SICK BENEFIT

Evening Star, Issue 19839, 12 April 1928, Page 3

SICK BENEFIT

NATIONAL FUND FOR RAILWAYS A SUBSIDY OFFERED {Special to the ' Stab.’] AVELLINGTOX, -April 11.. An important innovation making tor llie stability of rail'vayinen’s conditions lias been adopted by the Minister of Railways. Employees will shortly be asked to indicate by ballot their acceptance of a scheme for sick benefit. on national lines throughout the service. The financial basis will be contributions from the employees of 2s tid each tour weeks, while the department, in addition, if the proposed society is fully representative of all employees, will subsidise contributions on the basis of 10s in the £ up to a maximum annual subsidy of £B,OOO. The scheme has been under consideration for over a, year, and is designed to cover the difficult conditions of wage earners when off duty through illness.

There is another interesting feature on which railwaymen will bo asked to indicate their opinion by vole. When accidents occur the compensation is c.n a statutory scale, and one proposal is that tho new organisation should supplement this payment to the extent of 15s weekly. It is intended, however, that tho proposed membership of the sick benefit society shall have the'opportunity of directly deciding whether this provision is to apply, carrying with it a corresponding reduction in ordinary sick benefit, or whether the whole funds of tho society shall be devoted to the benefit of members unable to workowing to sickness or injury not covered by tho AVorkers’ Compensation Art. It has been calculated that tho straight-out sick benefit scheme on the financial basis suggested would enable a weekly payment of £2 5s to bo made, but tho final figure is dependent on tho membership of the fund,, for which all second division employees, permanent or casual, are. eligible. The main lines of the scheme have been framed by a committee comprising the chief accountant of the Railway Department, tho staff superintendent, the secretaries of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, the Locomotive Enginemen, Firemen, and Cleaners’ Association, and the Railways Tradesmen's Association.