H.—ll.

Details as to the number of men employed under the various schemes of the Unemployment Board may be obtained from the annual report of the Commissioner of Unemployment. The work of registering the large number of unemployed and of placing the men in employment under the various schemes of the Board has again been given precedence over the general work of the Department, but the investigation of complaints of alleged breaches of Acts, awards, &c., the inspection of scaffolding, &c., and the reverification of weights, measures, &c., under the Weights and Measures Act have been carried on to the fullest possible extent in the circumstances.

FACTORIES ACT.

The figures as to the number of factories and workers employed therein do not purport to coincide with those of the Government Statistician (Census of Industrial Manufactures); as his returns, which are drawn up purely for statisticial purposes, do not cover various small establishments that are included as factories under the Factories Act. The decrease of 14,445 in the number of factory workers is spread fairly evenly over all trades, but approximately 75 per cent, of this figure represents the reduction in the number of male workers. It might be explained that the above figures are those ascertained at registration-time (April in each year), except that in order to include factories in seasonal industries which might be closed in April any new establishments opened during the year are added ; the figures shown for 1931-32 therefore chiefly represent the numbers in April, 1931. Accidents. As mentioned last year, in order that the accident statistics may be comparable with the statistics of other countries, as urged by the International Conference of Labour Statisticians in 1923, the figures cover the calendar year instead of the financial year. The total number of reported accidents to workers in factories is 2,249 (2,172 males and 77 females). Of the total number, 44 of the accidents occurred to workers under sixteen years of age, 375 to those between sixteen and twenty, and the remaining 1,830 to those above that age. Of the 5 fatal accidents, 1 was caused by or was due to machinery. Of the total accidents, 358 were caused by or were due to machinery. The other principal causes of accidents were found to be as follows : Falls of persons (from stairs, ladders, platforms, &c.), 206 ; stepping on or striking against fixed objects, 130 ; faulty handling of tools, 636 ; handling of other objects (viz., objects dropped or tipped over, objects falling, or strain due to handling), 548 ; handling of poisonous, hot, and corrosive substances, 84 ; others (miscellaneous), 287 : total, 2,249. Disability caused : Temporary disability, 2,166 ; permanent partial disability, 78 ; fatalities, 5. The following particulars are given of the fatal accidents that occurred during the year : — (1) A worker in a freezing-works removed the lid of a digester which had been working and an explosion occurred. The worker was severely scalded and died from shock. There is no definite evidence of the cause of the explosion, but the foreman in charge was of the opinion that the worker removed the lid quickly and the resultant rush of cold air caused an eruption of the boiling tallow. (2) A plumber employed in a freezing-works was working on a ladder about 12 ft. from the ground, when he overbalanced and fell on to a concrete floor, fracturing his skull. (3) A scutcher in a twine-factory reached over the shaft of the machine he was working to test the tightness of the bearings and a frayed portion of his sleeve caught in the shaft. He managed to avoid being drawn round the shaft, but his clothes were torn from him and he died a week later from septic pneumonia following an injury to his chest. (4) A sailmaker was standing on a sewing-bench, when he slipped and fell through a window to the street below, a distance of over 50 ft. No reason could be given for deceased's being on the bench. (5) A carpenter at a freezing-works was working in the fitting-shop when a cylinder containing liquid ammonia burst and he was asphyxiated. The other workers in the room managed to escape into the open air, but the deceased apparently lost his sense of direction and went into an adjoining storeroom where he was overcome by the fumes.

2

Number of I Number of | Year. Factories Movement. 1 Factory j Movement, registered. ! Workers. I 1916-17 .. . • 12,455 759 (decrease) 78.188 4,823 (decrease). 1926-27 .. .. 16,619 308 (increase) 103,404 1,083 (increase). 1927-28 .. .. 16,782 163 „ 102,622 782 (decrease). 1928-29 .. .. .. 16,677 105 (decrease) 102,795 173 (increase). 1929-30 .. .. 17,082 405 (increase) 104,448 1,653 „ 1930-31 .. .. 17,019 63 (decrease) 104,377 71 (decrease). 1931-32 .. .. .. 16,253 766 „ 89,932 14,445 „ I