life in Europe.
Europe is affected by globalization, Europeanization, population aging, the weakening position of nation states, and also the free mobility of people, values, as well as diseases and other ills. The position and type of family in society is changing rapidly. The state has essentially no interest in new generations. The family's primary role is to raise children. So why is the family actually punished for having a new addition? Currently, the model where mother and father together care for their children is a minority model. Other forms of "family" have begun to prevail even in Slovakia. Unemployment, previously unusual, has become a standard situation. People mostly become unemployed not by their own will. They can quickly end up on the street. Yet people condemn such unfortunates, perhaps out of fear that they will end up the same way.
The possibility of social assistance changed into a right to social protection (in 2012). The universal right to social security received a mathematically precise financial value. The advancement and wealth of nations is commonly assessed by life expectancy and income. In general, today the rich are becoming even richer and the poor even poorer. Thus, there is no strengthening of cohesion. We can speak of the parallel coexistence of these two "castes," just as was usual in South Africa when apartheid ruled. Just as the "white population" there, so our wealthy population accepts a state where "blacks and coloreds" (our poor) had minimal rights because it was understood as natural and God-given. The greater the social distance between people, the less compassion, empathy, and desire for cohesion we find. They even delude themselves that they are better people and segregate themselves from the "rest." A significant part of the population today (even in Slovakia) does not have enough nutritious food, does not have housing (homelessness), or access to basic social services. As if there were only select individuals in the EU and the rest of Slovakia belongs rather to the African Union.
The era of American miracles — that you can dig yourself out of poverty by hard work — is over. Wanting is no longer enough. If you are from a poor group, no one will give you a loan for an apartment except state-backed fraudsters, usurers, and "loan sharks." The inheritance of poverty is a problem across Europe. Once you are born poor, there you will stay.
A SOCIALLY FAIR EUROPE?
Europe is usually counted among the so-called developed North. Hans Rosling (from the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden) used to document this nicely using a popular animation called Gapminder World. Gapminder.org is a non-profit organization that supports global development. The free animation on the internet shows the relationship between wealth (expressed in GDP per capita) and life expectancy. According to this animation, using the so-called Gapminder world, selected countries can be ranked by wealth as follows: Norway, Austria, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, and Kyrgyzstan. We know the so-called Easterlin paradox, in which there is a temporary correlation between happiness and high income, but a long-term view shows that with constant growth of wealth, happiness does not grow without limits. The developed world (especially OECD member countries) has accepted that GDP does not automatically mean happiness, social cohesion, and social justice. New indicators have emerged, such as the Better Life Index or Gross Domestic Happiness. Such an indicator was given to us by the exotic Himalayan state of Bhutan. Currently within the OECD, the Better Life Index in the areas of housing, community, education, environment, civic engagement, life satisfaction, health, security, safety, employment, and work-life balance is very important. It is not only about material goods, income, and GDP. Currently, Europe does not look like a mother who cares for everyone equally. Do we really have a fair society for everyone? As I have already stated, there is a problem with a divided society. Europe suffers from low cohesion among its inhabitants, between generations, between regions, and also between states. A minority receives undeserved surpluses and the majority, on the contrary, receives less and less.
We constantly hear about generous social systems for people who do not deserve them. Even most of the general population is convinced of this (the media have led them to it). Anne Van Lancker (2015) prepared a report describing the reality of the "excessiveness" of the generosity of these systems. Minimum income schemes in relation to the most common income are as follows: high generosity rate (above 50%) exists only in Denmark; moderately high generosity rate (40-50%) exists in Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Iceland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, the Netherlands; moderately low generosity level (30-40%) in countries such as Cyprus, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Malta, Norway, the United Kingdom; low generosity rate (20-30%) exists in Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, Romania, Sweden; and a truly low generosity rate (below 20%) exists in Bulgaria, Latvia, Poland, and where else but Slovakia. Therefore, even the "scientific" conclusions about the possibility of a luxurious life based on social benefits in Slovakia seem comical. The countries with low and very low generosity are countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with the exception of Portugal and Sweden. In these countries, significant effort is needed to bring minimum income schemes to an adequate level (p. 15, Van Lancker, 2015). Minimum wages must be significantly higher than the highest social assistance or support benefits if we want to climb out of poverty. So that work pays off. That would also help address the problem of our largest autochthonous minority. Even the World Bank was forced to admit that reducing these social handouts can no longer be done unless we want to achieve famine.
