UNKNOWN. WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1892.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 117, 18 May 1892, Page 4

UNKNOWN.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 1892.

Voi too cams tbat leois luslat&aae, Fflrliij^wToas^that needs reslstaSoo, In tJi» hturs'li'tho dbtaaoe, And tlie iocd that -we 'can d».

When we read of the conditionjOf wageearning women in European countries, we are apt to Congratulate ourselves that such a state of things does not exist: in oar midst. In our complacency, we are likely to overlook the fact that the ills that have embittered the."lot of female, wage-earners .In older .co'uiitries are, to be found with us, in embryo,'at any rate,,and, unless guarded against, are likely ;to be/largely developed. ,This is an evil, so far as regards New Zealand, of comparatively recent date ; the rapid growth of factories in pur centres of population during the last few years, with the consequent employment of female labour, has revolutionised some branches of industry. On lines where only men used to be employed, an army of wage-earning women is now engaged. While the various trades unions have protected the rights of men, the want of federation of female labour has caused abuses to spring up in connection with the employment of women. Until recently, the female worker was dependent as to the rate*of wages she received very much upon the caprice of the master that employed her. The , natural result followed : while many firms paid a fair price to their work-women,.' other establishments took advantage of the disorganisation that prevailed in the ranks of female labour, to pay the girls they employed starvation prices.

The evjls of this system in connection with the females.' employed as tailoresses in Dunedin at length became so apparent that the attention of the public was directed to it.' Tailoring is one of those branches of industry where a great deal of the work can be performed by women, and whjch in its various lines presents tempting opportunities to unscrupulous employers to practice the art known as sweating. In r)o other trade in London, perhaps, have iuch ghastly disclosures of the sweating system been made. .' .

The evil, "although comparatively mild in Dunedin, had attained sufficient dimensions to show the injustice that maybe done to female, workers .If they are not protected by Union rules. In that city girls, and women, worked as a regular thing from 12 to' 13 Hours a day, In order,,to,. eke,,out. a Jiving, a good deal of the" work Had tcT'b%; define at home, and then, so ldw were the rates paid that many; of the workers could barely keep themselves from starvation.

It is not pleasant to learn from the statement of Miss Morrison, Secretary of the Taiioresscs' Union, that, while for the last three 'years the state of affairs we have mentioned has been a thing of the past so far as Dunedin is concerned, the evil is rampant in own our city. The condition of the tailoresses in Auckland has long been unsatisfactory, but till Miss Morrison commenced her mission, few persons were aware of the extent to which abuses exist here. Union rules have hot been complied'with ; indeed, large numbers of girls have been prevented by intimidation from joining the Union at all. Nothing like a uniform rate of wages has ever been paid, and in some instances the remuneration given issimply scandalous. It is no uncommon thing for female tailoresses engaged on. some lines to work 14 hours per. day in order to earn 12 shillings per week. From an interview which one of our staff had with Miss Morrison yesterday, it appears that lady finds that the reports of sweating, intimidation, and non-adherence to the specified log which caused her mission to Auckland, have been verified since her arrival. It is to bring about a better state of,things that she is now appealing to the sympathy of the Auckland public. The success which has attended her efforts- since the formation of. the Tailoresses' Union in Dunedin prove that Miss Morrison and her coadjutors have gone to work upon the right lines. When the subject first attracted attention in Dunedin, several leading citizens, backed up by the press, rendered powerful aid. They wisely^ypided the common elrror of corning into collision with thie implbyers. Acting on the principle that any. lasting, success achieved must be "by the co-operation of both employers and' employed, they appealed to the former for assistance in carrying out their plans. The large firms of employers, who suffer'equally with the workwomen from the cuttingdown process^ at once recognised that in the proposed Tailotesses' ; , Union they would find a powerful auxiliary. The smaller establishments, which had been accustomed to undercut unfairly, were obliged to follow suit. It is gratifying, to learn that the sweating system in Dunedin has-been entirely stamped out, and the trade, has been placed upon such a footing that women working eight hours a day can, as a i rule earn from £1 to 25s a week. Few persons will think that the tailoresses have taken undue advantage of their position, when they learn that; owing to the protective tariff, the, workers on some lines of the business can only earn about 16s per week. Encouraged by the success that has attended the efforts of the Tailoresses1 Union in Dunedm r^Miss: iMdrrison hopes to bring about a better slate of things in the trade on. similar lines in Auckland. She has found a very bad state

of things existing here, and she believes that. by appealing to the justice and fairplay of the public, and by bringing employers and workwomen to feel that they have a. common interest, the abuses complained of may be remedied. We are quite of opinion that it is i high time some active measures were ', taken. , When female wage - earners work fourteen hours a day, to earn twelve shillings a week, as frequently happens here,, the most ardent opponent' to Unions will adroit thai some change should be made. In every re? spect the Auckland tailoress is at a disadvantage compared with her Duriedin sister.. In the latter city piecework is paid for in all clothing;; factories,bburt r here no such practice exists. Miss Morrison complains that the sweating system is still practised here, and that owing to the long hours some of the women have to work, there is, as might be expected, an amount of sickness and depression, which in .the long run cannot but be prejudicial to the general health of the industrial population; - We sympathise heartily with Miss Morrison in her onerous undertaking. We believe few persons will be found who will not wish her success. She has acted wisely in associating a Committee of ladies and gentlemen with her. The name of Sir George Grey, who has accepted the office of vice-pre«ident, is in itself a tower of strength. It is to be hoped that the Auckland employers will see it to their interest to support the movement, but, after all, success ultimately depends chiefly upon the tailoresses themselves. Every girl who has served her apprenticeship and is regularly employed, has a right to expect a rate of wages sufficient to maintain her. This sum Miss Morrison estimates at the very moderate rate of from one pound to twenty-five shillings per week. The closest-fisted employer can hardly object to this as unreasonable. It is simply monstrous that a girl, a duiy qualified tailoress, should be paid such a pittance as to raake her dependent upon her parents for board and lodging instead of being able to contribute to the support of the family. The Auckland female wage-earners should aim at getting the trade here upon the same satisfactory basis as it now is in Dunedin. A trade that can only flourish when skilled workwomen are paid twelve shillings for a long week's toil is in a scandalous condition, and if, among its other results, one effect of the revision of the log is to drive- unworthy persons who resort to cut-throat competition • out of the business, neither respectable employers, nor the public, nor the workwomen themselves, will ? have cause to regret the change. . . ...