Farm Labourers' Insurance The recommendations of Sir William • Beveridge's
committee on unemployment insurance for agricultural workers will, if adopted by the Government, mark a substantial extension of the fabric of social security in this country. The case for a separate and self-contained scheme is strong. The farm labourer's wage is on a lower level than the average industrial worker's. He cannot afford (nor can his employer) as high weekly contribu- tions, and if benefit were paid on the scale of the general scheme it would often amount to actually more than the land worker's normal wage. It is unfortunately no longer true that unemployment among agricultural labourers is negligible ; the Beveridge committee puts it as high as 7i- per cent. ; and this scheme may actually increase it, in so far as employers who have kept men on in slack times rather than leave them destitute will now feel justified in letting them go on benefit. It is not clear whether the actuarial calculation that a scheme based on contributions of 4d. a week each from employed, employer and State, with benefits at 12s. a week for an adult man and others pro rata, takes account of that. But the scheme generally appears sound, and the Govern- ment should press on with it.
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