UNHAPPY PLIGHT OF SOME MAIDS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19267, 2 January 1931, Page 7

UNHAPPY PLIGHT OF SOME MAIDS.

SERVANT PROBLEM HAS ITS TRAGIC ASPECTS. > What is the servant problem? “ “ The servant problem,” said the ' manageress of a city labour bureau, “is the fitting of the right girls into . the right places. Many incompetent 2 girls come to me seeking for jobs, but » an equally large number of mistresses, r for whom no girl could work happily, [ come seeking for servants. Very few . employers will take the trouble nowadays to teach a novice, but all want : properly trained girls, and especially ones who are able to cook. Numbers 5 of servants, however, will avoid cook- , ing if possible as they consider it too much of a tie.” A Tragic Aspect. The most tragic aspect of the servant problem, the manageress con- , sidered, was the numbers of women with children who were seeking for domestic positions. “ Mistresses will generally not consider the applicant with children, and the same applicant cannot accept a position at a low salary because of the children. I had a woman here the other day whose husband had deserted her and left seven children on her hands. She was finally obliged to put them into a home and all her wages are spent in providing her family with the little necessities of life.” It is often difficult to persuade girls to go into the country, more especially as the employee must pay her own I travelling expenses if the position is not taken for more than three months. Although the wages are good, the great demand for housemaid-waitresses has not been fully met. as many girls are discharged when the holiday season is over. There seems to be little work offering for cooks at the present time. Many more applicants for daily labour are offering, but so many homes are now equipped with electric washing machines and cleaning apparatus that the services of the “ daily .woman ” are now being dispensed with. Temporary Positions. “ The depression has severely affected domestic servants,” concluded the manageress. “ Whereas a household employed three servants it now only employs two, and the homes with one girl are now managing without any. And in every case where the girls have been retained, the mistresses are wanting more work lor their money. However, if an unemployed girl will only accept a temporary position it is quite probable that, if she works diligently, s he will find a permanent one.”