TOWARDS GEOPATHOLOGY IN SUSAN GLASPELL’S MODERN DRAMA

Unemployment Benefits.

In order to qualify for unemployment benefits, a person must have at least 26 weeks of covered registered employment and have paid contributions in the 12 months before

68 unemployment. The insured must be between age of 15 and the normal pension age, registered with state employment services, and be actively seeking and willing to work.

The benefit is suspended for 3 months for refusing two acceptable job offers or for failing to register each month at the employment service without a valid reason. The benefit ceases if citizens filed false or fraudulent claims or refuse to attend vocational training.

The benefit is equal to 70% of the average gross monthly earnings during the 12 months before unemployment. The benefit must not exceed the national average monthly wage (€221.4 or 250.40 AZN) and it is paid for a maximum of 26 weeks in any 12-month period.

There are approximately 40,000 registered unemployed people in the country while the overall official unemployment number is around 250,000 according to the ILO‘s methodology (The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan 2009c). The coverage rate of unemployed people is very low. Since 2003, unemployment benefits have not exceeded 2 to 3% of all registered unemployed people. This is less than 1% of the calculations based on ILO's methodology. One reason for such low coverage is that many unemployed people have difficulty justifying their unemployment status. A second reason is their involvement in the informal economy. The average size of unemployment benefits totaled €165. In most cases agricultural workers are not eligible to receive unemployment status because most of them are either self-employed or unregistered and do not pay contributions.

Sickness Benefits.

An employee must have at least 8 years of employment in order to be eligible for sickness benefits. In this case, an employee receives 100% of the last month of earnings.

The benefit is paid from the first day of incapacity until recovery or certified as permanently incapable of work.

Maternity benefits.

A person must be in covered employment with at least 6 months of contributions in order to qualify for this type of benefit. For insured women in the nonagricultural sector, maternity leave is provided for 70 days before and 56 days after the expected date of childbirth (70 days after for multiple births or for childbirth with complications). For insured women in the agricultural sector, leave is provided for 70 days before and 70 days after the expected date of childbirth (86 days for childbirth with complications, or 110 days for multiple births). Employers pay maternity benefits for the first 56 to 70 days after which benefits are paid by the social protection fund. The benefit is equal to 100% of the gross average monthly earning and is paid for 126 days total (70 days before and 56 days after the expected date of childbirth). The state budget allocated €22.3 million (25.2 million AZN) for maternity leave in 2010.

Child Care Benefits (contributory).

Child care benefits are paid to employees who leave work to raise a child younger than 18 months old. €15 (20 AZN) is paid until the child is 3 years old. The state budget allocated €4 million (4.5 million AZN) for raising children until they are 3 years old in 2010.

69 Survivor Benefits.

Survivor benefits are paid to survivors who are retired spouses, disabled spouses, nonworking spouses, or spouses caring for a child younger than age 8 or children younger than age 18 (or age 23 if the dependent is a full-time student and there is no age limit if a disability began before age 18). This pension is equal to 100% of the average monthly earnings of the deceased. If there is more than one survivor, then the pension is split equally among them. Benefits are annually adjusted according to changes in the consumer price index for the previous year. Survivor pensions are allocated to citizens living abroad under bilateral agreements.

Funeral Benefits.

Funeral benefits are €90.4 (100 AZN) for the death of a single employee or a labor pensioner. The amount is very low taking into consideration the high cost of funeral expenses that vary from €1,000 to €3,000 (SSPFA, 2009a).

In-Kind Benefits (contributory)

The Privileges Program encompasses multiple benefits such as vouchers for sanatoria and recreational centers, free medical check-ups or surgery at hospitals belonging to industry;

free kindergartens and others. For example, sanatorium vouchers (putyevka) are for employees of various ministries and their children. Over €11 million (12 million AZN) were allocated for these purposes in the state budget of 2010.

