§ 28. Mr. T. WILLIAMSasked the Minister of Labour if he is aware that a number of engineers who are engaged on a threshing machine used for threshing corn on farms during part of the year, and who are engaged on other engineering work for the remaining part of their time, are excluded from participating in the unemployment insurance scheme; and will he consider amending the present law so that this class of workman can be insured in future?
§ Mr. BETTERTONIt is not possible on the information given in the question to say whether the men mentioned are insurable for any part of their employment. In so far as these men are held to be employed in agriculture they are excepted from unemployment insurance. As regards the second part of the question, I can add nothing to the reply given by nay right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture to my hon. Friend the Member for Melton (Mr. Everard) on 22nd November, 1926.
§ Mr. WILLIAMSIs the hon. Gentleman not aware that his Department has already indicated, by a reply to a question, that men who are part time employed on agriculture and part time on engineering are excepted from the unemployment insurance scheme; and does he not think, since his right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture will not accept them as agricultural labourers and he will not accept them as insured persons, that something ought to be done to regularise the position of these men?
§ Mr. BETTERTONAs the hon. Member knows, it is quite impossible to generalise, and one can only give an opinion on the facts of a particular case. It depends, in each case, on whether the major part of the work comes under the description of agricultural work or not. 12 If the hon. Member gives me the facts of any particular case he has in mind, I will give him the best opinion I can on it.
§ Mr. WILLIAMSMay I remind the hon. Gentleman that a case was submitted to his Department and that all threshing machine workers, who are employed part time on a firm's premises and part time on farms looking after the machines have been excluded? In view of the fact that they are excluded from the insurance scheme, does he not think that they are being treated as "neither fish, flesh, fowl nor good red herring" and that something ought to be done to put them in a reasonable position?
§ Mr. BETTERTONOn the facts put by the hon. Member in his supplementary question, I have no doubt the decision given formally was right.
§ Mr. KELLYSeeing that men who are sent out by firms to look after these machines are considered to come under the unemployment insurance scheme, will the hon. Gentleman look into the matter and see why these other people are denied an opportunity of coming under the Act?
§ Mr. BETTERTONAs I have said, I will give the best opinion I can on the facts of any case submitted, but I cannot generalise without knowing the specific facts.
§ Mr. MONTAGUEIn view of the fact that agricultural workers are excluded from the benefits of the scheme because of their low wages, would it not be advisable that a standard should be taken other than the proportion of hours employed in engineering as against agriculture?