Material deprivation, according to Eurostat data, complements the income perspective by describing the living conditions of the severely socially disadvantaged population. They lack resources, they lack adequate dietary composition in groups such as meat, chicken, fish, or vegetables every second day. Around 10% of EU citizens cannot afford adequate food (p. 6, Di Meglio, 2013). The worst situation in Central and Eastern Europe (2011) is in Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary, Slovakia (25%), Lithuania, and Romania (two to four times worse reality). It is truly humiliating that developed Slovakia is a destination for food aid. But this statement was topped by the action that was unable to deliver this food aid to people in severe need. Therefore it was cancelled. How can a citizen trust the state? Rampant corruption, cronyism, hiring cleaners based on party affiliation are breaking down society. In Moldova, I conducted research in the area of the black economy for the ILO. I was asked where the Balkans begin. I said, in Bratislava. We are officially the most corrupt republic (EU data).
But what kind of generation will grow up that does not eat properly? With what predispositions? During the Falklands War, recruits could not be accepted in Great Britain due to their physical weakness, due to poor healthcare. We do not need soldiers, but what kind of society is it if we do not care about the health of our children? What does today's youth consume? Various substitutes, plastics, artificial food flavored with something that was intended as a chemical warfare agent for combat in Vietnam. See the section on the privatization of Slovak agriculture. The conduct of our "businessmen," for example in the meat industry, is amazing. An Austrian butcher said that his professional honor would not allow him to do such a thing. In Slovakia, honor and professional pride apparently do not exist. I have long been unable to wash plates after consuming Slovak meat products stuffed with vegetable fat.
Former US Secretary of Labor Robert Reich argues on his blog that the American economy is immoral. The economy, in principle, depends on certain common rules of public morality that are unacceptable because they essentially undermine trust and the functioning of society. In his testimony before the US Congress, he described the danger of an unequal distribution of wealth in favor of the top 1% of society. The current situation of wealth distribution is very similar to what it was during the Great Depression in the 1930s (p. 5, Reich, 2014). Enormous lack of solidarity created the first peak of inequality (1929) and the second peak is arising today. This resembles the two pillars of a bridge like the Golden Gate in San Francisco, or the chain bridge built over the Danube in Budapest.
The main question today is whether to support sustainable economic growth (when natural resources are not unlimited) or a sustainable dignified life and happiness? Societal debate should focus on whether we want to devote ourselves only to the profit of a small group (GDP) or to the harmony and dignified life of all (GDH). Supporting social development is no luxury/waste — it is a condition for a sustainable dignified life, but you will not find this in the minds of politicians. Financing social development as an investment for the future is absent, or only sporadic, in national development programs. The International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva made further economic development conditional on adequate social protection as early as 2001 in its resolution on social security (M. Hetteš was one of the members of the drafting group). Europe suffers from social injustice and the greed of the wealthy minority ("You can never get enough money."). Austerity measures are now being applied in healthcare and social spending, and this irreversibly causes excess mortality. The British Medical Journal reported in 2010 on the impact of the financial crisis on worsened health conditions measured by high mortality in four Central European countries (Slovakia, Czechia, Poland, and Hungary) (Stuckler et al., 2010).
One of the basic conditions for the effectiveness of the social system is its transparency and fairness. A great deal of social activities depend on public finances (social transfers). How much is released depends on the strength of democracy. According to the European Commission, during the evaluation of the so-called European Semester, the view of providing public finances to enterprises, individuals, or groups is that it always occurs through corruption. This influences public opinion negatively. The worst situation is in Slovakia, Czechia, Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria. Such practice is widespread (p. 9, Quality of Public Administration, 2012). Basically, in public administration, the practice of biased clientelism through corruption leads to inefficiency and misuse of resources, since it does not occur through rational decision-making or on the basis of objective criteria. Corruption in the awarding of public contracts produces poor and low-quality results. From the same source, it can be concluded that the judicial system and the rule of law are low in essentially the same countries (Slovakia is usually at the bottom).
