THE STATUS OF MAIDS

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22343, 5 March 1938, Page 3

THE STATUS OF MAIDS

TRAINING AT CAMBRIDGE QUEEN MARY'S SUTPORT tTBOM OT)» OWN COSBB3toKUENT.) LONDON, January 19. A strenuous effort is being made in England to put domestic service on a definite footing, and to raise the status and the efficiency of its workers, in order that more girls of good class and sound training may be encouraged to tak-p it ud as a career. Public auen tfon is being focused on this subject by the Domestic Services Exhibition at present showing in London, and maids and mistresses are -flocking tc >n in the hope that it will teach some lessons to the mutual advantage of employer and employee. Many associations and groups are re presented on the council of the exhib - Uon, the most important suggestion put forward being a proposed service con tract between mistresses and maids, m principal terms are that the maid should have at least two hours of tree time each day in addition to two hours for meals and not less than eight uninterrupted hours for sleep, as well as two half-days weekly, one of which should, if possible, be on Sunday She should have an adequately furnished bedroom, which may be shared with other servants by mutual consent, so long as each has a separate bed and wardrobe, and proper facilities for W Fourteen days holiday on pay each year and compensation time ou ior overtime work on special occasions are alsp stipulated, and the mistress Anally promises, for their mutual convenience and assistance, to employ labour-sav-ing devices in her house as far as pos- " Another proposal is that girls should be trained for six months, receiving a wage of 12s a week during that period, after which they would emerge, if proficient, as chartered helps, witn a certificate granted by a recognised authority, and regular working shuts at set wages. A standard uniform, dark green, with the initials C.H. embroidered on a cream apron, is recommended, and a change of name is advocated, since "domestic servant and "maid" are believed to carry a social stigma. "Domestician" is one of the suggested substitutes. A trade union is also being urged. It is prophesied that by these means the domestic worker may attain the greater prestige and dignity now enjoyed by the nursing profession. Such a "promotion" would not be unprecedented, for it is pointed out that in Henry VIII.'s lime the doctor was nothing more than a barber with his red and white pole, and no self-respect-ing father would have dreamed of apprenticing his son to this trade. Now. of course, with the career well-defined and well-paid, the sons of the best 'amilies in the land graduate as doctors Queen Mary's Support

The exhibition and the conference 1 held in conjunction with it have received the willing support of Queen Mary. A letter from Lady Cynthia Colville, Lady-in-Waiting. stated: "Any effort designed to improve the status and attractiveness of domestic service deserves well of the community, and Queen Mary hopes that the outcome of I the conference and exhibition will fully justify the hard work and expectations of those who are engaged in promoting so excellent a scheme." Competitions of various kinds give domestic workers visiting the exhibition an opportunity of proving their skill. Cookery, table laying, bedmaking, valeting and packing, laundry, washing-up, boot-cleaning, and efficiency over the telephony are a few of the classes for which good prizes are offered. Demonstrations in various forms of household arts show the "laywoman" how these things should be done, and lessons in make-up, manicure, and dress are also included for the benefit of maids and mistresses alike. There arc debates between those above and below stairs, between factory and domestic workers; and many useful lectures, not only on regular household subjects, but also on the extremely vital aspects of health (such as diet, posture in housework, and the care of the feet) and the use of leisure (such as hobbies and reading). The commercial exhibits include labour saving devices which are a joy to behold, let alone a boon to own, and' also foodstuffs and uniforms. The model kitchens are particularly interesting, and a little research into the labour-saving possibilities of the perfectly planned kitchen gives surprising results. Two kitchen plans are given, each with exactly the same dimensions, doors, and windows, and identical furnishing, except that the individual pieces are differently arranged about the room. Comparison between the two on a mathematical basis shows how the woman in the badly arranged kitchen actually walks more than three

times as far and carries more than eight times as much weight as the woman in the well arranged kitchen. It is estimated, by the way, that one woman often walks 13 miles a day an her own kitchen. Encouraging news on this same subject of domestic service comes from another source, to the effect that domestic workers in England will soon be able to acquire a college education. Special provision is to be made for their training at Newnham College, Cambridge, which is now being enlarged and reconstructed at a cost of £IOO.OOO. When the college's domestic quarters have been modernised there will be accommodation for 60 servants, and girls will be selected from schools in the Fen villages, and in some cases, from distressed areas, to receive special training as housemaids, parlourmaids, linen-maids, and assistant cooks. "Contact with the students of the college whom they serve, will be all to the good for these girls," says Mrs M. S. McFie. steward of the college. "An intelligent girl cannot fail in such circumstances to acquire a sense of the value of her service.",