DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXX, Issue 8515, 21 August 1907, Page 3

DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR.

The following is the annual report Jbr the year ended March 31st of the Inspector of Factories for Masterton, Mr G. E. A. Qood, which lias been submitted to the Chief Inspector of Factories, Wellington : It is very pleasing to note that the progress which characterised this district for the last four or five years has been amply maintained; in fact, it is questionable whether the rate of progress has not been greater than in previous years. The building trade has been busy during the whole period. A large number of residences have been erected, and there has been a marked advance in the style and architecture used for business purposes. As a consequence, the appearance of the business portion of the town has greatly improved.

As regards the retail trade, a good year has been experienced, and in the manufacturing trades the number of factories and persons employed have increased, and good time has been worked throughout.

The provisions of the Factories Act have again worked smoothly, and generally speaking, employers have willingly complied with any improvements which I have considered to be necessary as regarded the internal or sanitary arrangement of their factory premises. There have been several up-to-date factories erected. In visiting the various factories I found several cases of girls being paid less than provided by the Act. but they were only of a slight nature, and were remedied by the payment of back wages. Female employees are very careless re obtaining the certificates showing period of employment, as provided by the amendment of 1905, and so lose the benefit of the Act. j

The number of factories registered during the year was 122, employing 530 males and 98 fmales, making a . total of 628 employees. This is an • increase of 12 factories and 58 em- i ployees. ! Certificates have been issued to I eight boys and three girls under six- j teen years of age. i Overtime has been worked as fol- j lows:—Forty-two women and boys i under sixteen years worked 1,158 j hours, and 110 adult males worked j 6,678 hours. ! A number of slight accidents have : been reported, and where possible in- ; strucf.ions given to fix guards on ! machinery. i A good deal of work is necessary in i re the administration of the Indus- ! trial Conciliation and Arbitration j Act. This is, in a measure, due to j to;he trouble caused in finding em- ' ployers in the country districts. The j awards in the Wairarapa district are | fairly well observed. Applications . for enforcement have been made in | fifteen cases, and fourteen em- ; ployers were fined and one case dis- i missed. The trades affected were \ bakers, carpenters, painters, and j furniture-makers. A large number ; of alleged breaches were enquired ; into in other trades. These were ad- j

justed without prosecution. The Shops and Offices Act has worked fairly well. There have been four prosecutions. A dairyman was charged with failing to pay the minimum rate of wages to a boy employed on a milk-round The boy received 2s 6d per week, and was -engaged in delivering milk out of school hours. Counsel for defendant contended that the owner of a milkround was not an occupier of a shop within the meaning of the Act, and therefore the boy was not a "shopassistant." The Magistrate, however, ruled otherwise, and convicted and 'fined defendant. Other cases were for employing assistants in a shop without permit, auctioneers employing assistant at sales at private iiouses on day of statutory half-holi-<fcv, and a clothier for failing to -close his shop in terms of requisition under section 21. In each case a conviction was obtained, and a fine inflicted. In the other case a shopkeeper was fined for not closing in accordance with a gazetted requisition. . „ .

There are six Servants' Registry Offices doing business in Masterton. I have inspected their books, and found them all well kept, and the law observed. The complaint as made last year still obtains—that advertisements for men wanted are kept in the newspapers for some time after the situations are filled, and as a result men are brought, in some instances for long distances, on a wild-goose chase. I have visited the various shearing sheds in the Masterton and Carterton districts, and in the majority of cases the conditions were fairly satisfactory. Notice has been given in one case to erect accommodation, and in several others to effect improvements. For the greater part of the yearwork has been fairly plentiful, and as the weather throughout the spring and summer has been good the outdoor workers have had a much better time than they experienced last year. All able-bodied labourers have found employment without much difficutly. Ninety-two men have applied at this office for employment, of whom fifty-five have been sent to Government and private work. In conclusion, I am pleased to say my relations during the year with employers and others have been of an amicable nature, and without the slightest friction.