RELIEF WORKERS' INSURANCE

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 185, 6 August 1932, Page 11

RELIEF WORKERS' INSURANCE

SYSTEM DEEMED "UNFAIR. ALTERNATIVE SUGGESTION. A letter from the Otahuhu Borough Council respecting- insurance of relief workers was read at the last meeting of the Henderson Town Board. Tho council said that as the position now stood the Unemployment Board undertook to find each unemployed man a specified number of days' work per week, and arranged with a local body to employ him. If, however, he should meet with an accident whilst engaged on works under the control of such local body he immediately ceased to be a charge on the Unemployment Board and became a charge on the local body. That was unfair to the local body, and also unfair to the worker, as during the period of his incapacitation he only received two-thirds of the average wages payable to him prior to his injury. The suggestion forwarded by the Otahuhu council was that as the Unemployment Board was prepared to find each unemployed man with the prescribed number of days' work per week while he is in good health it should find no difficulty in continuing 6uch payments during tho period of his incapacitation through injuries received whilst engaged on relief works. The board could protect itself against fraud by obtaining medical certificates and reports from employers,, as was done by the insurance companies at present. This suggestion covered only cases of disablement involving weekly compensation, and not cases of death or.permanent, partial or total disablements involving lump sum payments of compensation. It was pointed out that this need not be fatal to the proposals, as if the board would not accept its responsibility in those cases the local bodies could, arrange for insurance at much cheaper rates than at. present. Cases .of death or serious injury to relief workers were rare, though minor injuries involving weekly compensation were common. It was resolved to forward a copy of the letter to Mr. H. G. Mason, M.P., and ask for his assistance'.