THE FACTORIES ACT

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 38

THE FACTORIES ACT

ALLEGED UNHEALTHY CONDITIONS. A VISIT OF INSPECTION. Last week the Otago Trades and Labour Council passed a resolution calling the attention of the Inspector of Factories "to the fact that several factories in Dunedin are in a very unhealthy and insanitary condition." In a communication to the Inspector of Factories the secretary of the Trades and Labour Council mentioned several factories and pointed out respects in which, in the opinion of the council, they did not comply with the Factories Act. Mr P. Hally (Inspector of Factories for Dunedin) visited these places on the 24th in company with Mr W. E. Gladstone (District Health Inspector). Messrs J. Haymes and R. Breen (representing the Trades and Labour Council), and an Otago Daily Time* reporter. The visitors wanted to see for themselves how matters stood, and no notice was given to the factories concerned of the intended visit. Taking tho five places all in all, they wore, found to be in a very clean, presentable, and healthy state indeed, and. except in one instance, little could "be said against them. In No. 1 the walls were smoky, but not dusty, and there were pictures, designs, and so on hung here and there. The room was quite healthy to work in. In No. 2 factory there was a want of conveniences on the premises, ©specially for females, but arrangements had been come to with another firm in the same premises and ako with an outside party about 50 yards away. In No. 3 factory it was alleged there was lack of ventilation and dirty walls. Thi3 was found to be utterly groundless. In No. 4 factory, it was said, there was no fire escape, while the diningroom fell short of requirements. The dining-room is certainly small for the number of hands employed, and is in such a position that foul air rising from the lower flats may find its way into it. There is, howev er. very good provision for ventilation. Trie means of es-cape in case of fire are quite insufficient for the number of hands, of whom about 50 were at work yesterday. The escapes consist of steep, wooden staircases, about 2ft wide, with several sharp turns. In a rush of panicstricken employees a catastrophe could be a\oided only by -a miracle. The next factory visited had very dirty walls in one room, in which four men- are employed. The walls certainly required cleaning, and Mr Hally gave instructions to that effect before he left. Mr Gladstone expressed himself in terms somewhat similar to the above. The representatives of the Trades and Labour Council will submit the following j rcpoit of their visit to their executive: — j No. 1. — T'i this department we found j the walk had not been renovated for some considerable time, probably many years. The nature of the business, we were informed, necessitated the walls being covered n ith paper designs ; consequently to renovate the walls would require destroying many of them. We consider that the coiling and upper portion of the walls could easily be kalsomlned without interfering with the designs referred to. Tho designs provided convenient places for duat and germs which ennnot be conducive to the health of the workers eniploy-ed in the room. No. 2. — In this building there are two factories and one office. In one of the factories there are no sanitary conveni- { enccs for females. In ihe other there aie [ conveniences for females only. In connec- ' tion with tho office, there are no sanitary conveniences. The practice in this building is for the girls in one factory to use the conveniences in the other, and the men do likewise. We do not consider this is satisfactory, although probably no great inconvenience might be caused. Each department is registered as a factory, and each should contain separate conveniences for both sexes With regard , to the office, we understand it is not compuhory to provide sanitary conveniences on the premises* If that is so, we consider the Shops and Offices Act should be amended to make that compulsory, as it cannot be deemed satisfactory for girla to be compelled to use conveniences in another building some distance away. No. 3.— ln I his buildim? there is nothing 1 very serious <o complain of. In some parts of the building the walls are a bit dirty, and would be all the better for a little lime-wash. Ako, we do not consider the w.o. is a proper place for girls to change their clothes and hang up their hats. No. 4. — In this building our complaint ' is not. quite correct. A proper dining loom is provided, although we are sure

i not capable of accommodating all the girls ! likely to use the room. Our principal complaint is in connection with the tiro escape, which we consider anything but satisfactory, as. if a fire broke out in Ihe building-, it would simply be a treath trap. The stairs arc steep and narrow, besides having several turnings. No. 5. — This place is. to use a mild term, vpiy dirVv. and has the appearance of not having been renovated since the building was built many years au:o. It is a small room, and only occupied by threo men. While expressing ourselves strongly in connection with the cases brought under our notice, we wish to state that in many ot them the inspector (Mr Hally) cannot altogether- be held r«->p-on-slble. He has a very difficult duty to perform, and we recognise, also, that to carry out our wishes in every particular must necessarily entail hardship and expense on some of the employers concerned, but we consider the health of the workers of more importance than £ 6 d. The inspector also recognises this, and we honestly believe he is doiii? his best in that direction : but in our opinion the department is under-manned, and if justice is to be done to the workers the staff must be considerably increased. We are informed there «-re nearly 1200 factories to he regularly inspected, which we have no hesitation in saying is too many for two. or even three, inspectors to deal with: consequently many have to bo uasssd o\ pr or only hurriedly inspected with the reault that tho workers have to suffer.