Unemployment.

Part of Orders of the Day — King's Speech. – in the House of Commons at on 17 February 1921.

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Photo of Mr Anderson Barlow Mr Anderson Barlow , Salford South

If he is within the ambit of this scheme, the private employer or the private exporter is already assisted. If it is a question of my right hon. Friend desiring, as I rather gather he does, that export schemes should be extended on much wider lines to assist employers in this country, whether exporters or not, then I think this matter must be raised in another shape. It involves immensely difficult questions of State credit and so on, which would require very careful consideration. Just one point, on the Insurance Act and the amending provisions. My hon. Friend the Member for Plaistow (Mr. W. Thorne), when my right hon. Friend the Minister was explaining the provisions yesterday, said that on the increased rate of payment, amounting to 1s. l¾d., he could provide 20s. benefit. When he says that I am not quite sure of two things. I am not sure whether he was referring to normal times or whether he was referring to the present condition of unemployment running up to 10 per cent., and I am also not quite sure whether he was referring to benefits merely of 15s., 18s., or 20s., or whether he had in mind the immense extension there is in the Government proposals of two periods of 16 weeks given, in fact, gratuitously under the scheme and without contribution. Both for ox-service men and for civilians, the benefits under the Government proposals are really very considerable indeed. In the case of the ex-service man he would run out of donation in the normal way at the end of March. He is not at present in the Insurance Act, but he will be brought into it. He will be entitled to the ordinary benefit of 18s., and, in addition, arrangements have been made to give him 2s. more. That being so, he would be entitled to 16s. from now to 21st October, and to a further 16 weeks from 21st October to June next year without contribution if he does not happen to be employed during that period. The same thing applies co civilians. Their rates are raised to 18s. from 15s. in the case of men, and to 15s. for women instead of 12s. In addition to that, the limit of weeks of benefit is permanently raised for all classes under the Act from fifteen weeks to twenty six weeks.

But, says the Member for Plaistow, or rather he implies it, the benefits still are not high in relation to the increased contributions. No one knows where we shall be in July, 1922. We all assume, we all hope, that by that time employment will be better. It may not. Pray God that this may not happen, but it is conceivable it might be worse. Under these circumstances we have to make provision for at any rate a very considerable amount of unemployment, and in view of that fact what we say is this, the whole situation shall be reviewed by or before July, 1922, and then, if the financial condition of the Fund permits, either the contributions or the benefits, or both, can be re-adjusted in accordance with the condition of the Fund. One word more, and I will conclude. It has been urged by various hon. Members, including the hon. Member for South Croydon (Sir Allan Smith) that the proper course to take is for each industry to be responsible for its own unemployment. That is a view with which my right hon. Friend and myself find ourselves cordially in sympathy. There is provision under the main Act, Section 18 and Section 20, for that very procedure, and to schemes put forward under those Sections I know my right hon. Friend will give all the favourable consideration that he possibly can. There are, in addition, schemes already in operation, schemes in the works of such considerate employers as Messrs. Rown-tree and others, which offer very high payments, in the case of unemployment, running up to as much as 90 per cent, of the average wage. If each industry takes upon itself to do its own insurance, it can undoubtedly pay higher benefits than are possible under the State scheme, and pay them with safety. Remember this, you cannot pay high benefits, in my view at any rate, in connection with un- employment unless the hand that pays the benefit and the hand that gives the employment are one and the same hand. That is one of the great arguments for each industry insuring itself. I hope that industries will avail themselves of the machinery under the Act, and that they will take upon themselves the burden of unemployment insurance, because in so doing, not only will they deal with it more effectually than under the scheme of the Act, but I think they will be— masters and men—forging another link in the chain which we all desire to see, the chain of success in British industry.