A HEAVY BURDEN

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11173, 31 March 1922, Page 6

A HEAVY BURDEN

BRITAIN’S UNEMPLOYED UNFORTUNATE RESULT OF SHIPBUILDING DISPUTE. MILLIONS ON DOLES. By Telefirraph.—Pvpss Assn.—Copyright. Australian qnd N.Z. Cable Association. (Received March 30, 5.5 p.m.) LONDON, March 29. In the House of Commons, Dr. Mac-, namara (Minister .for Lalbonr), moving tho isocond reading- of the Unemployment Insurance Bill, said that pince - January 10th the number) of totally unemployed had fallen from 1,934,000 to 1,762 000, and partially unemployed from 303,000 to 236,000; but the engineering and shipbuilding dispute threatened to throw the country back. There should be a resolute determination to settle the dispute equitably in order to take the fullest advantage-of the turn in the commercial tide. The new hill was necessary to continue the unemployment doles of los weekly for each an aijd 12s for each woman, together with 5s for a man’s wife andl Is for each child. The bill provided fifteen weeks’ benefits to the .ud of_ October in three instalments of five weeks each, with gaps of five weeks between. I)r Macnamara told a questioniner that the total unemployment benefits paid by the Government amounted to £15,900,000 in 1920, £6,250,000 in 1921, and for the first quarter of 1922 the estimated amount was £16,500,000. Mr J. H. Thomas explained that, while the Labour Party supported the Unemployment Insurance Bill, he wished to reaffirm his nrotest against this method of dealing with unemployment. A change of Government could not solve unemployment. It was an international problem. Mr-A. Hqpkinson moved the rejection of the ibil-1, which he said was like many quack remedies and only added to the gravity of the disease. After the debate the bill was read a second time without a division.