Unemployment threatens people's livelihood security. According to surveys, 64% of Slovak citizens feel threatened by possible unemployment. The state is ruled by fear. Opinions have emerged that the current fear is worse than during the time of Husák's normalization after the Soviet occupation.
Slovakia, however, gives almost "nothing" from its own budget (measured as a share of GDP) for active labor market policies compared to other OECD countries. In Slovakia, there is a surprising paradox of high unemployment and a lack of staff in labor offices. Vocational counselors are unable to provide quality and good services due to the high number of clients per counselor, and it is even questionable whether the assessment can be carried out adequately and whether it leads to good recommendations. We can hardly confirm that those who want work will find it, because there is an absolute shortage of available job opportunities compared to applicants. Paradoxically, the majority of unemployed persons in the EU today do not receive unemployment benefits. The EU Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion announced on September 16, 2016, that only a small portion of the unemployed receive unemployment benefits due to constant savings and the targeting of benefits. In Romania, Poland, and Slovakia, fewer than 20% of people without work receive unemployment benefits. The unemployment rate varies significantly by age group. Many young people suffer from a lack of work and discrimination. This creates a breeding ground for rising hatred against older people. Young people believe it is the fault of older people (ageism). However, the average age of exit from the labor force (according to Eurostat) in Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary is around 58-59, which is much earlier than the legal retirement age (p. 33, Demography, 2012). Adequate, dignified, and sustainable old-age pensions can only be ensured by full employment across all age groups. Nevertheless, essentially artificial unemployment is maintained. Socially necessary and useful work is largely not in demand and not adequately valued. Conversely, socially harmful and often essentially criminal "work" is well paid. Solving unemployment would simply require valuing every socially beneficial work (e.g., caring for children and parents, rather than supporting gambling and mindless entertainment).
Employment in human health and social work plays a significant role in maintaining a balanced labor market, especially during a crisis. If we compare employment rates between 1995 and 2011, Slovakia, Poland, Czechia, and Hungary had unused capacity in this sector. But in the case of Slovakia, there was even a decline (p. 101, Employment and Social Developments in Europe, 2013). During the return from a meeting of labor ministers in Luxembourg in 2008, after the outbreak of the crisis, we discussed the need to increase the number of experts in labor offices; unfortunately, Slovakia went in exactly the opposite direction.
European countries suffer from low birth rates. The birth of a child brings joy to a family, but is usually accompanied by a deterioration in the family's standard of living. Society has no real interest in its most basic task, which is the preservation of life, the simple replacement of generations. Plundering other countries of their young people through immigration is a short-sighted, unsystematic solution that often immediately brings intercultural clashes. Many mothers have no opportunity to send their child to a preschool facility, which causes low employment. In Slovakia, local governments long ago sold kindergarten and nursery buildings for the prospect of immediate profit. They were not concerned then, nor are they now, about what will happen to the future and sustainability of life. The availability of preschool facilities represents an example of wise social investment policy. The emerging shortfalls in the number of economically active inhabitants cannot be compensated by importing (immigrating) new Europeans/Slovaks. Population aging (in reality, it is a reduction in the share of children who were not born, thus temporarily increasing the share of older people) is a global problem, and whether we like it or not, if government attitudes do not change, there will be a worldwide shortage of young people, everywhere. Thus, "stealing" them is a short-term and unsustainable solution. Conditions for a decent life must be created in every country. We currently have the resources. As early as 1907, the originator of the term social work, Simon N. Patten, wrote about an economy of surplus that replaces the stage of scarcity. This is how we also need to set our values and perception of the world, which suffers from tremendous ignorance of this fact and remains stuck in outdated thinking. All subsequent wars had and have their origins in social injustice and in unjustified human greed.
