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during the year, and caused the abatement of many nuisances in
workshops where women are employed. The details of Miss Teebay's
work are given in her report set out in the appendix.
At the beginning of the year, I instructed Miss Teebay to devote
a certain portion of her time (one day per week) to the inspection of
" outworkers' " homes, which arrangement has been continued up to
the present.
The following report which was presented to the Public Health
Committee in July shows the progress made in this class of work and
some of the difficulties encountered.
To the Public Health Committee, Hackney Vestry.
Gentlemen,
After the organization of the work by the Medical Officer of Health, I began
the systematic inspection of outworkers on March 14th of this year. Since that
date I have paid 1G9 visits to addresses furnished me by employers of this class of
worker. A small proportion of these visits were futile. For, in the first place,
outworkers appear to be a very migratory section of the population, and in many
cases were found to have left the addresses given to me, although I endeavour to
allow as little time as possible to elapse between the obtaining of the address and
the inspection of the premises and, in the second place, many employers fail to
keep their lists of outworkers accurate and up-to-date, and do not insist upon a
change of residence being notified to them. On several occasions persons asked
for have never been heard of at the address furnished, or are reported to have left
some considerable time previously. This carelessness on the part of employers
will, I hope, gradually disappear as they more clearly understand the obligations
imposed upon them by the Factory and Workshops Acts in the matter of
outworkers—obligations of which in the past they appear to have had a most
elementary idea, or no idea at all. In the future, however, ignorance cannot be
pleaded as an excuse for non-compliance v. ith the regulations, as a copy of the
Medical Officer's letter to employers, drawing attention to their responsibilities,
has been, or will be, forwarded to every factory and workshop coming within the
Order of the Secretary of State.
The outworkers I have visited have been employed in the following trades:—
The manufacture of boots and shoes—skirts and blouses—underclothing—mantle
—millinery—ties—gloves and trimmings.
In three cases outworkers refused to admit me to their rooms.