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sacrifice and endurance, and that a country that persisted in extending social security to its workers when it could not afford such a luxury would be in danger of living beyond its means. Another objection to social security was that it served to redistribute income not to the poorest class but to the middle class. developing country, the bulk of the labour force was to be found outside industry or outside the modern sectors. Moreover, ma ny of then vere unemployed and underemployed. How then could social security be truly meaningful as a universal benefit for the whole society? Was it not possible that social security could merely deepen further the existing social and economic disparities, the so-called economic and technological dualism which divided the country between two contrasting worlds of the urban and the rural?
Some of these objections Would continue to disturb the conscientious officials, development planners and policy makers of government. However, the experience of some countries, some developing countries including the Philippines, tended to overcome most of their objections. The experience in the Philippines certainly suggested that although social security could not serve as a panacea for social ills, it could serve as a major policy instrument to mitigate the harshness of industrial life for the average worker; that it could protect the worker and his family when disaster struck
in the form of accidents or when earning power was otherwise lost; and that it could in fact contribute to а healthy climate cf industrial peace, stability and productivity.
True, social security could not yet reach the many mcre millions outside the modern sector. True, social security in most countries could not yet reach even the great mass of the unemployed. But it could begin modestly and expand as the economy itself expands. It could serve in the Philippines as a major proof of the commitment of the Government to translate economic growth into social progress, to promote equitable distribution together with economic growth as the major goals cf the whole society. In that respect, therefore, social security could serve important instrument of social cohesion and stability as well as national solidarity.
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The Secretary of Labor pointed out that the very success of social security could create policy problems not otherwise anticipated. For besides being a nationwide pooling of risks, to help the worker maintain his income during times of personal emergency, social security was also a nationwide pooling of funds which developed another dimension to social security administration that was not quite intended. Mr. Ople would call this the capitalist dimension to social security. Social security, because of its tremendous funds from the premium contributions of the workers and the employers, was classified in his country as a major financial institution or a "superbank" together with the government service insurance system, the Central Bank, the Philippine National Bank and the Development Bank of the Philippines. How were these funds to be used? There were two schools of thought on the subject. One was that the money of social security beyond a certain point became available or disposable for whatever uses were assigned them by the economic planners. Another school said that social security funds whenever they were utilised should be so used as to promote the charter objectives of the institution
to promote the welfare of the working man.
The Secretary of Labor hoped that the seminar could shed some light on this topic. In any event, social security, while primarily intended to assist the worker stricken by personal disaster, could also be a direct means of capital formation for economic and social progress. This was certainly not the least of its attractions for régimes that were faced with the problem of organising social security now rather than later. At the sane time, it would help to recognise that social security, especially after it became successful, would be in danger of being alienated from its members. A sensitive and responsive social security administration would do well to recognise the danger of a diffusion of its major responsibility. There should be no equivocation at all in the major purpose of social security which was to protect the worker against loss of income and to enhance his health, his well-being and his productivity.
Mr. Ople believed that if there was an excellent time for a serious discussion on social security and national development in the developing countries in Asia, the time should be now when the governments of Asia, as well as workers and employers, seemed to be strongly attracted by
the challenge and opportunities of social
security.
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