Despite Europe's wealth, every fourth inhabitant lives at risk of poverty. Every fifth Slovak cannot afford a standard diet, despite "economic success." In Europe, huge amounts of food are commonly thrown away or otherwise wasted. We need to guarantee a basic income. We must act in this regard. Even Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, warns in his political plans that it is necessary to introduce a minimum wage and a minimum income guarantee in every EU member state (p. 21, Juncker, 2014). Yet we are witnessing constant questioning of the need to introduce a minimum wage. Young people in Slovakia are commonly convinced of the harmfulness of the minimum wage and write about it even in defended "socially oriented" theses. But let us ask, why is there no discussion of a socially and morally acceptable idea — a maximum income and also a maximum possible value of wealth? This wealth generally did not arise from honest work, but from simple, albeit legal, plundering/privatization. The idea of a guaranteed social minimum would certainly also be needed in Central European countries. The increase in wage polarization here continues even during the crisis, when officially everyone should be tightening their belts in solidarity. The number of millionaires is currently growing despite the financial and economic crisis. The increase in labor productivity and the increase in GDP per capita, however, are not usually associated with a rise in the standard of living for everyone. Slovakia has even achieved a higher income measured by purchasing power (PPS) than Czechia, Poland, and Hungary. Slovakia already has a higher GDP per capita than Greece and Portugal, but old-age benefits are much lower here. Slovakia's economic strength has reached 76% of the EU average, but wages represent around one-third of the EU average. Where does the disproportionate profit remain? Then the government can write to the European Commission that it has no resources for education, healthcare, etc. Labor costs in Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Czechia are very low compared to the rest of Europe. The state essentially behaves more like a 19th-century workhouse than a 21st-century welfare state. The state and its legal system are based on fulfilling the needs of oligarchs and anonymous shareholders. Citizens have become accustomed to this state of affairs and take it as standard. People are forced to work for a pittance and must even be grateful for being exploited because they still have so-called work.
European integration is built on the principles of social cohesion and solidarity. We can easily demonstrate the lack of solidarity given the widening differences between regions (... territorial units into which states are internally divided. The Bratislava Self-Governing Region achieved fifth place in economic wealth, using GDP per capita as a measure). However, the social situation and living standard in this region represent a fraction of what is standard in Vienna or Stockholm, which Bratislava has surpassed economically. Someone said it is Mogadishu, not the capital of the 2016 EU presidency country. The most economically depressed areas in Europe are found in Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Hungary, but also in Slovakia. High unemployment here is essentially artificially created. Socially necessary work is insufficiently supported. The problem of unemployment lies in the fact that we mistakenly understand as work only that for which we are paid, and we do not understand as work what is done for the common good. Society cannot survive without children, healthcare, schools, but it can easily do without gambling and often overgrown bureaucracy. We even label as "work" the activity of a hired killer ("He did a good job," I hear in a movie), but we do not value caring for parents and rather punish such individuals with a ridiculously low care allowance.
British economist John M. Keynes left us a short essay in 1930 (Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren) as a message to his grandchildren, stating that the love of money as property and the love of money as a tool for sustaining life would, in a hundred years, be understood as something disgusting, semi-legal, rather pathological, akin to mental illness. His grandchildren's children are now among us, so we can consider the present as the time Keynes had in mind. J. Keynes was the first to distinguish between the work we need for simple physical survival and the work we need to fulfill our humanity. Economics focuses only on the former, the first form of work. With the advance of progress, however, this work becomes less and less significant and at the same time less and less represented. Progress is our common success, but therefore we cannot speak of superfluous people whom the current approach cannot employ. Thinking must change. A fully dignified human life is much more important than the mere accumulation of wealth. That is why we are unable to solve the unemployment problem as long as we demand further economic growth with constantly increasing production, higher and higher profit for the minority — this has no meaning for the sustainable life of humanity.
