The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, JUNE 5th, 1925. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 June 1925, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. FRIDAY, JUNE sth, 1925. WORKMEN'S COMPENSATION.

That such a tremendous social service as tile administration of the Workmen's ('null ensation Acts should have lieon successfully carried out for so many years by insurance companies, considers a Home journal, is proof of the trust reposed by employers of labour in these institutions. When an employer places his workmen’s compensation insurance with an insurance company he not only relieves himself of a possible heavy loss which can he better berne by averaging over the community, hut the management of one section of his relations with his workers is als.) left in the hands of the insuran e company. That the workers themselves have never been able to bring serious complaints against insurance companies over a long course of years proves that the administration of the Act has been fair, equitable, and just. There is all the more credit due to the British insurance companies as much more is left to personal negotiation between the injured worker and the employer—or, in other words, the insurance company—than is usual in the administration of foreign workmen's compensation acts. That disburden of workmen’s compensation upon industry is no light one, is evident from the statistics recently published hv the Home Office- lor the year 1923. Seven great groups of industries are dealt with— viz,, mines, quarries, railways, factories, decks, constructional work and shipping. These groups. it should he noted, do n-r include several important- jpdiistriesr- e

for example, building, road transport, and agriculture. The following eolllJuris in shows 1 lie number >',| persona ci icing within the ] rovisimi of the Act. employed in these seven groups and the eomj ensat ion j aid in 1913 and 192.1:

Year. No. Enijrloyed Compensation paid : Eat til and mm-Eata! accidents. |.(J g 7..1119.3.13 £3.3<1l .9-70 |! 123 7.312.311 £7.131.1)90

The iiumher ot latal accidents in I'HJ a a 3,718 and in 1923 2,117i7. The compensation hi fatal accidents. liov. • ever, remained about the s me at £.■>9.1,012 and £A9l,i<M. "liieli only makes the increase in the total ec,sl the moie remarkable. 'I hose sums onl> represent (lie actual aim,lint laid u the workers in these j articular yen's r | pci-,, j s . lm-,\ ever, a pot pulled liability cases which remain unsettled, and this is usual!' an in, rousing sum. Such vast sums 1 annul lie disbursed without- . onsidernhie cxi ense, sueli as administration charge. and medical and legal costs, while technical stall's are necessary t> the administration ol a complicated Act. The total charge oil industry, then-lore must, he very considerably in excess of the net tin! £7.1.l 1.090 disbursed in 1923. Timwhiis,, bu-itiess it is to decry the work of the companies seem incapable of realising that competition is as active in insurance as in any other trade. If one company could pain an advantage over another by cutting its overhead charges, and thus reducing its rates it would do so. However •good the intention. to administer this Act tilth j:roper regard to the interests ol the employer and the welfare of the workers themselves costs money. Even the .Mutual Utll.es. whoso expenses arc usually lower than those of the others, cannot work oflieientlv helnw certain limits. The acceptance of large risks, or risks where the rate of | icinium is high owing to tin- hazards of the industry (such as the iron, steel, and shipbuilding industries) may give an ap|iarent advantage, because the same cast is chargeable against a higher rate per person employed. The Act, however, does not apply only to the “heavy” industries. Someone loos to Jimvide insurance lor the small trader In eountrv districts, where 109 | er cent of the premium is frequently e.\|)en<led ill olio visit to a claimant, or to cxexplain the details of the Act. The idea that insurance companies bleed industry in order to provide palatial olliees cinnot lie too strongly deprecated. 1 lie j.ulilic, whether the em| lover or worker, is very well served by insuraii'c .omjanies cr mutual associations and that the ‘ wealthy” slock companies do not have it all their own wry. to the supposed detriment of the employers or workers, is evident from the distribution in the seven groups of industries of the total compensation paid in 1923. If of the projortion, 21.0 per cent., paid by insurance i nnipanios, any undue charges were incurred or any unjust methods used competition would quickly tend to force the business into the hands cl the “mutuals” or the self-insurers. Each method, whether mutual, self-in-surer, or insurance company, has its own peculiar advantages, and all administer an A; t with equal advantage to the worker under the protection of County Court Judges, whose knowledge of working conditions, I otli local and national is unrivalled, and whose symjiathy for the injured worker or widow is appreciated by everyone who mine.* in touch with them.