Study On The Orientation Of Supplementary Function Of Occupational Welfare

Abstract:Occupational welfare (OW) has a long development history, and it wasn’t focused until1970s. The reform practices in western countries prove that OW is an important supplement to state welfare, and plays a greater role in employee security. In China, as the development of economy and society, the living levels are left up, people need more and higher welfare and the enterprise occupational welfare (EOW) becomes an important way to satisfy different levels of welfare needs. At the same time, the economic transition from planned economy to market economy induced disintegration of enterprise dan-wei welfare, EOW, social insurance and social services were separated from it, and finally all the three parts constitute multilevel social security system adjusted to market economy. The supply of OW has been valued by enterprises, then the OW has been placed an important position at employee security in China. However, the development of EOW did not match its according important role in the security system:the supply of supplementary pension and supplementary medical insurance in corporation cannot meet the need of employee security; the implication of occupational welfare in state-owned enterprises is in disorder; the incorrect critiques to "welfare corruption" of state-owned enterprises create confusions to the judgments of OW provided by state-owned enterprises. Therefore, in order to make EOW play the role in a proper way, making the content of OW, the operation mechanism and the action mechanism between OW and state welfare clearly are in pressing. Furthermore, from the international perspective, the studies on OW still stay on the initial stage, and then the study on China’s EOW will enrich the empirical research internationally, strengthen the comparative meanings of OW. The research questions of this study are how the relations between EOW and state welfare changed, why and how the relations transform. The study’s research clue is positioned at the relation changes of EOW and state welfare, conducting exploratory research to make the relation changes show in a clear way. The supplementary theory will be employed to clarify the supplementary function judgment indicators of OW, formation mechanism of OW and the matched development policies of OW. The main research methods are comparative method and documentary method. The comparative method is to compare the relations between EOW and state welfare in planned economy and market economy historically, and to make the contents and structures of EOW supplementary function, formation mechanism and matched policies for OW in China contrast to those in western countries through the setting of reference system from the development of OW in developed countries; the documentary method to collect the data of OW in China for the purpose of quantity analysis.At the beginning of the study, the connotation of OW is classified through the reference of existing studies, then the OW is tried to be classified into two categories-the kind of supplementary to the mandatory welfare and the kind of wage replacement, four sub-categories-monetary and non-monetary in the kind of supplementary to the mandatory welfare, monetary and non-monetary in the kind of wage replacement. Another important part in this chapter is the determination of supplementary function analysis dimensions of OW, those dimensions are form supplement and substance supplement (including item coverage, personnel coverage and supply quantity). Through the classifications and dimensions, we can explore the transformation of EOW in China. Then, the dissertation analyses the transformation of EOW in China from the combination of state welfare to supplement to state welfare. The next chapter summaries the development experiences of western countries’ occupational welfare, and make these experiences become the reference system to China. After that, this study uses the tools defined in chapter1and the reference systems set in chapter3to create a criteria system and give a development judgment of Chinese EOW through thinking of Chinese real conditions. By the analysis of EOW develop strategies in China, it can conclude that the development of Chinese EOW has a relatively integrated policy support except the non-monetary kind of supplementary to the mandatory welfare. In the practice level, the form supplement is comparatively complete, however, there are problems in substance supplement-unreasonable item structure which means the coverage of the kind of supplementary to the mandatory welfare is limited, and the supply forms are deficient; staff coverage is limited; while the OW kind of wage replacement is relatively developed, but the welfare supply forms are concentrated which means that the status cannot meet the diverse needs of employees; the supply quantity of the kind of OW supplementary to the mandatory welfare cannot satisfy the requirement of supplement function. The formation system of EOW is not effective, and the collective consultation system cannot include EOW into its bargaining agenda; and the matched policies are in need, so the social security reform doesn’t provide develop room for EOW and the effectiveness of EOW system cannot be satisfied; At last, the study gives the specific measures to let the EOW get out of develop troubles, and transform successfully to supplement state welfare-constructing the balanced EOW.The study concludes that employee income monetization pushed the transformation of EOW; the social security reform and the social welfare socialization reform create the condition for EOW transition. By means of analysis, on the position of supplementary relation between OW and state welfare, the form supplement can be viewed as a kind of accomplishment, while the substance supplement is in trouble-the item structure is unreasonable, the coverage of employee enjoying the OW is limited and the quantity of the kind of OW supplement to the mandatory welfare is short of supply. In order to exert the functional supplement of EOW, balanced EOW provides the way:on the one hand of the EOW system itself, encouraging the development of the kind of mandatory supplement EOW, regularizing the kind of wage replacement EOW and the discrimination in employee coverage; on the other hand of the EOW external measures, the basis role of social security making the foundation; collective consultation being the way as far as the kind of mandatory supplement EOW are concerned; and at last the matched policies of EOW from the government forming the security.