BRITISH UNEMPLOYED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 76, Issue 285, 2 December 1933, Page 9

BRITISH UNEMPLOYED

NEW BILL IN COMMONS DRASTIC AMENDMENTS INSURANCE FUND TACKLED [ British Official Wireless. J RUGBY, Nov. 30. The new Unemployment Bill, the most important Government measure in the first part of the present session, was debated in the House of Commons to-day. It makes drastic amendments to the previous Unemployment Insurance Acts, establishes the solvency of the insur ance fund, provides outside unemployment insurance for assisting in promoting the welfare of able-bodied persons, and extends the period of benefit. In moving the second reading, the Minister of Labour (Sir Henry Betterton), described the Bill as one of the most comprehensive pieces of social legislation introduced for over a generation. It represented the logical development of the policy pursued by every party in Great Britain during the last 30 years. It was significant that the people of other countries, who had previously derided the British system, were now in their bewilderment and perplexity hastily improvising an imitaton of it.

The present Bill was based on the fundamental principle that on the one hand there should be a contributory insurance scheme covering as much of the field as possible and on the other hand an outside body assuming general responsibility for the relief of’ ablebodied unemployed. Broad Principles The broad principles on which the insurance part of the Bill were based were: (1) That the scheme be financed by contributions from employers, workers and the State; (2) That the benefits bo dependent on the contributions; (J) That the scheme be placed on a solvent self-supporting basis. No change was made in tho provisions whereby insured persons, who had paid-30 contributions in the last two years wcie qualified for the minimum period of benefit for 26 weeks. That period of 26 weeks would, however, be extended to contributors with the best record. When the present Government took office, excessive expenditure on the ordinary insurance account was made at the rate of £60,000,000 yearly. At present, following the recent improvement in employment, the rate of increased income would now exceed the rate of expenditure by about £8,500,000 yearly on the live register of 2,500,000. He proposed to use this balance by extending the period to benefit to persons w’ith the best industrial record. For instance, if a man during the previous five years had paid all the contributions, which were 260, and had drawn no benefit, then such a man would be entitled to 26 weeks, in addition to the 26 weeks which he now got as a minimum. Per contra, where the record was not so good, w'herc a man had had some benefit and his contributions had not been fully paid, then he would get, according to the state of his balance, something less than 26 weeks, there would be 167,000 more persons entitled to benefit, and fewer persons would be subjected to the means test. The Bill not only put the insurance scheme on a sound financial basis for the immediate future, but it also established machinery to enable it to be kept solvent. The second part of the Bill was based on three main principles: (1) That the assistance be proportionate to the needs; (2) that a worker who had been long unemployed might receive assistance other than, and in addition to, cash payments; (3) that the State should accept general responsibility for their industrial able-bodied unemployed outside of the nsurance. LABOUR MOVES REJECTION. Received Dec. 1, 9.15 p.m. LONDON, Dec. 1. tn the House of Commons, Mr. Greenwood, on behalf of Labour, moved the rejection of the Insurance Bill on the ground that it failed to provide for maintenance from the national funds for all tho victims of unemployment.