5

H.—ll

Accidents.

Of the fatal accidents there were three in Auckland: (1) a boy was killed while working a hydraulic lift; (2) a furnace-man was severely burned by molten metal and succumbed to his injuries; (3) a labourer at a foundry jammed his left hand in a inetal-shcaring machine, and lockjaw'supervoned with fatal results. There was'onc fatal woollen-mill, a warper being struckjon the left temple by a steel rod, which caused laceration and haemorrhage. In New Plymouth a derrick-man employed in connection with oil-wells was struck on the head by chain-tongs. In Greymouth a buslunan was struck on the head by a falling bough. In Dunedin (I) a boy was killed by a lift, and (2) a girl employed in a shirt-factory, while attempting to go from one bench to another by crawling (unnecessarily) under her own bench, had her neck broken through her hair being caught by a revolving shaft under the table. Overtime. In the principal towns of New Zealand another very substantial drop in the number of hours of overtime worked by boys under sixteen and women is recorded—viz., from 461,575 to 353,405, a decrease of 108,167 hours. Most of the decreases took place since the Armistice was signed. These figures refer only to the overtime worked by women and boys. Permits not being required for males of sixteen years and over, no record is obtainable of the overtime by those workers.

Certificates of Fitness issued to Boys and Girls under Sixteen Years of Age to work in Factories.

Prosecutions. There were forty-four prosecutions during the year, an increase of six on last year. In each of these cases the decision was in favour of the Department, and a penalty was imposed. No case calls for special mention. Regulations. It was found necessary, in view of the serious fires that took place in Christchurch some time ago, and of the possibility that similar fires might occur in factories with grave results to the workers employed therein, to state more specifically by regulation under the Act the kind and nature of the fire-escapes that should be provided. Considerable care was taken in drafting the regulation ; the requirements as proposed were submitted to experts, and also to the representatives of employers and workers, and were generally considered satisfactory by them. Also, in order to obtain uniformity in the requirements of Inspectors regarding sanitary conveniences, regulations were gazetted fixing the proportion of conveniences to be provided in accordance with the number of workers employed. Provision is also made by the regulations requiring occupiers of factories to provide such first-aid appliances for use in case of accident as an Inspector may consider necessary. An endeavour was made in the regulations to lay down a definite standard as to temperature in factories, also as to purity of air. Considerable attention has been given to these matters in England, but it has not been found practicable there to lay down definite standards. In view of this and of the conflicting opinion in New Zealand it was considered advisable not to make regulations, but to issue instructions to Inspectors to require a temperature of from 55° to 60° F. within 3 ft. of the floor of the workroom, excepting when the temperature of the external air is 40° or less, when a lower temperature than 55° and not less than 52° should be allowed. The measures taken for securing and maintaining the temperature above stated are not to interfere with the purity of the air in any workroom. Shops and Offices Act. There were 168 prosecutions for breaches of this Act, an increase of forty over last year. in 163 cases convictions were obtained. Special interest attaches to the prosecution of a Wellington tobacconist for failing to'closc his shop in accordance with a requisition under section 25 of the Act, by which the majority of the shopkeepers may fix the closing-hours in the " evening " for the trade. It was contended on defendant's behalf that as the requisition fixed 5 p.m. it must be held to be ultra vires, as during

Slight. Moderate. Serious. Fatal. Total. 1913-14 1914-15 1915-16 1916-17 1917-18 1918-19 879 747 837 938 509 795 165 171 160 144 317 192 52 46 65 ' 84 65 58 8 3 3 5 10 8 1,104 967 1,065 1,171 901 1,053

Year. Boys. Girls. Total. 1913-14.. 1914-15.. 1915-16.. 1916-17.. 1917-18.. 1918-19.. 932 952 1,100 1,158 1,199 1,240 1,241 1,136 1,263 1,251 1,236 1,333 2,173 2,088 2,363 2,409 2,435 2,573