Queensland Labour Govt. and Unemployment

Maoriland Worker, Volume 12, Issue 295, 25 October 1922, Page 8

Queensland Labour Govt. and Unemployment

About a fortnight ago mc caDies drew our attention to. an Unemployment Bill introduced by the Queensland Government, and informed us that it had been denounced aa Jpitroduclng- a, "Loafers' Paradise." )J?his phrase was extracted by the Wellington daMies to headline the cabie> they being of the mind that the unemployed " were fit subjects for insults. From, the following speech 'by Minister of Works Forgjan Smith when movthe second reading it will be seen thait the Bill is extremely moderate, its main provision (for unemployment insurance) having been, in operation! in Great Britain for ten years past, i

After stating that unemployment "Is due largely to the fact that'a few people in the community own the )neans of production, the instruments Vf jjidustry, and consequently they can take from Industry what they desire and pay labour a subsistence wage for ■using those means of production. As a consequence, men aro employed only when it is profitable to employ them, and men's services.are dispensed with ■when there Is no longer a means ol making profit from their services," the Minuter said:

The measure under consideration floes not claim in any way to solve the Syiis of tho present imperfect state of ipoiety; a much more drastic «conirnic "change tb&n we can deal with, il'nder the scope of this bill would t>9 necessary to bring that about. But J dp claim for Va2 bill that it deals wltlx an admitted evil In the community, that it will be the means of organising to a" very large extent the available, work in the community and regularising it, and that it will do away to a very large extent with the suffering which is caused as a result of unemployment. We know thai in -any community where unemployment exists, it H\o steps are taken by Parliament to ,&ope witn the distress resulting there- ' from it means that a very large number of people become destitute and are forced" t o live on charitable doles. Not only do they become destitute and. enfeebled physically, but, las the roBult of living in those undesirable teonditions, the psychological effect on the man brought about by his receiving doles and charitable assistance ia a very baa one.. I

173 EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE

=' The bill sets out a scheme of insurance* whereby men in employment, working under Arbitration Court awards, will be insured aad become subject-t 0 the benefits oJ this fund. There will be throe contributors .to tlie fund. The State, the employer. akd the employee will each contribute {fee th-rd to the general fund. I conthat to be a most equitable metiiod of establishing such a fund. On $sjjonoiuic grounds, it can bs asaerUd, the argument cannot be combated that the maintenance of unemployed i&en should be provided tor by the industries itn which those men are engaged. To put it. another way, industries requiring reserves of unemployed men t o call upon during times seasonal prosperity and so o n should raainiain those reserves during the period when they !are not required by •those industries. That is an argument in favour of the employer subscribing to this fund, and he also in common •#ill get the advantage as a result of the improvement in the efficiency of the worker as a unit.

Then, let mc look at i|t from the point of view of the employee. It is the first law of nature that man should make provision for his own maintenance so far as it is possible. Members of Parliament cannot afford to disregard the- value of thrift in the Community. It is not a. desirable thing that men, while they are. In employment and while they are in funds, !should spend all the'=r money without making some provision for their main Itenance during a period of unemployment which almost inevitably is bound to follow in many cases in industry at the present t'me. FLOCKING TO QUEENSLAND There is the further, neint—and this is the most important of all from the point of view of this bill—that it 18 a cardinal feature of the bill that only insured persons shall participate in the benefits of the fund. "This is safeguarded by making tho employee oubscribe to the fund. I

We know that within less than five months close on 2Q0.0 men have come from other States t o seek employment in Queensland. Those men have registered for employment in. the various labour exchanges withi'u the State. Many of them have found employment; consequently i<t is desirable, in dealing with mi unemployed fund, to maintain its solvency by providing that only those shall participate in the benefits who have contributed towards the fund. The employee who contributes towards the fund will have

evidence of that fact, and; will be able to furnish .it when making his claim for unemployment sustenance. One could, easily understand .that, if a fund were drawn upon where there is 11.0, m?,ans of differentiating between the insured worker and the uninsured worker—no means of differentiating between a man wiho was a wt>rker- ,and; one who was not a worker—a, drain would be made upou the fund.which would rapidly bring It to insolvency.

SAFE-aUA&DSHG .SEI,Ifc RESPECT

I There is the psychological arga- ; meftt which I wish to emphasise,- I have said thj&t it is undes'rable tiiat men should receive something to. j which, they have not directly contributed. Any system other than the oits which I am advocating and any system whereby doles are given to uiiem-. ployed workers would, a large extent .injure that self-respect and that manly independence which. I regard aw the badge of tree cUfzenshiy. Unaer .the old methods men received assistance during periods of unemployment as a charity. Under the scheme, which I am now advocating insured persons will.be able to demand this assistance ag /a. right; or in- other words % will demand sustenance from a fund to whvcii they have contributed.

