FOR 2/6 A WEEK

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22796, 23 August 1939, Page 10

FOR 2/6 A WEEK

Domestic Workers In Country SOCIAL SECURITY AGE BENEFICIARIES Domestic workers in some country homes are reported to be taking employment at 2s 6d a week and found. They are women who have reached the age of 60 and draw the social security benefits. They accept the 2s 6d a week as their pay because they fear that if they take more it will affect their social security benefit.

Under the social security scheme a woman at 60 may receive a benefit of £ 1 10s a week from the State. In addition she may receive not more than £ 1 a week from wages or any other source.' Many women at 60 are still capable of giving excellent service as domestic workers. They find that if they go into the country there is plenty of work offering, so they go, and they may earn £1 a week and still draw their weekly 30s from social security. Going into the country they take positions which give them their wage and keep. For social security purposes their keep is officially estimated to be worth 17s 6d a week. Therefore they may earn only 2s 6d more without upsetting their right to the age benefit. This position in most other spheres of labour would not occur, according to information given to “The Press” by Mr R.- T. Bailey, _of the Labour Department. He said that with farm labourers there was an award to provide for rates of pay, but there was no domestic workers’ award, and workers who received such a low rate of pay were mot breaking any award provisions. The procedure, nevertheless, was contrary to the spirit of the social security legislation. ’ ' ... It has been stated further that though the employer in such cases as these pays the worker 2s 6d the worker receives actually only Is fid a week. The other shilling goes in social security tax levied on the pound she is assessed as having earned. '