With this short piece I try to explain the social system - and it's changes - within which a german worker normally lives. Outlining the life of my elder brother to explain such relations was an idea I had after discussing with him and chinese partners about how to make more understandable the dimensions of society.
Childhood
Hans Weiss was born December 1st in 1941 in Stuttgart as first son of the metalworkers couple Richard Weiss (1910-1980) and Hedwig Weiss (1913-1996). His parents married August 15th 1939 and three weeks later Richard Weiss was "called to the arms" for nazi germans war. He returned home for front holidays in March 1941 - and the birth was the result of this visit. Next time Richard came home was in November 1946 from a soldiers prison camp in Norway - his unit had surrendered to the Royal Army.
For Hans, the war meant mainly two things: missing food, so up until about 15 years he was always a small boy; and, as their flat was near the premises of Bosch factory (where both parents worked, as his grandparents did) starting from 1943 it meant bombings. In 1944 the house where he lived with his mother got bombed - as did the whole street, so everybody who survived had to move to relatives or to shelters.
He went to school in 1948, the year his younger brother was born - who writes this lines.
School system
The schoolsystem at that time was still very traditional: the peoples school - 8 years. After four years it was decided if there was the possibility to go to middle school or even to high school (both with longer years - 6 and 9). When the time came to decide over Hans future, things were quite easy. Workers in the Germany of 1952 were about 40% of the population - workers children at high school were 1.5%, at middle schools about 4%. So he continued in people's school until 1956 - the year to start learning his specialised workers profession. (This means: 8 years of school, afterwards three years in the so called double formation system - one day a week in the public professional school, the rest as apprentice in the plant - in his case, the Bosch plant in Stuttgart which, at that time had about 12.000 workers and employees).
Young workers who were still learning their profession at that time, got a very small remuneration: 20 Deutsche Mark (DM) a month in the first year, 40 in the second and 60 in the third year. A normal worker at well paying Bosch made about 400 DM then, his father, as a very specialised worker about 500. Even so, Hans had to do, what each of his colleagues had to: deliver a part of his earning to families cash, normally the half. In the midfifties the situation was still quite hard - no more hunger as in the years of war and the first after war years, but not much more than just enough to survive.
The monthly family income in 1956 was (roughly) 500 from the father, 250 from the mother (who worked in the less well paid controlling department - and, as "normal" got something of two thirds of the wage of a male colleague), 10 from Hans and 140 from the grandmother, a widow (mother's side) who lived with the family as pensionist and took care of the children.
With totally 900 Deutsche Mark for five persons this income was above the medium workers income. The flat rent was about 150 DM a month, all services included. But, as with the bombing the family had lost everything material they had had - the clothes they were wearing were their last belongings - step by step they had to rebuy the household basics, like beds, table and chairs, kitchen things and so on. So, as an small example, both childs saw their first orange in life at christmas 1954 - an event both still remember.
Some social realities in the 1950s
At that time two topics of social policy were topics in the lives and discussions of the family and friends: firstly the general social problem of the pensions of workers widows. Those normally were the really poor in the country, many of them forced to eat only once a day. As our grandmother was one of them, it was a problem present in the families everyday life.
The pension system was quite clear: You retreat with 65, after at least 45 years of work. These were the basic two conditions to receive full pension. As it was presumed start working at 15 to 20, the 45 working years would be normal - but, as women normally stayed at home for some years after having children, most of them missed this condition and got much lower pensions. More on: As female wages normally were lower than male, when they returned to work, many of them did as part time workforce - the "additional earner".
