THE VANISHING DOMESTICS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1207, 16 August 1911, Page 9

THE VANISHING DOMESTICS.

; A GBEAT HARDSHIP, "The class of girls and women assisted to work varied .considerably during the year, and the ideal domestic—clean, active, obedient, &nd capable—was a very rare caller. The majority of those applying were not well trained, and did not possess the necessarv qualifications tcquired by. tho employers. Then, too, although the wages offered by private employers reached a fairly Irigh standard, tho girls preferred to take up work in hotels, shops, restaurants, etc., where the conditions of work and hours are more defined."—So says Miss K. E. Bremnei, tho officer in charge of the Women's .Branch of.tho local Labour Department, in her report for the .year ended March 31, 11)10 "It is hardly necessary," she continues, J? 1- me to stress the grait hardship that this dearth of domestic help means. Not only-has the wage ot the domestic ruached a standard that only the comparatively rich can attord to paj, but tfle discrimination Shown by th<? girls against homes where there are children makes tho position most acute foe some hard-working mothers. To keep a homo "tidy, to do the necessary cooking and mending; and to look after the little children is, as thousands must know, 'hard, unremitting, and worrying work. I,feel quite justified iu saying that 'here is immediate room for hundreds of girls, in Wellington olone, in homes wliere conditions as to wages and treatment..;;cne.rnlly would bo fair to both parties. "With the factories clamouring for more girls, and the increased number of openings there appears to ho from month to month at good wages in hotels, shops, and I fear the outlook tor any immediate improvement for those requiring domestic workers is not rea«uring. The girls who do apply for domestic work are generally ill-fitted for it, while the girls possessing the qualifications frequontly look for work in other avenues. Domestic work is undoubtedly looked down upon by women workers as a whole. It is pleasing to note that a chair has been established in the local University for the teaching of domestic economy t it is hoped that this will raise the status of the domestic worker to the position she should occupy in the world of work." Miss BremnCr states that tho conditions undei which domestic workers are now employed are vastly improved, and that there is now no necessity for any girl to work unduly long hours, or for inadequate wages. Some competent girls, she adds, have been brought to New Zealand, under tho care of a matron, for associations of ladies, in places other than Wellington. A similar scheme, Miss Bremner suggests, might be organised by Wellington employers.

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