HC Deb 16 June 1913 vol 54 cc22-3
26. Mr. GRANT

asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether insured workers under the National Insurance Act who are deprived of their work through a lock-out, although they have had nothing to do, directly or indirectly, with the cause of the lock-out, are deprived of the unemployed benefit for which they have been compelled to pay?

Mr. ROBERTSON

The grant of benefit in times of trade dispute is governed by Section 87 (1) of the Act, which is as follows:— A workman who has lost employment by reason of a stoppage of work which was due to a trade dispute at the factory, workshop, or other premises at which he was employed, shall be disqualified for unemployment benefit so long as the stoppage of work continues, except in a case where he has, during the stoppage of work, become bond fide employed elsewhere in an insured trade. Where separate branches of work which are commonly carried on as separate businesses in separate premises are in any case carried on in separate departments on the same premises, each of those departments shall, for the purposes of this provision, be deemed to be a separate factory or workshop or separate premises, as the case may be It will be observed that the disqualification under this Section is not limited to the workmen who are actually parties to the dispute, but it is limited to workmen employed in the same factory or other premises in which the dispute takes place. The decision on any particular claim rests ultimately with the Courts of Referees and the Umpire.