ABSTRACT
With the exception of the FRG, non-obligatory social welfare contributions in Table 3.1 exhibit among the highest proportions of total non-wage labour costs and the highest growth rates in these proportions. As can be seen from Table A2.6, this category is almost entirely composed of various types of compensation in the form of fringe benefits. Moreover, although it is difficult to obtain precise estimates, there is little doubt that a large proportion (in excess of 60 per cent) of the fringes contain elements of deferred compensation. Here would be included health and life insurance cover and pension provision as well as elements of vacation pay from the category ‘payments for days not worked’. The growing importance of fringes within total worker compensation and, in particular, the union/non-union fringe differential have attracted much recent interest and it is the purpose of this chapter to review aspects of the literature within the context of some of these developments.
