HOURS AND HEALTH

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 48, 24 August 1935, Page 14

HOURS AND HEALTH

BRITISH EXPEEIEXCE

MEDICAL OFFICERS' VIEWS

Dr. John C. Bridge (Senior Medical Inspector), in a chapter on "Health" m the British Factories' Report for 11934, says:— I All to the good have been the ex- , periments made in a few factories in j the heavy industries towards reducing the hours of employment. Heavy manual work, such as steel-rolling for six hours at a stretch, is sufficiently strenuous to absorb the energy of the most robust,- and; the.firms' and employees who have arrived at an agreement to work these shortened hours are to be congratulated. It envisages a wide outlook, but the advantage to the worker justifies such action. Years alone can show, what effect ; reduced hours of work may have,on health,, but I submit that we can at least anticipate a reduction of diseases of the circulatory system : following such, shortened hours in essentially heavy work. lOn the other hand, there has been a tendency to"employ young workers I under eighteen to.,the full limit of the 1 legal hours of employment/ Nothing, to my mind, could be a more .short-' sighted policy. Mental concentration, if the work is to be performed properly, can. hardly be expected to persist over the whole period. at present ' allowed by law, and when the young person is one of the cogs in the human' machine composed of adults, concen-i tration, if sustained over such periods, I can scarcely be regarded as beneficial to the development and health of the | young person .or to the maintenance' of i a steady output. BACK TO LONGER HOURS. , Writing on ."Hours of Employment,", Miss Emily J. Slocock (Superintending Inspector) says':— '' "* : . | The improvement in trade during the year is reflected in' the reports on employment from all parts of the country,' being most-marked in the Midland, 1 Eastern, and1 London divisions. The' , standard week of 47 -or' 48 hours, in a' few cases 40-45 hours, remains and is I regularly, worked in most industries, and when : circumstances' ' permit, -in others,ibut'directly there is either sea-1 sonal pressure or a sudden -increased demand for any . special . commodity ' there appears, to be a growing tendency to revert to the longer.working week. In the textile areas, the full legal limit of 55J hours, was worked in certain cases. Thfs necessarily entails j

two intervals for. meals,-so-that -the working day is' considerably longer than is the case • with ' the ohe-break day, which is common When a' 48-hour week is worked.

In the. Midland,-Eastern, and the three London divisions employment up to the full legal limits on all days except Saturday was frequently found, making .a; working.week of .54 br, 56 hours, as employment after midday on Saturday is almost unknown. Shortage of labour in a particular locality •or the general shortage of certain 'classes of skilled workers is almost invariably given as the reason, for these long hours. This is rather regrettable ,at a time when the surplus of labour generally: throughout, the, country is', creating the demand for abolition of overtime . and a shortened . • working week: " '

In the1 Midlands 'the rapid improvement: of.'..trade ;has led to airetunr to the full; legal- period in. many• of /the "unorganised trades of .Birmingham. The trades concerned -are the smaller firms engaged in the cycle and motor trades,1 the manufacture of' accessories and forgings for those; trades, and numerous small firms of platers and polishers. From', the time of 'the Motor Show 'mV the 'autumn .'until Easter the hours in these trades probably average 56 weekly.

FIVE-DAY WEEK.

Considerable interest has" recently been taken in this matter,-which was reviewed at -some"-length 'in' the re; 'port_ for 1930. In that report particulars "were given relating to 744 works in which-over 91,000 persons-were em-' ployed.' '• It" has not been possible to , collect as much statistical information ias was done in 1930,. but that which has ' been collected suggests that,- whereas I the increase in the number of work's using the system is. estimated roughly at about 15 per cent; the increase in i the number of persons employed under the system is about 50 per cent. In other words, since- 1930 a.'relatively ismall number of large ■firms',haye made I the change. . ■ .'".*. > ' The advantages of the system \gen- . erally appear to outweigh .the disadvantages • both from the standpoint of , the employers and of the -.workers. I These advantages,, so .-far as the. employers are concerned, relate mainly Ito (1) reduction .of various overhead charges; (2) time for maintenance work during normal,hours on Saturday, obviating the .necessity for overtime; (3) improvement, in timq-keeping. and re- | duction in , absenteeism. . From . the I workers' point of;view the advantages seem to .centre round the long weekend with increased opportunity 'for recreation and sport and ; a/possible saving on fares when any considerable distance has to be travelled.