HC Deb 08 April 1957 vol 568 cc85-6W
44. Mr. Osborne

asked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance if he is aware that men who are not members of a trades union have been declared redundant by their employers because of the strike, and have been refused unemployment pay; and if he will take steps to amend Section 13 (1) (b) of the National Assistance Act, 1946, so that justice may be done to such men, who are willing to work, but are denied the right to work, first by the trades unions, then by the employers, and are now denied the right to claim unemployment benefit for which they have paid weekly contributions

Mr. Boyd-Carpenter

I do not know which men my hon. Friend has in mind, but I will gladly look into any particular case. The present rules relating to payment of unemployment benefit during industrial disputes have been in operation since 1927, and subsequent reviews have not revealed any better alternative.