The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1932-10-07
Unemployment Insurance in Europe
Article No. 2
BY MARJORIE MCFARLAND
Secretary of the Ohio Committee for Unemployment Insurance

AIL1ClC 1NO.
Unemployment insurance in Europe
began in the nineteenth century with
the out-of-work benefits of the trade
unions, which served the double pur-
pose of relief and of maintaining
wages, since the unemployed members
had no temptation to undercut. Mu-
tual benefit plans were introduced in
practically all of the industrial coun-
tries of Europe, and covered large
number of skilled workers. These
plans were introduced earlier and
more extensively than in the United
States; it must be remembered that
In Europe unions have been longer
established and are much stronger
than they are here.
The "Ghent" system was devised
to encourage the independent union
efforts. Its name is derived from it's
origin in Client, Belgium, in 1898,
when the city council decided to make
additional payments out of municipal
funds to trade unions or other asso-
Citations of workers who paid out
of-work benefits to their members.
Later this plan was extended so that
the provincial and national govern
ments, as we'll as other cities in Bel
gium, subsidized the insured groups,
and after the war, the whole plan was
unified under a national administra-
ton. Similar subsidized systems are
in effect in Czechoslovakia, Denmark,
Finland, France, Holland, Norway,
Spain and in part of Switzerland.
This method of provision against
unemployment has the advantage of
encouraging loyalty to trade unions,
but it's defect is in covering only part
of the workers, emitting many in un-
skilled trades who probably need it
most. In spite of the strength of
| European unions, the total of work
ers so insured in 1880 was estimated
at little less than three million.
| In Belgium and Denmark where it
was especially well developed, it COW
cred only about half of the workers.
The chief interest for us in the
United States is in the suggestion
that our national government might
use the same method to encourage
the passage of state bills, by granting
subsidy to state funds.
| Much more important are the COM
pulsory systems operating in twelve
countries and covering about 46,000,-
900 workers. These countries, to-
gether with the year the insurance
was begun, are as follows: Austria
| (1920), Bulgaria (1926), Germany
| (1927), Great Britain and Northern
ireland (191D, Irish Free State
| (1920), Italy 1919), Luxembourg
| l92), Poland U924), Switzerland
| e cantons or states), Soviet Russia
| (1922), Queensland (1922), and Mex
leo (1929).
| In this country we hear less criti-
cism of "the terrible British dole"
now that we have so many doles of
our own, but the British unemploy-
ment insurance-the oldest and most
| important-is still misunderstood be-
cause it has been SO confused with
relief. 1t began in 1911 as a plan
/ limited to certain highly seasoned
trades. Premiums were paid by en-
ployers, employees and the national
government. During the war years
with practically no unemployment, the
| insurance fund accumulated a large
reserve. Then in 1880 the unemploy-
! ment insurance act was extended to
practically all industrial workers, the
most important exception being ag-
riculture. Unfortunately this came at
the beginning of the worldwide de-
preston of 1921, and when Great
Britain was in especially serious diff
ficulties of postwar adjustment, for
good deal of the trade upon which
her industry depended had been lost
during the war years. Unemploy-
ment during the 192O's averaged
about double that before the war.
Obviously the government must pro-
vide relief, yet under the British law
this could be given only under con-
ditions which branded those recelv-
ing it as paupers. To avoid this the
government had taken care OF the
special need of returning soldiers and
unemployed war workers by "out-ot-
work donations" paid during IL
months directly after the war and
administered by the same state en-
nloyment Offices which administered
the unemployment insurance These
donations" corresponded roughly 10
a soldiers bonus but were paid also
to civilians.
A couple of prosperous years 1oi-
lowed the war, and then just as
large number of workers had been
lx.;++od RI tho insurance tunQ anu