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IV. Outworkers' Lists.
Under Section 107 of the Act employers in certain industries,
namely: (a) making, cleaning, washing, altering, finishing and
repairing of wearing apparel; (b) ditto for lace, lace curtains, and
nets; (c) cabinet and furniture making and upholstery work;
(d) electro-plating; (e) making of files and (f) fur-pulling, have to
keep, in prescribed form, lists of employes working outside the
factory or workshop. Such lists have to be sent on or before
February 1st and August 1st in each year to the Borough Council.
In cases where such outworkers do not reside within the limits of
the Borough from which they obtain work, their names and
addresses are to be sent on by this authority to the Council in
whose district they reside.
In Finsbury, during 1904, we have received 168 lists from 100
employers, most of whom have acted in accordance with the Act;
68 have sent two lists during the year at or about the stated periods,
and 32 employers have sent once. It will be seen from the following
Table that there has been considerable improvement in
compliance with the requirements of the Act. The 81 lists received
February 2nd to June 30th were practically all "first lists" due on
February 1st, and the 87 lists received August 2nd to December 31st,
should have been sent in not later than August 1st. So that, out
of 168 lists, 46 were received at the statutory periods. It has been
necessary to take action in one case, under Section 107, sub-section
(5), to enforce more accurate returns. The penalty to which employers
are liable for contravening this requirement of sending in lists
is £2, or for second offence £5. Reference is made to this matter
subsequently. We have issued 60 "reminder" notices on account
of failure to send in the lists on the statutory dates. In future it
may be necessary to issue summonses, but during the present year
the matter has been complicated by depression in trade, when
employers previously sending in lists have discharged their
employes. These lists have chiefly been from firms concerned in
the making or preparing of wearing apparel (section a). Sections
(c), (d), (e) and (f) have, generally speaking, furnished no lists.
We have received 62 lists of outworkers from 18 Local Authorities