Women in the Printing Trades Part 22

Tuesday to Friday are busy days, and the forewoman employs some married women who come in as long as they are wanted.

DANGERS.--One st.i.tching machine is dangerous, the forewoman said; the folded sheet has to be pushed along with the hand and there is the _chance_ of the hand being caught.

HOURS.--The hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., occasionally till 8; one hour being allowed for dinner and half an hour for tea.

PROSPECTS.--The girls may rise to forewomen and a sort of deputy-forewoman, chosen by forewoman, to overlook certain rooms. The girls are not, as a rule, at all eager for the responsibility.

7. _Large Bookbinding Firm in London._

(A.) _Manager's Information._

WORK.--Folding, sewing, collating, placing plates, laying-on gold, etc.

REGULARITY.--The work is partly seasonal. They are busy in the winter time, and work to limits allowed by the Factory Acts; they are slack in the summer, and may even have no work for three weeks or so at a time.

DANGERS.--They have only had two accidents. One was with an ordinary sewing machine; the other was with a Bremner machine, when a little girl was setting it up. She caught her finger in it, but was not away from work a fortnight.

HOURS.--They work 48 hours per week, allowing one and a half hours for meals per day, _i.e._, from 8 a.m. to 12, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.; on Sat.u.r.days, from 8 a.m. to 12. This really comes to 49 hours a week if the girls are punctual, but he reckons 48 hours because they are not punctual.

PROSPECTS.--Only a chance of rising to forewomen.

(B.) _Forewoman's Evidence._

REGULARITY.--It is a season trade and they are just beginning to be slack (March) in Miss X.'s shop where the new work is done.

HEALTH.--Miss X. "had been through it all," and thought folding dreadfully tiring. There is nothing specially unhealthy about it.

HOURS.--The hours are supposed to be 49 a week, but if there is any work they do not keep to that. A 48 hours' week only means that the time workers get paid extra. Miss X. worked in a place where they were supposed to have 51 hours a week but rarely made more than 40.

The firm make their girls stay as little as possible when there is no work, but this is very different to most places, as the workpeople are studied here.

(C.) _Employee's Evidence._

WORK.--In E., Bible work and new or cloth work are quite separate, and there are separate hands for each. She did folding for the Bible work herself.

HEALTH.--The work is not very healthy. "Sitting all day is bad for you,"

but there is no special disease. Bible work is light work, as much of it is on India paper; new work is much heavier.

HOURS.--The hours are from 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., with an hour for dinner and half an hour for tea, but when busy they work till 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. This happens about thirty times a year. They are allowed to go home if there is not work.

[There is a very nice set of girls at the Bible work; they are particular there about whom they take, and it is a very good house to be in.]

GENERAL.--It is rather dull and tiring working because they are not supposed to talk to each other at Bible work.

8. _Printing and Stationery Firm in London. General Information._

TRAINING. In the Book-folding and Vellum Sewing Department the girls have an agreement to serve two years.

_Age At Beginning._--Fourteen.

_Premium._--None.

_Wages._--6 months at 1_s._, 6 months at 2_s._ 6_d._, 6 months at 5_s._, and 6 months at 7_s._ 6_d._ per week.

IN THE NUMBERING, RELIEF STAMPING, ETC., PACKING Department there are no indentures or regular system of apprentices.h.i.+p but girls are expected to serve about two years.

_Age At Beginning._--Fourteen.

_Premium._--None.

_Wages._--Girls start at 1_s._ per week, for, say, three months, then get three-quarter earnings. Very few are trained in this firm, they take on workers who have learnt elsewhere. How many branches learners are taught seems to depend on chance. Some old hands do all the processes, some only one.

MACHINE RULING.--In this department there is no system. Little girls come and feed at 5_s._ and 7_s._ per week. When they have been at it a year or two they are drafted off to other departments.

LITHOGRAPHIC WORK.--There is no regular training in this department. It only takes about two weeks to learn the work done by girls here.

NOTEPAPER FOLDING requires no training. "Why! you could pick it up in a week or two."

WAGES.--The firm does much work for public bodies, and so has to pay "fair" wages. The manager did not seem to know whether this applied to women's work too, but evidently it does.

DEPARTMENT I.--NUMBERING, ETC.--The manager gave wages as 11_s._ to 16_s._ per week, some being paid on time and some on piece work. The foreman considered 14_s._ to be about the average. The following girls were questioned:--

One packer got 12_s._ (time wages) per week.

Another packer got 13_s._ (time wages) per week.

One piece relief stamper got about 13_s._ (piece work) per week.

Another piece relief stamper got about 16_s._ (piece work) per week.

One numberer got 15_s._ (piece work) per week.

DEPARTMENT II.--LITHOGRAPHIC FEEDING.--Here girls start at 6_s._ and rise up to 14_s._ (time wages).

DEPARTMENT III.--MACHINE RULING.--In this department all wages are for time work. Quite little girls receive 4_s._ or 5_s._ up to 7_s._ per week. They are drafted off when they want higher wages than that. There were, however, two older ones in the room who were folding and counting the ruled foolscap paper at 14_s._ per week.

DEPARTMENT IV.--BOOK-FOLDING, ETC.--Out of the 45 girls employed in this department, 10 were on time work, and were being paid from 13_s._ to 16_s._ per week. The piece workers, according to the forewoman, were making from 13_s._ to 16_s._ per week, taking all the year round. Some were making over 20_s._ per week.

DEPARTMENT V.--VELLUM WORK.--All 15 girls employed here were on time work. They got 11_s._ per week when first out of their time; 12_s._ after two years. None were receiving over 12_s._, except one who "makes up" at 13_s._ a week. These wages were given by the forewoman. The manager seemed surprised that they were not higher, and remarked that they were lower than in the book-folding department. The forewoman said that in most places the vellum workers got more than book workers, but this firm had arranged otherwise.

DEPARTMENT VI.--The girls FOLDING NOTEPAPER in the warehouse were getting 13_s._ or 14_s._ (time wages) per week.

WORK.--Department I.--NUMBERING, RELIEF STAMPING, PERFORATING, PACKING, AND GUMMING going on.

The numbering and the stamping are different trades, done by different girls, but most of them can do packing as well, though in some cases they learn packing only. They can mostly do perforating and gumming, odds and ends too. Some were folding postal forms. Special envelope orders are done here. About 35 girls were employed.