Financing of pensions - as of all three basic parts of social security system - was based on employment: pensions, unemployment insurance and health care were paid by a share of your wage. So, in those times, when you got 400 DM a month, you had to contribute with about 5% of your income to health care, 1% to unemployment insurance and 6% for the public pension fund. What meant, that 12% of the wages went to the public social security system - your real wage being 352 DM, minus the wages tax (a progressive percentage - the more you earn, the higher the percentage will be - real rich people paid up to 53% taxes from their income). But, and this is important still today, those three contributions to social security were just 50% of the sum you had to pay - the other 50% were paid by the employer. In the everyday social class struggle, again and again the employers, especially the powerful Association of German Industry, complained about that - these "further costs" in their propaganda being the reason for failures, less employment and so on, because it made wages to expensive... There was also - for people who had not worked or only a very short time - the public social assistance. In the 50es and 60es, until the 70es the main receivers of that social assistance were single mothers (or divorced) - what was a very humiliating process. So there were different documents for men and women to write and undersign: for female appliants there was the infamous "ocsc" passage, not for male. ("Often changing sexual contacts"). What meant that each woman applying was under suspicion of being a prostitute.
The second big political issue that became an everyday discussion within workers families, was the introducing of the "fourth social column" after World War II. The "Burden Sharing Law" was aimed at the millions of so called displaced persons - normally people coming from the eastern part of Germany, or Germans flying from Poland or Checoslovaquia (from where all germans who collaborated with german nazi occupation power were expelled). There was a big split between the people who had lost a lot by the bombings during the war - as our family had - and the displaced families from the east, which received money and space to live for a restart.
Even as an apprentice, as Hans was in this years, he had to pay taxes and social contributions.
What happened in Germany in the fifties was a real economic explosion: with a lot of american (for investments) help in a few years Federal Republic of Germany became a big economic world player - including investments in a series of countries. Hans father decided to follow an appeal of the Boschcompany, which was searching qualified german workers for their foreign investments in countries without many qualified workers. So they spent some years in Latin America, Hans also working for Bosch - only that the company, in all these years, "forgot" to pay his social contributions - years that later on he missed, when it came to make his pension account...without these he didn't come to the necessary 45 years.
The Sixties in the Federal Republic of Germany
When he came back to Germany and Stuttgart, he already was a young worker with some experiences and a relatively good income (wages had increased more than prices; politics of the metalworkers union - IG Metall - was "share the productivity gains" which at that time was quite succesful) of something like 700 DM. Now it was the time for some young women to appear at our home one after another, and Hans spent at lot of time with his best friend Panos, a migrant worker from Greece.
Mass migration to Germany started in the fifties and became a real social fact in the sixties, in Stuttgart they were mainly from the South of Italy, from Yugoslavia and from Greece. Bosch employed more than 14.000 people (of whom some 2.000 were migrants now) at that time in the central plant of Stuttgart-Feuerbach, a typical workers suburb, where we lived in a company flat. Contributions to the social security system were slightly higher than in the fifties, but the system was the same.
It was a time, nearly forgotten today, when the companies were searching for workers. One of the most common pictures was, in industrial zones of the city, big metallic posters at the entrances of plants "We employ...". A lot of people changed the job, to earn more. Even with all working persons of the family being unionized, they searched their individual ways to improve material situation. Our mother changed within the company to nearby Waiblingen plant (700 people and one hour to arrive there by train) - the single Bosch plant in the region, where women could be a group leader - normally, even in womens departments, as the controlling was, there was at least one man: the group leader. And even if at that time the first discussions in the union begun, that it should be the same wage for same jobs, such a jobchange was a rare chance for a female worker to earn more. Mother now earned more, father got wages above the collective contract (it was in 1966 I think, when he came home having earned more than 1.000 DM for the first time in his life) - time for Hans to search a job with higher wages. So, in 1966 with 25 years, he did what nobody of the family had done in the last 60 years - he leaved Bosch. He worked in a much smaller company now, but earned nearly 1.000 DM also. Those were the "fat years" - when the unions entered collective bargainig demanding 15% getting some 10% more each year. And a lot of people working extra time (hourly wages for extra time were more or less 25% higher).