For example, the social economy (in the EU it employs up to 10% of the labor force) has no possibility of bankruptcy. Profit is used for further development. Have you ever heard of social cooperatives? But that is a chance to secure a place in a social care home after the collapse of social security, which has already occurred.
Austerity measures aimed at profit lead society to deny the importance of health, to social insecurity, deteriorating nutrition, reduced quality of available services, etc. Stagnation in remuneration for work and an overall decline in people's purchasing power lead to reduced demand for further production and better services. This is the essence of the causes of today's crisis. Unemployment is usually accompanied by family breakdown, crime, and suicide. People are afraid of losing their jobs, so they work for shameful wages and under poor conditions. It is not unusual even for young people to work themselves to death. This happens in France, and I have sad examples from my homeland as well. We can point to the finding of the Council of Europe's expert committee on the implementation of the Social Charter that the minimum wage in Slovakia is not in line with the state's commitments in terms of its obligations. Even a twofold increase in remuneration for work would not eliminate discrimination. Income growth is the only way to increase demand for services, for new production, and to overcome the crisis overall. Of course, this finding provides the possibility of filing a lawsuit against this state. But that would require independent trade unions and civic courage. I myself have already sued this state for fraud. I was denigrated and labeled a madman by those who received hundreds of thousands of preferential votes.
The most representative association of socially oriented European non-governmental organizations is called the Social Platform and has 48 pan-European members representing more than 2,800 organizations from across the European Union. M. Hetteš has represented the European Council for Social Development (ICSW Europe) on the Board of the Social Platform since 2014, which approves its position papers. ICSW is the oldest socially oriented organization (since 1928). The policy of the Social Platform is the effort to advance systems guaranteeing minimum incomes at a level of at least 60% of the national median income (that is, not the average, but the most common) to protect people from poverty throughout their lives, with regard to national budgetary possibilities that take into account real needs in relation to services and goods. An adequate minimum wage must be higher than the established minimum income, at a level of at least 60% of the national median wage. Common standards for unemployment benefits must be set higher than the minimum income. There must be a universal system to protect against exclusion for people who have not yet worked or have worked only very briefly. There must be a legal entitlement and non-discriminatory access to quality, inclusive, and affordable social and health services, education, and lifelong learning, recognizing that investing in these services means increasing the potential for job creation. And that is also the solution to Slovak unemployment and social decline in Slovakia. The Social Platform is funded by member organizations, but mainly receives subsidies from the European Commission, so it is not some anarchist-leftist international. See who all belongs to it:
GUARANTEED SOCIAL MINIMUMS
Social protection consists of a set of policies and programs designed to provide social security on a broad basis. It is recognized by a whole range of international social instruments/standards and by the United Nations as a fundamental human right since 1948, enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This declaration is also the work of the chairwoman of the working group led by the wife of the American president, Eleanor Roosevelt.
The obligation to extend social security, which is embedded in the understanding of human rights, was almost forgotten in recent decades. This obligation came to be understood as abstract, barely appearing in practical policy, its goals, and programs. Until the adoption of ILO Recommendation No. 202, there was a clear definition of the human right to social security, but it was rarely put into practice (p. 12, Civil Society Guide, 2015).
Guaranteed social minimums ("social protection floors") were introduced by the International Labour Organization through the aforementioned Recommendation No. 202 in 2012 as the first stage of a comprehensive national social protection system. They guarantee access to essential services, social assistance, and support (social transfers). The reality is that individual countries have different social systems and needs, and therefore guaranteed social minimums reflect national possibilities and approaches, respecting specific needs, structures, objectives, development, and priorities. Guaranteed social minimums are created according to the needs and possibilities of each state. Therefore, they are possible in every state. Guaranteed social minimums are universal in nature and cover all inhabitants. Guaranteed social minimums are based on law and are anchored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Guaranteed social minimums represent only the first step in the process — they are not a maximum ceiling. ILO Recommendation No. 202 (2012) represents an innovative act for states and their citizens to move toward introducing such guaranteed minimums with continuous improvement.
