The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1913-10-24
JOHN BULLS WAY
British Workers Guarded by Law
Against Poverty.
PENSIONS FOR THE AGED.

Protection From Sickness or Loss of
Job Provided by the Insurance Act.
Both Worker and Employer Con-
tribute to the Fund.
During the last year every time an
employer in Great Britain paid John
Bull his weekly wages he was obliged
also to paste in a little book bearing
j. Bulls name a couple of stamps.
each worth 21a pence. or 10 cents in
all. The value of one of these stamps
is deducted from j. Bulls weekly
wage; the other is a new tax on the
employer. In addition, there is third
stamp, value | penny. which is the CON
tribution of the national government.
Suppose along in the spring trade is
slack and j. Bull is discharged. He
will take with him his book and de-
posit 1t, together with his application
for new job. in one of the 230 free
public employment Offices which are
scattered all over Great Britain.
If ]. Bull is more than one week
without work he can come back to the
employment office and draw for each
succeeding week of idleness the sum
of { shillings, about $1.15, which is the
weekly allowance under the new Eng.
lish policy of insurance against non
employment, the necessary funds COM
Ing from the stamps pasted in the in
surance books. backed by the contribu-
tions of the government Mr. Bull
may not draw this out of work allow
ance for more than fifteen weeks in
any twelve months.
He is not, however, likely to he out
of work 50 long. He will find when
he first calls at the Office of employ
ment agency that the manager has on
his desk a telegraphic report showing
in just what towns carpenters, if that
happens to be j. Bulls trade are re,
quired. He has also a book in which
are printed the standard wages paid
in various parts of the country.
In ten minutes j. Bull may be offer
ed his choice of two or three jobs. If
the chosen position requires a railroad
journey and Mr. Bull has not the nee
essary money to buy ticket the
amount may be advanced. to be de-
Quoted later from his wages If J.
Bull and the new job are mutually sat
isfactory his book will be forwarded
to the new employer, who will begin
pastng in stamps again in preparation
for another period of idleness.
If Mr. Bull is taken i'll while at
work he may have free medical at
tention indefinitely If sickness lays
him up he may-as a result of further
mutual stamp sticking. for which the
employer is held entirely responsible
draw q weekly benefit OF 10 shiulngs-
$3.50 And in England at least. 80 per
cent of the paupeIism is said to be due
to sickness When he grows old he
may cheer his declining years with a
pension from the government.
The solution which the present Lib
eral government is trying out is COM
pulsory insurance against sickness and
unemployment of all workingmen and
workingwomen. backed by the system
of employment agencies which keeps
in daily touch with the demand for
and supply of various kinds of labor.
! During the first year the insurance
| against unemployment has applied only
to workers in the building trades, in
the construction of works, like rail
! roads, docks, harbors. bridges, etc. in
shipbuilding. in mechanical engineer
ing and the iron trades, in the con
struction of vehicles and in many kinds
| OF machine woodwork.
But the board of trade may at any
time by special order extend the un-
| employment to men in any other trade.
As for the insurance against sickness
or health insurance, it has applied for
the last year to every person in the
kingdom employed at manual labor
with few exceptions and to all other
employees whose annual earnings do
not exceed $500 In ALL 100000 peo-
| pie are directly affected, one-third of
the total population of the kingdom.
Some of the provisions of the act for
insurance against unemployment are
| particularly interesting For instance,
] IL NCEkludIl OuI Vi JOu ID OnGlcu a
| place as a strike breaker he can refuse
/ 1t and continue to draw his unemploy-
| ment benefit But he cannot draw this
| benefit while on strike. If he quits
| his job voluntarily or is discharged for
| misconduct he cannot draw any benefit
| for the first six weeks thereafter.
If a workman applies frequently for
| the benefit and the managers conclude
| that his inability to hold job is due
| to his lack of skill or knowledge they
| may offer to test his abilities and II
| found lacking he may be given the
| aceded technical instruction at the ex-
| pense of the unemployment fund
Under the unemployment and health
insurance acts and the employers liza
bility laws some provision is made for
! people who are thrown out of work by
disease or accident or by varying con
ditions in industry. whose idleness is
not their own fault Added to them
are the old age pensions and the ma
! ternity benefits for working women
who are about to become mothers
| Henry NJ Hyde in Chicago Tribune.