Volume 1

Report of the departmental committee on sickness benefit claims under the National Insurance Act.

  • Great Britain. Sickness Benefits Claims Committee.
Date:
1914
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the departmental committee on sickness benefit claims under the National Insurance Act. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    93/108 (page 79)
    involve insuthcient and often improper food. (As stated in the report: ‘The total “ number of insured women includes a very large proportion of ill-paid and ill-fed “ persons, who, in most cases, live on unsuitable food.”) The report, however, gives a very brief summary of the evidence given by doctors and others as to the results of poverty in feeding, over-strain and want of rest. The cumulative effect of this evidence is so weighty that I add an additional summary.! 12. Nor must it be fosgotten that the Insurance Act falls with a heavier incidence upon women’s wages than upon men’s, the inequality being little diminished by the graduated scale of payment, which, though excellent in principle, is very often a dead letter in practice owing to evasion and administrative defects. 15. Indeed, consideration of the plight of many insured women compels the belief that a contributory system of insurance is a doubtful boon to them, the possible gain not compensating for the reduction of already insufficient earnings. 14. Against the emphasis thus placed upon low wages as a source of excessive sickness, the experience of the Lancashire textile trades, where, though wages are comparatively good, the sickness rate has proved exceptionally high, may be urged, but here the influence of the industrial employment of child-bearing women must be allowed for. 15. It is not surprising that under the treble strain of child-bearing, wage- earning, and household drudgery, women break down! ‘The evidence is overwhelming that unsuitable occupations during pregnancy, especially late pregnancy, and a premature return to work after confinement, are a prime cause of sickness in women, not only at the time of child-birth but in later life.’ 1 The representative of the National Amalgamated states (7,528) that low wages ‘‘not only induce’ malingering, but also cause sickness,” and that his society is “ sure, that whereas prior to the Act, female * members would in large numbers continue their employment, when, as a matter of fact, they were not “ physically fit todo so,now . . . . . . they declare on the fund and prefer to lose the difference “ between their wages and their sickness benefit rather than go to work in a damaged state of health.” The evidence of the Foresters (A.O.F.) is to the effect that the secretaries of the courts believe (19,488) that there are practically no unjustifiable claims. The representatives of the Independent Union of Boot and Shoe Operatives say (5,686) “Ido not think there is one of them” (@.e., those on benefit) **who is not bad and hardly fit to be at the factory, but previously some of them have worked with a “ oreater determination . ... they would not give up until they were absolutely compelled.” Dr. Olive Claydon thinks (22,726) that the members unwilling to return to work when fit are very few in number. Dr. Layton (Walsall) thinks (29,167) there are very few unjustifiable claims. He adds (29,527-8) “I have “no doubt that a great many of the societies have been astonished to find the number of these factory “ oirls who have gone sick. We knew perfectly well . . . . that this was going to happen.” “ They had “no business to be at work before. Lots of girls got seriously ill by reason of the fact that they went to ‘* work when they had no business to,” and with reference to the reluctance of his patients to return to work, “now they are able to lie up they realise how bad they are” (29,683). Dr. Harry Roberts, who has had a very large experience in Stepney among casual labourers, dock labecurers, and a large number of women employed on rope work, rag sorting and poorly paid occupations, says (29,922) “ the people we find * who linger on... . are those girls who do rag picking and people of that sort” (é.e., the very poor), “anaemic girls and women before and after confinement,” and speaking generally of his patients says (29,972) “half these people are working in a state of health which most people in our class would call il.” In the précis of evidence prepared by the British Medical Association the same view is expressed, ‘‘there is “a general agreement that patients are now doing what many of them have never been able to do before, namely, staying away from work until really fit to return.” Again, “even the medical profession has been surprised at the number of cases of persons who have never had medical attendance before... . and who really needed rest and sickness benefit. bis is particularly the case with employed women : . large numbers of whom have struggled on for years iu spite of actual sickness or depressed health, “ because they could not afford to take the rest they so much needed.” ‘The British Medical Association also quote a correspondent in West Ham who mentions “the normally low standard of health in female “ city workers as being a distinet factor in the increased claims.” Dr. Cox (80,034) similarly speaks of the “great surprise to the average member of the medical profession to find so many people who apparently in the past never had any treatment at all.” Dr. Farman says, speaking of women (33,453), “ there may be (i.c., excess) over what was generally anticipated, but certainly not over what I anticipated, “ In fact, I] was surprised that we had not had more sickness.” Dr. Belding, speaking of doubtfui claims among women attributes them to a general poor standard of health. “They ” (his patients) “ are in fact chronically overworked ” (34,502), Meats Miss Hughes (40,277) says “the women especially did not go sick when they were beginning to be ill” before the Act “ they worked on until they got very ill indeed.” ‘The nurses now notice (40,278) that illnesses are more often taken in time. Dr. Richmond (of Bermondsey) says (38,431) “I do not think that we realised what the effect of the Act would be in bringing to our knowledge the sickness that exists.” This, he says, (36,433) is a great deal more true of women than of men, 2 Dr. Bennett says (16,595) “A tremendous proportion of the cases that visit the out-patient “departments ‘of the hospitals peculiar to women’s diseases are cases which have slowly and gradually ‘¢ followed childbirth through not lying up sufficiently, and particularly, perhaps, following miscarriages. i Dr. Richmond gives particulars of eight cases of women working from 7 a.m. to 7 pm. in jam and tin-box factories each having five children to care for after factory hours. None of them were really jit for work for months before confinement or months afterwards (38,542). 4 “6 oe sé F 4