WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION (No. 2). (Hansard, 21 June 1938)

Mr. Whiteley

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to repeal Sections eight and nine of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1925, relating to the amount of compensation payable and to substitute other sections therefor. 899 The Bill is to deal with one principle of our compensation law which, I think, everyone realises must have further attention. The Bill deals with one point, and that is to increase dependants' allowances and the payments to those totally or partially incapacitated at their work. There are many reforms needed in our compensation law, but many of us think that this is by far the most important and the most urgent. It has long been felt by hon. Members in all parts of the House that compensation payments to widows and dependants are far from adequate, and this has been strongly emphasised in recent days by an industrial disaster causing the loss of very many lives. Immediately the general public of the country respond in a very generous way by subscribing to a fund in order that the dependants of those who have been lost and those who are totally or partially disabled may have some addition to the amount which they receive under the existing compensation law. Naturally, we thank the general public for their generosity at such times, but there are cases occurring every day in the ordinary routine of industrial life about which the public have little knowledge where the dependants receive only what the present law gives them. When public funds are necessary in order to augment what is received under the law to-day, so as to give a little more security and a little more comfort, I believe that the time has come when the compensation law in this respect ought to be altered. This Bill seeks to make the provision more adequate in cases of that kind.

There is then the question of the workmen who are totally incapacitated. We believe that the compensation to such persons ought at least to equal the amount that they were receiving when they were engaged in their normal work. After all, it is not difficult for any one to understand that when a man is totally incapacitated by accident, he needs more treatment and more nourishment if an attempt is to be made to give him the opportunity of regaining normal health and strength as early as possible. That means, of course, that he and his family are put to a very great deal of additional expense in endeavouring to secure that normal health and strength again. The same argument applies to the man in receipt of partial compensation. There are scores of instances where men who 900 are partially incapacitated are engaged in some kind of light work. We feel that those men ought to receive, in addition to the wages they get for doing that light work, an amount of compensation, which, added to their wages, would bring the amount up to the wages which they would normally receive when following their normal occupation.

Nobody can be satisfied with the state of affairs which we feel is growing up in this respect. In going from place to place, one hears of one case after another where people who are in receipt of partial or total compensation are forced by the circumstances of life to appeal to the public assistance committee for relief. That is a matter of which I think we ought not to feel very proud in our legislation. The other day, at Question Time, the hon. Member for Hitchin (Sir A. Wilson) raised this matter and dealt with it very severely. Therefore, I draw the attention of hon. Members to this very important matter, because we cannot be content with any system which depends upon public generosity to provide this greater comfort and security. It is our duty in this House to see that in our legislation adequate provision is made which is worthy of the industrial services rendered to the nation by these people. This Bill is an effort in the direction of increasing the allowances for compensation and giving greater security to these people.