Currently, there is no common agreement in the European Union regarding the significance of this paradigm shift within this grouping. The ILO estimates that approximately 80% of the world's population lives without adequate income security or access to healthcare. Only 49 states (and it is true that these are mainly from Europe) have ratified ILO Convention No. 102 on Social Security (Minimum Standards). The crisis that began in 2008 changed the state of affairs, and the international community focused its efforts on improving social protection (Hetteš, 2015).
International efforts led in 2012 during the International Labour Conference to the adoption of the recommendation by delegations from around the world, thereby creating the concept of guaranteed social minimums. Every national guaranteed social minimum should include at least the four mentioned social security guarantees defined according to national possibilities. The recommendation recognizes the primary role and responsibility of ILO member states in the realization and implementation of guaranteed social minimums. Therefore, this revolutionary act needs to be assessed in light of today's situation, including in the European Union.
The adoption of Recommendation 202 by all national tripartite delegations of EU countries during the International Labour Conference was necessary due to the social situation, particularly aggravated after the onset of the crisis. Nevertheless, not all European citizens have the opportunity to benefit from these guaranteed social minimums. Therefore, it is necessary to remind EU bodies and especially EU member states of their commitment to maintain guaranteed social minimums according to their national procedures in full substantive scope, at the level they set so as to fulfill the intent of these social guarantees.
EU bodies tend to understand guaranteed social minimums rather as some kind of social safety net to mitigate the mechanisms caused by market-oriented economies. Adopting the lowest possible levels is, however, an unacceptable approach. Because only the principles of solidarity and non-profit orientation are possible, not principles focused on the market and profit maximization. The creation of guaranteed social minimums must not be threatened by excessive financial concerns and must take into account the goals of the Europe 2020 Agenda in the areas of employment and fighting poverty. Europe represents a space where social rights were supported and built up to a high level in recent decades. However, excessive targeting, a multitude of conditions, unnecessary verification of entitlements, the removal of automatic awards, etc., have led to the dysfunction even of the best systems.
Universal material and personal coverage is a basic element of guaranteed social minimums. Not all EU citizens have access to them, and some no longer have access as a result of changes. Income from work no longer allows a large number of Europeans to live with dignity. There is no other option but to use local economic indicators to strive for the introduction of a universal minimum wage for all sectors and professions in every EU member state. For persons of working age who cannot work due to health obstacles or unemployment, minimum income guarantee systems are necessary.
The Social Platform supports the idea of guaranteed social minimums. However, we need not only European efforts but also a global activity/movement to support such a fundamental transformation of society. Therefore, a global coalition for the advancement of guaranteed social minimums was created. More information can be found in the appeal published on January 27, 2014, and the latest information on its website http://www.socialprotectionfloorscoalition.org/.
The Coalition united over 80 global civil society and trade union organizations that support this idea as a tool for achieving the goals of the global development agenda. The Coalition adheres to the basic goals of social justice (ILO Constitution and its Philadelphia Declaration, Articles 22 to 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights). The Coalition aims to achieve that the human right to social security is defined in the form of a guaranteed minimum basic income and access to healthcare by 2030, which is the nearest target year for the development agenda. A sustainable goal is also the implementation of adequate national social protection systems and related measures together with guaranteed social minimums, and by 2030 to achieve substantial expansion so as to protect the poor and vulnerable.
The UN General Assembly adopted seventeen sustainable development goals in 2015, including guaranteed social minimums by 2030. The global community has endorsed this idea, but it will still be a long road.
Conclusion
Citizens and their representatives must find a way to maintain a sustainable life in Europe in harmony with other parts of our planet. What we all have in common is a permanent responsibility for ourselves, our families, our surroundings, our country, but also for all of Europe and consequently for this global village. Because our future as humans also depends on the fate of other people on other continents. Our future depends on maintaining peace and social justice. We do not need false enemies. We need to stop the weakening of cohesion, humanity, solidarity, and social justice. Let us think of our children and future generations, who also deserve a happy life.
doc. RNDr. Miloslav Hetteš, CSc. President of the European Council for Social Development International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) http://www.icsw.org/
References
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