The State is the other contributor. I The S>£aie has «iso a responsibility in this matter, inasmuch as. the. State-ex-ecutive —Barlfiaineut—has means at its disposal of coping with industry:- and regulating it in a way which, to a iarge extent, will minimise unemployment. In addition to that, men in the commun'sty not directly associated with industry are brought within the scope- of the fond; that is to say. there are many men in the community who receive direct benefits from industry .in the shape _of direct income there from who need not subscribe i 0 Ihe fund d'rectly, whereas the State, by becoming a contributor to the fund from the consolidated revenue, throws its proportion into the general pool. Consequently I say tlfat a fund established in this way is perfectly just in its incidence, its solvency can be sustained, and the men participating in the benefits can demand maintenance from the fund as a right to which they themselves liava contributed. A. LIMITED APPLICATION Only those men who are affected by Arbitration Court awards will come within the scope of the measxire. It is necessary that that should be so, because all employment, no matter what it is., is subject to periods of depression and of unemployment.' The sum that m.n in regu.ar employment will be called upon to contribute j ■ + 0 this fund is *nflnitesim,al. Some men may tiake up a selfish attitude, because they think that, as they happen to have a regular job. they should not be called upon to contribute to this fund. That is a very shortsighted view .to take, because the man who is subject to irregular employment would be willing to speedily change positions with him. St is fair and lust that industry as a whele, from the point of view of both the employers and employees, should Xsa called upon to bear portion of the cost of j the fund. I wisn 'to Indicate at this '•tage that ibenefits will not (accrue from the fund until six months have J elapsed. That is to say, if this bill comes law, ao I anticipate it will, when it is put into operation the fund will accumulate for six months before any benefits will be pay-able th-ere-from. That is desirable and necessary from the point of view of the solvency of the fund. "We must look a\ it from the point o£ view of insurance, risks, and build up suitable reserves to meet those risks. ,v7e know that in countries where insurance has been carried on, notably tin Great Britain* and Switzerland, funds have been allowed to. accumulate during p-i'iods of prosperity in trade. ■ That has been j | a splendid safeguard to workers in! i periods of depression. In Switzerland | | they have been able t 0 build up huge ifunds which they have be.n able to utilise, not only to ass:.st me n who are unemployed, but. to*, use those funds to balance the difficulty in regard to exchange, and so enable industries to continue operations. As a matter of . fact 75 per cent, of the funds of the Swiss system is not expended iv.allowances to unemployed persons, but is expend&d in the direction of pro-. vkUng employment. QUALIFICATION 1 FOX BENEFITS Again, it is another safeguard to provide against men receiving from the fund that which they ars not entitled to. If there w er<3 llot six months' qualification, it would mean that men from other States, without' contributing towards the fund at all, would be able t 0 draw on it, and other men who might not be regarded as bona fide-workers would also ba able

to draw on it. The test q£ 'the right, to sustenance from this fund , will, be that the applicant-ehjall be an insured person who has. been a worker in this State for not less than, six months, and a contributor: to--(the fund. Wβ differentiate between men. who. desim work and thos© who= do not. Nobody can. be blind t© the fact th-at in the community there are a certain numbey of men. who d O . aot desire to work.

;The<y are not confined (to any class in the community. Hon. members op--posite often regard the unemployable as belonging only to the working class; but one can point, out in th* wealthy, the. better dressed, -and this 'better fed section of the eoiammiity ■men who never do any useful work from one year's end to the other. They draw in- Idleness sustenance from industry and eoc"iety---.a condition of things whicJb. is permitted under the existing social system. Any social '• legislation of this character cannot afford to ignore the. problem of men who do not desire- to work, because many people, some of whom are porters. o£. how. members opposite, think that the great end :|n life is to.* live on somebody else's labour. That is one of the causes of the economic •Svil which exists ia the community— that a number of men, most of whom,) aro, supporters of hon. members opposite ,desire to liviQ upos the labour; o.s oiHers.. Suck persons will not receivte the advantages of this incisure.

