SERVANTS' CHARTER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23669, 29 November 1938, Page 17

SERVANTS' CHARTER

IMPROVING DOMESTIC SERVICE (From Our Own Correspondent) (By Air Mail) LONDON, Nov. 3. "The servant problem" in England may shortly be improved as a result of the charter adopted by the National Union of Domestic Workers, and approved by the Trades Union Congress General Council. Its proposals include a 96-hour fortnight, the abolition of servants' caps, and privacy. The charter is based on the general principle that long hours and loneliness—the two worst features of a domestic worker's life—" are unnecessary if common sense is applied to the running of a household." . The proposals of the union include a maximum working fortnight of 88 hours for workers under 18, and 96 hours over 18. The actual arrangement of the spreadover of the hours is to be left to the contracting parties subject to the following condittons:All employees under 18 to cease work at 10 p.m.; at least 10 hours* -uninterrupted period from the time of ceasing work at night until commencing next morning for those under 18; half an hour for breakfast, tea and supper, and an hour for lunch. , . Starting at 16 years the minimum wage proposed for resident workers is 9s a week in the provinces and 12s a week in London, rising to 12s and 15s at 17 years of age and 15s and 18s at 18. Afterwards wages will be increased according to the ability of the worker It is also proposed that no cook shall receive less than £1 in the provinces and 25s in London. Higher scales are suggested for the non-resident workers. All workers who live in must be provided with a separate bedroom that is light and airy, with a comfortable bed and armchair. "Employers' property, the charter states, "must not be stored in the worker's bedroom, and employers should not enter a worker's bedroom without the permission or the presence of the worker. With regard to food, one quality throughout the household should be the general rule." An explanatory statement issued by the T.U.C. declares that the loneliness of which so many domestic servants complain is due to the long hours on duty which prevent them from making' social contacts. Most domestic workers are on duty over 80 hours a week. An important item in the charter is that wages should be paid in cash once a week. It is also stated that "many domestic workers object to being called by their Christian names or to their title being omitted when addressed by employers. "A domestic worker may find herself being called Edith or Harrison by all and sundry, including the school children in the household where she is

employed, while her sister, employed in a shop or a school, is always addressed as Miss Harrison. There is no reason" why the same courtesy in addressing a worker should not prevail in domestic employment." The charter declares that "most domestic workers resent the wearing of a cap, a relic of bygone days that originated when employers also wore caps inside the house. Sensible people find it hard to believe, but it is a fact that some domestic workers who have provided themselves with a cap to protect their hair while engaged on some dirty job have been asked to remove the protective covering and replace it with the useless cap that most domestic workers resent wearing."

The union predicts that when the charter is generally adopted there will be no shortage of candidates for domestic employment, " for domestic work is not in itself uncongenial."