Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1901. FACTORY LAWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 185, 15 August 1901, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, AUGUST 15, 1901. FACTORY LAWS.

THE NEW CONSOLIDATING BILL

The perpetual tinkering and amendment to which the labour laws of the colony, are subjected are having a very prejudicial effect on employment and industry, and ere long it will be necessary for both wage-payer and wage-earner to enter a joint protest against further interference. In the course of a day or two we hope to show how disastrously Lhe most recent rules and regulations in connection with the Factories Acts are likely to affeot fruit-growing in this district, especially in relation to the disposal of surplus fruit for -jam-making. Jn this article however, as a preliminary, it is proposed to give a review and summary of the latest proposals, as embodied in the new Factories Bill which is to consolidate and amend the existing Acts * # * °

The bill contains several now provisions bo which the particular attention of factory owners has been directed. The first of these is that a factory cannot bo used till it is registered, and an inspector may withhold the certificate of registration until any defects he points oat have been remedied. Provision is made for appeal against suoh a decision, the verdict of the local authority appealed to being final. In regard to hours of labour, the clauses of the Act of LS94 have be ea considerably altered. It is now provided that no person shal be employed in or about a factory for more than 45 hours, excluding meat times, in any *eek j for more than eight hours, excluding meal times, many day; f or more than four hours continuously without an interval of at least one hour for dinner ;no r at any tune after 1 p.m. in one day of each week. Females must not be employed between b -p.m. and 8 p.m., an< f boys' hours of labour may commence a quarter of an hour earlier. To prevent any evasion of this provision, a clause is inserted providing that all work douo

by an employe for a factory elsewhere ' than on the premises shall be deemed to have been done in the factory. Ihe prescribed number of working hours may be extended by three hours a day, but on not more than two days a week, or 30 j days a year, nor on any holiday or half- ' holiday, and time and a half must be paid, and the occupier must keep an , overtime book, giving full details of tho j j overtime worked. * * * Ko boy or girl under 14 years of ago ; may be employed in a factory except in special cases authorised by the Inspector, and then only when the total number of persons employed is not more than three. ' No girl under fifteen years of ago may bo employed as a typesetter in a printing-office ; a boy or girl under 16 years of age is not to be employed in any room in which thero is carried on dry-grinding in tho metal trade or the dipping of matches of any kind ; girls under sixteen years of age are not to be employed in factories where there is carried on the making or finishing of bricks or tiles (not being ornamental tiles) or

the making or finishing of salt ; girls under eighteen must not be employed in the process of melting or annealing glass ; and neither boys nor girls under eighteen may be employed in any room in which there is carried on the silvoring of mirrors by the mercurial process, or tho m aking of white lead. # # #

After making provision against "stveat- 1 ing" the Bill defines holidays. The holidays to be allowed are Christmas Day, New Tear's Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Labour Day, and the Sovereign's birthday, and a half-holiday in one day in every week from 1 p.m. This will not, however, prevent any person being employed in a printing office up to 4.30 in the afternoon of the half-holiday for the purpose of printing or publishing an evening paper, or the substitution of other working days as whole holidays in lieu of Easter Monday and the Sovereign's j birthday in the case of type-setters, nor the employment of any boy in publishing or delivering a newspaper.

The foregoing are the chief provisions of interest m the amending and consolidating measure. There are various olauses dealing with sanitation, the prevention of unhealthy persons engaging in the manufacture of food, precautions againßt acoidents, etc. ; but these are mostly machinery seotions amplified and brought up to date. The Bill will probably be referred to the Labour Bills Committee this week after formal second reading, and then it is expected that a good deal of evidence will be forthcoming to show how particular industries will be affected by the operation of the measure. The intention of the framers may be good ; but it is obvious that the special and pc-

culiar conditions of any individual industries have not been taken into consideration. In a future issue we shall endeavour to show a few of the defects of the bill, particularly in regard to factories which deal with perishable products such as fruit. Unless a modification be made tho passing into law of some of the new clauses will simply mean the closing down of several branches or local industry —a very serious outlook indeed.