19

H.—ll

Palmerston North, The Inspector of Factories (Mr. W. J. Culver) reports: — General. —Business and employment, has been quite normal—in fact, builders have seen fit to erect larger and improved premises. The amount expended in this direction has been £99,178 10s., against £78,303 last year. Meat-freezing firms have increased their accommodation at the expense of some £26,000, and at the time of reporting another £26,000 is being spent in the erection of picture-theatres alone, and there are prospects of new swimming-baths, electrical tramways, and various other improvements. All, retail assistants have been fully employed. Rather less unemployed have sought work this year than during the previous year. During the period when prices weie very low some of the flax-mills stopped, but most of them worked part time, and immediately the value of hemp rose the mills started again in full work. The prospects for the future appeal' to be very good. There has been ample labour offering (or the dairying factories, practically all has been absorbed. Apparently the many factories having gone in for cheese has given the result anticipated—in having more experienced men on the market, and the men getting a satisfactory wage at all. times. The manufacture of casein has not grown, and it seems that with the high prices ruling for butterfat, cheese, and butter other side lines in the dairying industry will be more or less neglected. There has been considerable shortage of labour with the farmers for men to milk cows, and that has led to the installation of many milking-machines. Factories Act. — 268 factories have been registered, and certificates of fitness to work in factories issued to seventy-three young persons. Overtime totalling 2,617 hours has been worked by 136 women and boys. Dressmaking, tailoring, and tent-making appear to be the busiest trades. Tailors again complain of their inability to obtain the services of first-class hands'. There were thirty-three accidents, but none was fatal. All factories have been inspected, and all were found to be in a healthy condition, and the sanitary arrangements,, air-space, and seating-accommodation weie thoroughly satisfactory. Shops and Offices Act. —42s shops are open within the borough, and 1,539 hours overtime lias been worked by 169 assistants. Sanitary conditions, as also seating-accommodation and airspace, are provided in accordance with the Act. I would again urge that the same restriction as iv factories be placed upon the employment of young persons under sixteen in shops. Factory work is more healthy, demands shorter hours, and is likely to be more useful in that it teaches them a trade. Another matter to which I have before referred is that the Factories Act provides for three weeks and the Shops and Offices Act for four weeks before action can be taken for failing to pay wages. Prosecutions under the Factories, Shops and Offices, Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration, and other Acts, and cases settled out of Court : Employers generally have endeavoured to observe the various Acts and awards, but when a, warning has seemed to be useless prosecution has been taken, and ten cases for offences under the various Acts have been taken into Court. One was dismissed owing to conflicting evidence. Nineteen cases of alleged breaches of awards were also taken into Court, and in each case a breach was recorded. Servants' Registry-offices. —Six licensed registry-offices are registered within the borough. The same complaint referred to in my report last year is continually being made by men and women who are sent by registry-office keepers to places for work, only to find on arrival that their services arc not required. I urge that something should be done to make the licensee directlyresponsible when sending men to employment. Another matter is the fact of second-hand dealers being able to bold licenses. Clause 16 provides a safeguard prohibiting a license to a boarding-house-keeper, and is indicative of its intention to prevent as far as possible indirect advantages being taken through the owners of other businesses, and second-hand dealers might well be included in this clause. I have again to report, that the workers are charged the whole of the fees, while very few of the employers are required to pay any fee. Workers' Dwellings. —Twelve cottages have been built in Palmerston North, six during 1913 and six during the year just ended. The workers concerned have endeavoured to improve their properties, and the gardens are models of industry. There have been no arrears of instalments. Masterton. The Inspector of Factories (Mr. J. C. Yorke) reports) : — General. —In the local freezing-works the year just, ended has been the most prosperous, on record, between three hundred and four hundred hands finding work during the busy portion of the season. The building trade has maintained steady progress: leading firms have experienced difficulty lately in procuring the number of journeymen required. Cement-pipe manufacturing and brickniaking have not been very busy, because of the drought experienced. The sawmilling industry, which received a check when war was declared, has recovered somewhat lately. A decided improvement has also taken place in the furniture trades. The motor and cycle trade has developed rapidly. Engineering and agricultural-implement and the coach and carriage building trades have given fairly satisfactory employment to all regular hands. Leather trades report normal conditions, and in clothing trades business has been satisfactory, particularly during the past few months. Notwithstanding the drought, the output of butter and cheese— together with the high prices obtained for both —have resulted satisfactorily. Just after the declaration of war the public seemed afraid of spending money, but reports, obtained show that retail business has been Satisfactory. . There has not, been much difficulty in dealing with unemployed. ■" ■■''.■■.' Factories Act. —152 factories were registered. Overtime totalling 1,048 hours was worked. Certificates of fitness were issued to fourteen young persons to work in factories. There were eighteen accidents, but none was serious. No prosecutions were found necessary.