The family bought a lot of things: Two cars, Hans had one of himself, a TV, freezer and so on. And he had the material condition to marry - what he did in August 1967, his wife Susanne gave birth to their son Oliver in October 1967. Some years before, government had introduced "children benefits" payable to each family, indenpendently from earning or income.
The first economic crisis of postwar Germany from 1966 onwards did not really affect the southern region of the country: It meant especially pit closures in the western Ruhr area (mainly between Dortmund and Duisburg) and first cuttings in the steel sector of the same area. The Stuttgart region was mainly one of car builders (Mercedes and Porsche had their central management and their biggest plants in Stuttgart and nearby Sindelfingen: at that time Mercedes employed 14.000 workers in Stuttgart and 34.000 in Sindelfingen, where a high percentage of migrant workers spent sweat at the hughe assembly lines; Porsche had 7.000 workers in Stuttgart; Bosch, aside from electrical household utilities was the main supplier of both in all electrical components).
A young workers couple until 1980
So, they were three of them: Hans, Susanne and Oliver. They moved one suburb farer away from the city centre, where bigger "workers settlements" had been constructed in 1934 (a "german workers bulding programme" of fascist government, from which Hans' uncle Rudolf Hamm - mother's brother born in 1900 - was able to buy one, something quite rare for a Boschworker, what he also was. Uncle Rudolf had died in 1952 of a heart attack while working in the central heating station of Bosch, his widow, Aunt Erna, born 1896, died 1966 and, as they had no children, they made their nephews their heirs).
Hans worked for a company called Aberreuther - a Bosch supplier - that employed some 150 workers, and he, as already said, earned clearly more that at Bosch. Susanne, born in 1936, was at home for two years, until 1969 when Oliver was 2 years old and went to the kindergarten. Then she retook her old job at the central Stuttgart post office, but soon had a working accident and had to spend some months in hospital to recover.
Hospitals, kindergardens and asylums were basically public - mostly run by the cities. There were some university hospitals in each federal state of Germany, run by state government. And, for all those public affairs, including schools, there was a basic treaty with both christian churches (in Germany catholics and lutherans are each nearly the half of religious people) that churches could be active in each of these sectors (and yes, they were mainly interested in kindergardens) in case that there was no state institution - the so called subsidiarity model. So, for both, hospital and kindergarden, they had nothing to pay: They already had by taxes or contributions to social security.
A worker who became ill, would continue to receive from the company for six weeks - and then get money from the health care system. But it had been a real heavy social struggle in the 50es to introduce that important step of social security: no more so big problems if somebody got ill for a longer time - it was the biggest unions strike of that period, which forced employers to accept this (and still today they complaint a lot; a even better regulation was achieved by the miners - who traditionally had their own health care system, being the most dangerous section of the working world). Susanne was ill for nearly half a year - and this meant at least four months with just receiving health care money, what was far less than her normal wage. So they got some financial trouble at that time - what should have been the period of organizing the basics of their household, became a really hard period instead. Of course, they got financial help from our parents (Susannes parents had died during the war, flying from the Red Army and her four sisters and two brothers were not in the conditions to help). And of course, for them it was important, that they had no rent to pay for the little house they lived.
In these times Hans often worked up to 60 hours a week, instead of the then normal 42 - it was the time when saturday became a free day, unions having campaigned a long time for a "real weekend" (one of the most famous posters in Germany was the metalworkers union poster with a child saying "On saturdays pa belongs to me"). Only some 15-20 years later there developed the discussions to "adjust time" - meaning working extra time would not bring extra money, but extra free time - the healthier option.
Even so, with that lot of working hours, it was in those days, when he begun to be an active unionist. Long discussions about Vietnamwar with his younger brother (who, as first in whole familiy went to Highschool and then to University in 1967 - without paying anything, but, of course had to had a job to secure his life) lead him to participate in the first union manifestations against US war - and it's backing by Germany - in the southern region.
