The Second Reading of the Unemployed Insurance Bill, moved by
Mr. Shaw in the House of Commons on Tuesday, was carried without a division. It was evident from the debate on this highly controversial measure that most Members desired to reserve a final judgment till it was seen how the Bill might be reshaped in Com- mittee. One of the main objects of the Bill is to do away with the present gap in the payment of benefits. It is provided that an unemployed man shall be able to draw payments all the year round, and the payments are increased from 15s. to 18s. a week for a man, and from 12s. to 15s. for a woman. Mr. Shaw optimistically argued that the increased payments could be made without increased contributions, though it is admitted that the total cost of unemployment insurance will be increased by about £7,000,-000. The Bill also provides unemploy- ment pay for children between the ages of 14 and 16. Hitherto we had thought that the Labour Party was sincere in its proposal to increase the age of compulsory education, but this Bill provokes serious doubts. Of all the controversial provisions in the Bill, perhaps the most controversial is that which provides payment for workers who are out of work as the result of a strike, though not themselves strikers.
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