FOREIGN DOMESTICS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23085, 9 July 1938, Page 25

FOREIGN DOMESTICS

POPULARITY IN ENGLAND PREFERRED TO ENGLISH GIRLS More than 8000 girls now conking and cleaning in English households wore hired last year from Germany and Austria, chiefly by branches of London employment agencies. They form the majority of tho 13,576 foreign women who were given permits for domestic service in the year ending March 31. For the six years beginning 1931 the average number of permits issued each year was 5200. Th 3 Ministry of Labour says: "In each case tho employer must satisfy us that he is unable to find a British citizen who can provide him with the same service. The permit must be obtained before the servant is allowed to enter England." The employment agencies say: "Tliero has never before been such a good business in importing foreign servants. Wo can easily get you experienced girls from Germany, Switzerland, or Austria—especially Austria—for the usual wages."' A Kensington agency explained how they co-operate with their clientele to get labour permits for foreign girls. "To accommodate them we simply put their names down on our books to indicate they have tried to find a British servant. From our agents abroad wc get the name and a full description of tho girl, with nor record of service," they said. "Our agent's recommendation is enough for us, and our recommendation is usually enough for the employer. He does his hiring through us without ever seeing the girl." Tho chief reason why 7007 Austrian girls, 1207 German girls (the Ministry's figures) were admitted to England to work last year is that Knglish girls ih> longer no into service if thej' can find anything else to do. The head of one agency said "Before the war we always had more jobhunters than jobs on our books. ]l we could get 400 servants to-driv, we could place them all within a week." Austrian, German and Swiss girls arc not so particular about their duties as the English, they say in the agencies. English servants jioiit at any unusual request. The foreigners will milk a cow or sweep the lawn without a grumble.