FACTORY WORKERS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 7, 23 January 1937, Page 6

FACTORY WORKERS

Improving Their Lot In Britain

NEW LEGISLATION

Half a million factory workers will have ti: eir lot improved uy a Bill whloh will shortly come before Parliament, says a London paper. It may rightly be called tbe "Paotory Hands' Charter," The Bill, ln the language of the King's sp'eech, is lntended to amend and oon:,olidate "the present law regulating the conditions of work in factories." Its effeot will be to carry a big step forward the laws passed durlng the last 100 years with the purpose of improving the lot of factory workers. It is a little difflcult to believe that it was not until 1834 that the flrst Factory Act was passed. Under its provisions no children under the age of nine years were to be employed, except in silk milis; children under 13 were not to work more than nine hours a day or 48 hours a week, and those under 18 were not to be employed for more than 12 hours a day or 69 a week. In no case were these young persons to do night work. That Act, however, only applied to textile factories. It was left for later measures to extend the restriction to women and to non-textile faotories and worlcshops. Nothlng Qone 8lnoe 1901. The last of these humanising statut88 was passed 35 years ago, and since the Act of 1901 no thing further in that direction has been done. Successive Government3 have promised to introduce legislation to stop Ihe loopholes, to cure the defects, to remove the anomalies, and to strengthen the law relating to work and general conditions of employment, but nothing effective has been done. In 1926 a Bill was ctrafted. It conlained 140 sections, but it made littie progress towards the Statute Book. That' Bill is to "form the groundwork for the Bill shortly to be introduced. During the ten years that have elapsed other requirements beyond those provided for ln the dra/t have diselosed themselves. The Bill, therefore, is to be brought up to date and will be a far better instrument of social justice than that upon which it is based. In addition to provisions having for their object the physical and moral welfare of the young persons engaged in factories, the Bill will make considerable alterations in the law relating to the hours of employment of young persons between the ages of 14 and 18. The Chief Inspector of Factories in his last report stated that large numbers of boys and girls work the full legal limit of 60 hours a week in nontextile factories and workshops, and 55i in the textile industry. He points out the disturbing, but inevitable, circumstance that long hours are accompanied by an Increased acoident risk among young workers. Tbe Home Secretary takes a great personal Interest ln tbe Bill, which will embody all the law on the subject ln an extended and vastly-improved form, and will himself pilot the measure through the House of Commons.