Some effects of 1968
It is quite normal to refer to the "68 movement" as a students movement - which it was. Mainly. But of course a lot of young workers also participated, of whom Hans was one of the eldest. Not only that his hairs grew longer and his music preferences changed from Elvis to the Stones, that there were meetings and manifestations - the movement led to the first election victory of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) the traditional workers party in Germany since three generations, which had renamed itself as a party of the whole people in the 1950es. hans became a member of the SPD - as his parents were, and three of his grandparents too. As his uncle was - only his aunt was in the CP.
It is neither necessary nor possible to discuss SPD here: the topic is, that this election victory - after 20 years of conservative led governments from 1949 to 1969 - expressed a lot of workers aspirations. Besides the wish for peace - Willy Brandt stood for - there were some basic social needs, which were at least partially fulfilled. A lot of universities were founded in those years, also a lot of high schools, a new school type organized: the common school which aimed at overwhelm the traditional division between the three school types; financial assistance for students was introduced, the female pensions problem, if not solved, in any case improved. In reality, the years from Willy Brandts victory in 1969 only until the oil price shock in 1973 - those four short years were the "best years ever for german workers". Metalworkers got clearly better wages through strong struggles, others too. The whole "school gap" was changed: workers children in high school, in 1976 (just the year I have available here) marked 20.2% - something like 12 times of 20 years before.
Susanne in these years was one of the first women in town to participate in the "Same work, same wages" campaign of metalworkers and printers union - postalworkers union joined soon. It was in 1973 that at the regional post department was forced to accept that female workers could become working group leaders - and, in the same year, 25 young girls, who started their professional formation, begun a career as electricians, up to then a male only profession: The campaign of postalworkers union simply was based on the constitution.
At least in my opinion, all these "new things" were based on the mentality changes of 1968...
When Oliver, their son, went to school in 1974 his options were far broader than his fathers 25 years before. The more, the everyday life in schools had changed: in 1948 and onwards it was not only a fact that there were still a lot of teachers with an fascist past; they still had the right to beat pupils. This was forbidden in 1969.
With the so called oil price shock of 1973 a new period of capitalism started. It takes only two of a lot of smaller things that happened to clarify basic change. First, a new crisis took place as costs for energy roared: unemployment appeared, heavily. Second: In 1977 for the first time in postwar history the announced an usual yearly improvment of pensions was "delayed". this had been a basic achievment: pensions were adjusted yearly in relation to wages and prices - not this time, and this happened in the year after the 1976 elections, where the government had promised, that pensions adjustment would take place.
Even so, at the end of the 70es the situation still was quite good - the main problem was, that Hans and Susanne divorced, she went to live with Oliver and he stayed alone - what of course meant, he had to pay for the needs of his son.
The end of the mess: From 1980 onwards
In 1982 the government changed without election: Liberal party ended the coalition government with SPD and made a new one with the conservative party CDU. The 16 year government of Helmut Kohl begun. And it begun with a event that outlined the whole 16 coming years: the so called "catalogue of social horror" of the liberals. The whole system of social security should be changed. They were not able to realize politics like Reagen in the USA or Thatcher in UK: it were a series of smaller steps that took place, general resistance (not so much in the sense of struggle, more in the sense of common values and reluctancy) was too strong for more.
Basically, the contributions to social security grew permanently, and the indirect taxes also. The VAT had started with 7% - nowadays in most cases it is at 19%. Remember the contribution figures at the first mentioning above: nowadays it is 19.2% for pension fund, about 14% for health care and around 5% for unemployment insurance. Second: wages came into stagnation, so did pensions. Already when our father died in 1980 he had received less than when he retired in 1973. Less means - calculating inflation. (And in the period until 1998 it was still a 1:1 share with the employer, the later also paying half of the contribution of the worker).
A lot of new experiences were made: for the first time the number of unemployed people went over a million - and never ever went below that. Young people had problems to learn a profession and, if they learned, there was no more guarantee that they would have a job, what was totally normal until lets say 1980.