SCUBRELOUS CAPITALIST JOUB-XALI&K

Some, men in politics and others writing journals to-day, who have not seriously studied the question from its economic and moral aspect, have adopted a wrong attitude towards this bill. There are two as-

pects from which it must be studied in order that uioa may l>e able to grasp the s-'ltuation and deal with the problem satisfactorily; but we find men "in certain parlies ana certain journals condemning the measure' v/iithout a knowledge oi its features or of the probkaa itself. I not'ee that in this morning's (• 'Courier"'- it is described ;at "The Loafers' Paradise Bill." I unhesitatingly hurl *hat lie back in the teeth o£ anyone wh 0 uses {.hat opprobrious epithet aga'nst the genuine workers of this Slate and the men who will got the 'benefits of this bill. Men-who are desirous of obtaining work in order to maintain themselves and their famili.es in decency and comfort should not b-a insulted in that way. I know what it is to be unemployed. .Fortunately, I liave not suffered as much from unemployment as many men I have known —good men and good tradesmen, too. I do not think there is anything more hum-, iliating for a man of independent mind than to be placed in the position where he has to search day after day for work which is not available to him. Under this scheme such men will be protected. E&orts will be made to secure employment for them, and self-respecting , men will noi: be insulted in the manner which I have condemned a.a coming from the "Courier' , and some of its political supporters.

THE MACHINERY

This measure will be worked through an Unemployment Council, which will be comprised of the Secretary for Public Work's the Director of Dabour, the Registrar of Friendly Societies, and two other members to elected by the industrial unions and eta Employers' Federation respectively. I in'ay say here that it will be a condition of obtaining sustenance from the fund that the applicant registers as unemployed- tat the nearest labour exchange—that is to say, men will entitled to sustenance from the fund unless, in addition to liav-mg baeu. conlributors, .they are also prepared to talcs work that may be offered to them. If a labour exchange .offers a man work which there is no good reason for his declining and he declines to accept it, he will not be entitled to any advantages.

Oα the Unemployment Council certain important duties will devolve. It will be in the nature of an information

bureau as to the condition of the labour market. For this reason the Council may call upon the various Government departments, local authorities, or other lo.cal governing bodies to furnish statistics arid <tther data in their possession. Tho Council may also—

"(a) Inquire into the causes and extent of unemployment within the State or (any part thereof;

"(b) Inquire i-nto consider what are the moat effective measures to be taken for temporarily or permanently reducing,or llmkiating unemployment within the Sta+e o r any part thereof;

"(c) Obtain and disseminate information on all matters connected with industrial occupations and- ta« call-

ings of workers, with a viiew to improying the industrial relationship between workers and employers and lessening ,the evils of unemployment;

"(d) Consider and report to the Government in Council" upon the incluS'tr'al efficiency of the conimun-iity* the organisation of the labour market and opportunities and all matters and questions relating to unctnployment;

"(c) Consider and report to. tho Governor in Council upon the working- of the State iiabour exchange and makte any recommendation deemed necessary for their improvement and extension. , '-

