PENSIONS IN BRITAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19060, 3 July 1925, Page 10

PENSIONS IN BRITAIN.

' WORKERS' INSURANCE. WEEKLY CONTRIBUTIONS. P> INTENTION TO REDUCE. By Telesxajdi—lE'ross Association—Copjrizht, (R«eeived 9.5 p.m.) Sun. LONDON. July 1. Tha House of Commons debated a Labour amendment' to make the Pensions Bill non-contributory. The Minister for Health, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, in replying to the criticism that tho bill would impose additional burdens on industry, said tho Government intended to reduce the weekly contributions of the employers and workers toward the unemployment insurance scheme. The amendment was rejected by 266 .votes to 132. The House spent another all-night sitting on tho bill. Some members yawned audibly and others sat slumbering during a long speech delivered at 3 a.m. by Mr. J. Wheatlev, who was Minister for Health in tho late Labour Government. 1 The Chancellor of tho Exchequer, Mr. W inston Churchill, referred in a recent speech to the criticism that the new pensions scheme, while it will confer enormous advantages on great masses of tho population, notwithstanding casts a now burden on thoso productive industries especially concerned in the employment of labour which aro already in a condition justly exciting anxiety and concern. " It is quite true that there is an additional burden, but that burden will not bavo to be assumed before January 4 next, and thero aro still six months in which the situation can be considered," he said. "Wo have not embarked upon this policy of a scheme of national insurance for widows and earlier old age pensions without taking into consideration the position of the great productive industries in regard to unemployment insurance. _ At the present time lOd is I exacted from tho employer and 9d from every workman over an area of 11,000,000 persons for the purposes of unemployment l insurance. But when the so-called deficiency period passes away, when, that ,is to ■ say, unemployment falls into the j neighbourhood of 80G,000 and 850,000 as it will do in a reasonable, a certain period—and when the fund in consequence becomes solvent, then by law the contributions of the employers and of the workmen over this great area fall to a common 6d —that is, a reduction of 4d by the employer and 3d by tho workpeople. The key to< the situation is the termination of the deficiency period. "So far as the Exchequer is concerned, we have always considered that special exertions must fall upon us; but beforo those are met, it is essential that we should be sure that unemployment is. not swollen by adventitious causes. We must j be sure, for instance, that individuals, and i possibly, even, classes, are not obtaining i relief under the existing system who j never thought of obtaining relief even in the worst periods of unemployment three and four years ago. Every effort must be made to restoru the Unemp'oyment Insurance Fund to a solvent condition. Once there is some assurance that that has been really achieved, and will be maintained, it j will bo possible for the Government to in- ! tervene with a view to a far more speedy : termination of the deficiency period than ! would ever b9 achieved if the fund were left to its own unaided contributions. ! From that moment, it will bo true to say j that the new burden which has to be sustained, and the great advantages which ; will follow from that burden, will involve no extra charge at all upon the employers, and will only involve a charge of one penny upon 11 millions of 'persons. as compared with 15 millions in the j existing area of health insurance. But ! the condition of our productiv.3 industries does constitute a grave and almost para- ! mount preoccupation in the minds of the I (lovernment, and as far as faithful study j and earnest effort will go, nothing shall bo neglected which will enable us to pro- ' vide some assistance and mitigation of i tie present difficult and anxious conditions."