The small company Hans worked for failed: with 45 years he got unemployed for the first time in life.
What did it mean? First, with that age it was difficult to get a new job. Companies normally tried to find people at least under 40. Second: New financial problems.
How did unemployment insurance work (until the big stick from 2004)? After three years of working you had the right to full insurance - receiving 65% of your last salary (taking the medium of the last years earnings): but only for two years. After two years came the period when the public jobs agency investigated your needs and your havings, for example the income of your partner. Hans stayed unemployed for nearly three years, so he came "under investigation". As his new partner Petra worked in the bad paid retail sector (a - learned - profession tipically exercised by women) he received 58% of his last salary. (This meant: of the basic salary, remunerations for extra time work for example were not counted, so the loss was far higher than 42% - If they came in real trouble this could have meant to loose the old house they were living in). Not only that he was "too old" - in general, the above mentioned metalic posters disappeared forever, companies employing nobody.
While the 80es were the years that lead to the end of the mess, the 90es continued that way, problems grew: with several millions of people unemployed continuously the contributions for social security continued increasing. No more yearly pensions adjustment. Wages stagnated, prices not.
Hans got a new job in 1989 - earning less than he earned 10 years before. His mother felt in illness in 1986 and had to live in a full care asylum, what costed more than her pension, so the sons had to contribute - in case they had an income, what for Hans meant to pay a little sum of his new salary. This was until 1996, when mother died. In 1988 his first wife Susanne died of cancer and his son Oliver, after middle school still was in professional formation scheme, so he came back home and they were three once more, until 1990 when Oliver finished his formation and started to work as an specialized auto mechanic for Mercedes.
New contributions came: The unification of Germany meant to pay an additional 7.5% of your tax sum as "Solidarity contribution" with the 5 federal states which formerly were GDR.
The last years
The biggest change in german social security system came in 2004, with a sample of new laws usually called "Hartz IV" - after the main author Peter Hartz (who short after got on trial for corruption) the human ressources manager of Volkswagen and advisor to chancellor Schröder (SPD) who governed from 1998 to 2005. Combined with other measures these laws meant: Reducing time with the right to receive unemployment insurance and, especially afterwards not only the total control in case of being in need to receive unemployment help, but: forcing people to accept every single possible job, what makes the german professional education system worthless and in everyday life means a real persecution of unemployed. The traditional "unemployment help" - what you could receive after the period of receiving your unemployment benefit (remember: two years are your right, afterwards - the help - it depends from the agencys decision) was put together with the traditional social assistance (remember what I wrote about humiliating women - this type of big brother does not exist any more, but the systematic humiliation is for everybody now). This was combined with two other measures, each of them meaning a system change. Retiring age was delayed to 67 years (for people born after 1960) - not, that anybody would employ these old people, it aimed simply and directly to reduce pensions - and: plus introducing taxes on pensions. And the 1:1 sharing, regarding contributions to social security, between workers and employees on the one side and employers on the other side was suspended, alone the part of the workers increasing. And there were a series of labor laws "to facilitate employment" - meaning less rights for workers.
For Hans it was "quite easy": My time has come. He retired with 65 in 2006. He receives a pension of some 1.200 Euros, above the medium - his last wages had been more or less 2.000. You see: Even in the relatively rich city Stuttgart there are a lot of pensionists with real problems. And there are - for the first time in newer german history - what in the USA was called "working poor".
There is a generation gap: Workers, let's say 45 and elder, normally refer to the seventies, when they speak of better times. Younger workers no longer have the traditional vision of one company they spent the whole life working for, nor the one profession. Nowadays nobody feels secure against unemployment - and everybody lives with millions of unemployed people for more than a generation. Social cleansing arguments like "Hartz IV people" (lazy drinkers and so on) are widespread. Informal work, which traditionally existed "only" for women, now is for everybody also.
I hope this can help to understand better german social system.
Helmut Weiss, January 2010.