Social Protection of Workers and Employees in Czechoslovakia During the First Republic (1918–1939)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to characterize the main forms and types of social protection of employees in interwar Czechoslovakia, which were based on the introduction of mandatory state social insurance. The research methodology is based on general scientific principles of objectivity, systematicity, historicism, in combination with special methods: problem-chronological, comparative-legal, content analysis. The scientific novelty consists in an attempt, based on the analysis of normative acts, periodicals of that time, general and special literature, to determine the effectiveness of the system of social protection of workers and employees in interwar Czechoslovakia. Conclusions. Starting from the mid-1920s, the main organizational and legal form of social protection for employees in Czechoslovakia was social insurance. However, the social insurance system itself in the First Czechoslovak Republic was not fully developed until the last days of its existence, as it did not combine all the types of insurance known at that time. In particular, this concerned unemployment insurance, which continued to be carried out under the so-called Ghent system and was extended only to members of trade unions. The global economic crisis that engulfed Czechoslovakia in 1930–1935 and forced governments to adhere to a strict budget policy did not contribute to the further development of insurance institutes. In such conditions, the socialist parties had to focus mainly on preserving the existing standards of social legislation. At the same time, the system of social protection of workers and employees of the First Czechoslovak Republic was formed on the basis of the best assets of the European experience of that time. This was facilitated by both the professional knowledge of its developers and the general democratic atmosphere of the young state, based on the humanitarian traditions of the Czech nation and the social philosophy of T. G. Masaryk. The main role in the creation of an effective system of social protection was played by the state, but the activities of local authorities, based on the principles of humanity and mercy, were also of great importance. Despite the fact that the world economic crisis of the 1930s did not make it possible to carry out the planned reforms in full, their practical implementation made it possible to achieve positive results in the field of social protection of employees.