LABOUR REFORM

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 320, 6 October 1908, Page 7

LABOUR REFORM

HOME-WORK AND WACES BOARDS. (nf TEtEOEArn—rnEßs association—coprmanT.} London, October 4. The conference of. the International Association for Labour Legislation, sitting in -Lucerne, Switzerland, advised the passage of legislation; for the suppressing of sweating in connection with home-work, and suggested that tHo working of wages boards bo carofully. watched.' * -BRITISH COMMITTEE'S PROPOSALS. Thie Select Committee of the House of Com* mons appointed, to consider the conditions of labour iii trades in which. home work is prevalent, • ill ' their report recommend the establishment of Wages Boards in selected trades to .fix- ininimum.timo and piece rates of payment for', homes workers.To pay or offer lower rates shpiild be an offence. The Committee recommend that action should first bo taken in the cases of the tailoring, shirtmaking,' underclothing, and baby-linen trades, and in the finishing processes of machine-made lace. The Homo Secretary should bo empowered aftor inquiry to establish Wages Boards for' any other* trades. The registration of all home workers is reand tho Committee are of opinion that the full protection of the Truck Act should be secured to them; also that tho provisions of the Public Health Act applying to factories and workshops should bo extended to rooms where home.work is done. If sweating is understood to mean that work is paid for at rates wlu-h are insufficient to allow an adult person to obtain anything like proper food, clothing, and house accommodation, tho Committee state that sweating still exists in such a degree as to call urgeutly for tho interference of Parliament.