2.3.2 Non-Contributory Benefits Birth Grant.

The government pays a birth grant that is provided to each family as a lump-sum payment at the birth of a child. The amount of the payments is constantly increasing. The amount was increased to €44.2 (50 AZN) in August 2008 by presidential decree and it was €65.2 (75 AZN) in December 2009. In 2009, €1.2 million (1.39 million AZN) was spent on birth grants; this consisted of grants for the birth of 27,800 children although around 160,000 babies total were born during that period. The government allocated €1.8 million (2 million AZN) that was paid to about 27,000 families in 2010. The grant‘s increase will be of little impact to low-income families. By some estimates, the informal cost of giving birth to a child in a state-run hospital can reach €354 (400 AZN) on average.

Childcare Benefits (non-contributory).

One of the means-tested benefits is childcare benefits. This benefit is paid to residents of Azerbaijan who are younger than 16 years old and up to age 18 if the individual is a student without a student allowance. The procedure to determine eligibility for children‘s benefits consists of two tests: categorical and income. Categorical tests determine how many children are in an applicant‘s family. In order to determine the income of the applicant, income tests are conducted by the mother‘s employer or the father‘s employer

70 if the mother is not employed. The investigative agency does not require the mother or father to be legally unemployed.

In order to qualify for this benefit, the per capita monthly family income must be less that

€48.6 (55 AZN). Another type of childcare benefits allows low-income families with a child younger than age 1 to receive €16.3 (20 AZN) a month. If the child has a parent who is in active the military service, then they are eligible to receives €35 (40 AZN) a month. A child who has lost the family head is paid €35 (40 AZN) per month (SSPFA, 2009a). In addition, the full orphan special benefit at €8.8 (10 AZN) is paid to a child monthly with no parents. Other monthly allowances include a payment of €44 (50 AZN) for children less than 18 years with health limitations. Custodians (guardians) of children who have lost their parents care also receive €22 (25 AZN) per month.

In-kind Benefits (non-contributory).

The Privileges Program is intended for specific categories of households which are deemed to be poor without an attempt to evaluate their actual poverty status. Privileges include multiple benefits such as exemptions for educational and health care as well as discounts for food, rent and utilities. The rationale behind this benefit is to make these services affordable for poor households. Thus, these benefits are considered to be an effective way to mitigate poverty and inequality during transition. IDPs are also one of the target groups. According to the law, all IDPs are exempt from all charges and fees if they study at state universities or institutions. The same rule applies to children of people who died for the independence of Azerbaijan, National Heroes and others. In 2008-2009, the government initiated social or subsidized mortgages. Families of shehids (martyrs) could thus qualify for a 35,000 AZN (€30,995) mortgage for 25 years under a four % annual rate. At the same time, most refugees live in houses provided by the Azerbaijani government. Until recently they did not pay utilities. The government liquidated some of the benefits to IDPs relating to utilities. In 2010, the Azerbaijani parliament initiated discussions on adopting a law on subsidized or rent controlled housing. However, the issue was only discussed and no regulations were passed.

Targeted Social Assistance.

Azerbaijan introduced Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) on July 1, 2006. It is a means tested program run by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population. It is completely financed by the state budget and meant to help certain groups to avoid falling into poverty. The level of social assistance given in Azerbaijan is defined by the level of need. This was set at €42.56 (60 AZN) per capita in 2008 and €57.4 (65 AZN) for 2010.

The number of people receiving such aid has increased every year. In 2007, only 48,705 families (218,673 people) or 2.5% of the population received this aid and by the end of 2009, 163,409 families (749,965 people) or 8.4% of the population were eligible to receive it (The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2009b). The average amount of assistance for one family in the country is €86.81 (98.19 AZN) and it is €19.06 (22 AZN) for one person.

71 Table 2. Contributory and Non-contributory Benefits (Means Tested and Not

Means Tested)

Type of Benefits Means Tested Not means tested

Contributory

Funeral allowance €90.4 for the

funeral expenses

Survivor benefits 100% of the

average monthly

Child Care Benefits Paid to the residents of

72