SWEATED LABOUR

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19803, 19 May 1934, Page 24

SWEATED LABOUR

INVESTIGATION AT HOME EVIL NOT YET STAMPED ! OUT j ! Th e • Bookman," in an article, gives j the result of an investigation of sweated labour contributed by Miss Mary Edmonds. Her story speaks for itself. "I visited a girls' club in one of the ! poorest parts of Hoxton. The ages of 1 the girls ranged from 14 to over 20, and most of them were employed in the dressmaking, tailoring, or allied trades. 1 “A girl of 15 told me that she worked in a dressmaking factory’ from half-past eight in the morning to six o’clock at night, for 10s a week. For several weeks before Christmas, however, she was working from eightthirty till seven each night, and for this she received Is 6d overtime. “As I was talking to her, a child walked into the room. She looked about 12, but the warden of the club assured me that she was 14. She was small and pale, w r ith dark shadows under her eyes. Her whole bearing was listless and she looked worn out. It was then after nine o’clock at night, and the girl who was employed in a tailoring factory, told me that she had worked from eight in the morning till eight that evening, and that these hours were to continue for another j five or six weeks, during the rush | period. A Tale of Hours. “Normally’ her hours were eight to six-thirty, and she received 9s a week. For the extra one and a-half hours each day she received 22d an hour. One cannot help feeling that, to a child at the most crucial stage of her development, mentally, physically and psychologically, an hour and a-half which might have been spent in relaxation, recreation, or even education is a bitterly hard price to pay for fourpence. She did not work on Saturdays, but this is no compensation for the long hours she worked during the week. “Another girl of 14 said that her work was sewing the ends on the men’s braces, and at this she worked from eight-thirty till six o'clock during the week and from half-past eight till one o’clock on Saturdays, and received 9s a week.' “I spoke to two older girls, who were both in their early twenties. One had J been offered work, but as she was to get only 25s a week, and her fares I would be 1 0id a day, she did not think i it would be worth her while to accept ■ it. It is difficult for a girl to decide i what to do in such a case, especially as, if she refuses work offered her by ’he Labour Exchange, she is struck off ! the books for six weeks. “The other, an embroideress. worked for a Jewish firm. Her hours were eight till six-thirty on weekdays and eight till one on Saturdays. For this she earned 25s a week, out of which she had to pay’ for fares, lunches, clothes and a room. She said that every second of waste time was eliminated and the girls were obliged to ' work in complete silence. A Contrast in Price. “This was an interesting corollary to some facts I had learned the day before. The owner of an embroidery firm told me that he had been given an order by a famous West End firm for embroidering some quilts. He reckoned that the work would cost him | 2s an hour, including labour and over- ; head charges, and allowing for four hours’ work and a profit of 2s 6d, he charged 10s 6d. He was told that the identical work could have been done in the East End for 3s 6d. “Further inquiries into hours of work ' showed that girls working in Houndsditch and East End warehouses and textile firms, from nine in the morning till seven-thirty or eight in the evening, or even later, earned about 15s a week. “In every case quoted here, the hours of work demanded by the employers are q’uite legal. “No new’ Factory’ Act has been passed since 1901, and the hours of work prescribed then for textile factories are as follows: Tile period of employment, except on Saturdays, may be from six a.m. till six p.m.. seven a.m. till seven p.m., or eight a.m. till eight p.m. “On Saturday, if beginning at six, work must end at twelve-thirty, with one hour off is aliowed, work must stop at midday. Similarly, if beginning at seven, work must end at one o’clock, and so on. Women and voung persons must not be employed for more than four and a-half hours without at least half an hour for a meal.

Trade Board—What Happens. “In 1909, the first Trade Board Act was passed, its objects being the amelioration of sweated wages. “The Trade Boards have been successful in causing tremendous improvements in rates of pay. The estimates given in the “New Survey of London Life and Labour” are that since the 1906 Board of Trade inquiry, the average rise in weekly wages in ready made tailoring has been about 30 per cent for men and over 90 per cent for women; in the bespoke wade, the increases are 15 per cent for men and 50 per cent for women. “In dressmaking, the average increase in women’s wages, allowing for the change in money values, has been about 40 per cent, “The Trade Board minimum rates of pay to-day are as follow:—For a female worker of over 20. In the retail bespoke dressmaking trade, lid an hour; for learners, lid. .21, 3id, and ">d an hour for the first four years of employment respectively; for female workers over 20 years of age, in the wholesale manufacturing branch of the trade. 7d an hour; for learners. Ud, 3d. 41 d. and 6!d an hour for ihe first four years of employment. “The low’est rate "or any adult male worker in the tailoring trade is Is Id an hour, paid to a plain machinist. “The equivalent rate for a woman is 8d an hour. The Proportion ol Inspections. “Efforts are made on the part of rhe Government to sec that these Trade Board minimum rates are enforced, but the task of inspection is an arduous one. and the number of inspectors is inadequate. “The maximum number of textile factories which has ev—r been inspected i u a year is 25 per cent. Last year, owing to Government economies, it was only 22 per cent. There, are approximately 2,000.000 people covcrc by the Trade Board Acts, and there are 55 inspectors—l 3 less than in 1930.