Summary
Overviews of programs for disabled workers in eight countries plus international standards for work injury benefits. The introduction discusses two ground-breaking laws — the German law of 1884, which provided benefits through a government insurance fund, and the British 1897 law, which relied on employers to provide benefits. With modifications, both approaches survive to the present. The chapter provides information on the compensation programs in Germany, India, Israel, Japan, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and the United Kingdom. The emergence of work-injury protection under a general risk program in the Netherlands is discussed. The proposed (as of 1972) system in New Zealand, which does not distinguish between work-related and other sources of accidents, is examined. The international standards for work-injury benefits established by the International Labor Office (ILO) are explicated.
Citation:
C. Arthur Williams and Peter S. Barth, “Comparative Approaches to Work Injury Compensation in International Perspective,” Chapter 6 in Compendium on Workmen’s Compensation (Washington, DC: National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation, 1973.)