JHAKIPTO. BOSSES FIW» WOBK

' ; The Council may also appoint one of • its members or any other person >to ! hold an inquiry into any m;atter ( and : ; shall have the powers of a Commis- . sion for that purpose. The Governor ; "in Council, on the report of the Un- . ; ; employment' Council, has power to order any class of employer of any individual employers of employer to take measures for temporarily or per- .»■ man&ntly. reducing or eliminating unemployment, if .the Governor in Council is satisfied, upon the report of the 'Unemployment Council, that such emd ployers have failed to 'begin or proceed with -works, which could, reason- ; ably be begun or proceeded with by such "employers. If an employer makes default in complying w'th the order of the Governor im Council, the .Unemployment Council miay levy\ on the employer a contribution which ;shall be recovered accoi'dingiy. It will be seen that the functions of the Unemployment Council are very important. It is necessary that it should have theso powers for the. efficient carrying, out of .the measure, ! ■ and it is desirable that we should have men capable of filling those offices. In the Director of Labour and the Registrar of Friendly Societies we have men eminently fitted for discharging these responsibilities and I feel sure that the 'employees' unions aud the Employers' Federation will also appoint men well fitted for the duties. REGULAMSI-fQ PUBLIC WOKKS It may he argued—it has been argued—that certain drastic powers <ire given by the bill to the Minister and the Unemployment Cotracii, sand that these may affect industry, I wish to deal with the position of employers as _t affects industry generally. We know that there is certain work which does not urgently require ito be done tit iany particular time, and I think it is desirable that the available public works in the community should ha _ regularised as much as possible—- ' that is to say, those public, works, should be undertaken tas far as possible during the slack periods of the year. Take for example, the situation in any of our large seasonal industries, such as the sugar industry and the pastoral industry. "We.know that the sugar industry requires large numbers, of men for from six to seven months of the year, and during the remainder of the year little or no work it available for those men, and consequently they are dependent to a very large extent on casual labour. We know, also, that local -.tuthoritles in those districts often approach the Treasurer for funds to carry on various public works. I consider that many of those public works could be done" with advantage during slack period of the year. I 'think it is not a good thing_ when employment i 3 avail-able, in a seasonal industry, sacn as a sugar mill or meat works, that the local authorities in those araas ■ should be spending 1 large sums of money in- public works. Rather would it be better, i- a making advances, to those local authorities; to stipulate that so far as possible, thosa works should be carried out during the slack period of the year. That is a sound proposition. It is good from tne woiiksrs' point of view, inasmuch as it regularises the amount of employment available in the community during* the whole period of the year. It-also is a good pi'oposition from the business point of view, because it is desirable from that standpoint to have as many men in -employment in a given d'strlct as is possible. FItOyiSI-MS FOB ABNORMAL DISTRESS ■ Under this bill power will be glvea t 0 the Unemployment Council, during periods of abnormal distress -result- . ing from unemployment, to call the attention of the Governor in Council to the amount of unemployment in the community, to the districts where that : unemployment is at its worst, and to. ; make recommendations to the $QVy ernor in Council, On those reconi- ; mendations the Governor in Council ; may start public works of his qwn, - or may dtt'<*t losal authorities ko com-.,

men.cc public works within.- their aroae ;and the Treasurer will toe called- upoa to 'advance funds for that purpose. Every Treasures; eanii yii&r receives deputations from local authorities asking for funds fer certain public works. Not all of those propositions 'are agreed to for the time but ;W6 alwjays have a s t of the work* t which local authorities are desirious ?of going in for i£ funds are available. During a period such as that the Uaiemployment Council y;ill be able to =find out thft publ'-c works which Ji>ave< already been, approved by the local „authorities, and by that means we will Jbe able to call upon the local authorfity concerned to start this work with ;a view to reducing the amount of uqiemployment, and the Government wilt provide the funds necessary for it" to do so. Some people may argue that ■such public works, being of a relie£ 'character, may be -more costly than. those undertaken in ordinary circumstances. That, also,, is provided for under the bill.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES?'" KES.POWS*

IBILITIES

; In cases where the local authority has incurred financial loss as a result of carrying on these reijef works, it ■ •will be reimbursed to the extent of the excessive cost of those works. Viewed from tliat ;pai&t e£ view, tfee proposition is eminently sound. After is said and dons, local governing bodies have their responsibilities as well as the central Government, it is part of a I octal authority's functions to fmd employment for its citizens ss> far as it is humanly possible for it to .to so, and -t is only a fair proposH tion that local authorities should be ,called upon to carry out public works during periods when men are not required in _ seasonal industries. That is being done by my own department at the present time. The ibu'lding trad'a is fairly brisk in the metropolitan, area and as a consequsuce, I am not authorising otlr&r than .absolutely urgent works in the metropolitan area est the present time. Dater on in the financial year, if men in that -industry become unemployed to any considerable extent, I shall, have the opportunity of initiating those works and so absorbing the men who are not required in other directions. I consider that to be a fa'-r and reasonable proposition.

WHAT THE BILL WILL .Bβ

The bill is an honest and serious at* tempt to deal with an economic evil iai. the community at the present tim'3. It is intended under this measure to prevent people becoming destitute. It is •Intended that people will get advantages from a fund to which they contribute themselves, so that they w?ll not suffer any loss of the spirit of independence. I commend the measura to all fair-minded men and women ia this community. I asK members opposite to consider the bill for them-

selves, and not to be misled or whipped int o a cortahi position by the article which has appeared in the "Brisbane Courier." Let them view U. from the standpoint of citizens in this great State and legislators in this State who have a duty to perform to the community. The bill mnnoi be regarded being of a. Utopian or impossible character. We d 0 not claim that it will remove all the social and economc evils in the community, but we claim that the b'dl, if put into operation and given ia fair chance in administration, will do much to re-> lieve .the distress m the community; caused by unemployment, will do much to improve the status of tha workers in the community, and win do much to promote the efficiency o£ the workers and to lay down a foundation of social legislation which, as a I'esult of experience thus gained, may be built upon in the future.