THE FACTORIES ACT

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2172, 30 August 1907, Page 2

THE FACTORIES ACT

SOME IMPORTANT AMENDMENTS. . (Special to Times.) WELLINGTON, last night. The Factories Act Amendment Bill is a short measure of sixteen clauses. It provides that in fruit-canning factories during the busy season (Ist January to Ist April) overtime shall be limited to not more than two consecutive days iii any one week, or more than 30 days in all. The prohibition of overtime on holidays is to be suspended. The definition of factory is extended so as to cover every building or place in which electrical energy is generated or transformed as an illuminant or a motive power, or in which coal gas or any other form of gas is produced for the like purpose. A bakehouse is to mean not only a place where anv article of food for human consumption is baked, but also the place where it is prepared. The employment of any' women or boys under tlie age of 18 years is to be prohibited in factories where the silvering of mirrors by tlio mercurial process or the making of white lead is carried op. To overcome whet lias been an inconvenient stato of affairs in small towns, where the shop halfholiday falls on a different day to the factory half-holiday, it is provided that where in a borough having a population of less than 5000 a factor- and shop aro combined under the management of-the same occupier it shall he sufficient compliance with the law relating to tlio half-holiday if tlio occupier of tlio factory allows a half-holi-day on the day appointed for the statutory half-holiday under the Shops and Offices Act, 1904, in lieu of Saturday, so long as notice of this arrangement is given to the Inspector of Factories. Exceptions in regard to newspapers have been always made in connection with the linlf-holiday. These will in future apply to bows, whether above or below the ago of 10. The Government seeks to eliminate what has hitherto been considered the unfair competition of Chinese against European laundrynieii by enacting—(l) Except so far as authorised b- tlio warrant of an Inspector no Asiatic shall work in any laundry for more than 48 hours (exclusive of meal times) in any one week or any of the holidays or half-holidays provided for in section. 33 of the principal Act; (2) the provisions of this section shall apply not only to Asiatics who are employed to wprk in laundries, but also to Asiatics who work therein as the occupiers thereof or otherwise on their own account; (3) if any Asiatic work in breach of 1 the provisions of this section lie and tlie occupiers of tlie laundry shall be guilty and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding £5 fo.v every such offence. No premises the occupier of which is a person of the Chinese race shall hereafter be registered as a factory under the authority of tho principal Act unless the occupier thereof is already at the time of the passing of this Act the occupier of premises so registered. Previous legislation in regard to minimum wages of factory employees is simplified by the following clause: Every person who is employed in any capacity in'a factory shall he entitled to receive from the occupier payment for his work at such rate as is agreed on, being not less than a rate of 5s a week for the first year of on 1

ment in the trade, 8s a week for the second yeir/lls a week for the third year, and so on by additions of 3s a week for each year of employment in the same trade, until tho rate of 20s a week is reached, and thereafter not less than a rate of 20s a week.