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1905]
198
Laundries.—At the end of the year there were on the register 161 Laundries. This
number comprises those Laundries which are under the Factory and Workshop Act, those
where only one or two workers are employed, and domestic Laundries. In these Laundries
the work appears to be carried on under fairly satisfactory conditions, as far as relates to
conformity with existing regulations. It appears, however, a matter to be regretted that
certain provisions of the Factory Act which apply to power-laundries are not also applicable
to hand-laundries. At present the owner of a Factory Laundry must provide a fan or its
equivalent to regulate the temperature of the ironing-room, and to carry off steam in the
washhouse, and he must keep all stoves for heating irons quite away from the ironing room.
As these regulations cannot be enforced in hand-laundries the workers in the ironing-rooms
frequently work in an atmosphere which is overheated by the presence of an unscreened stove
for heating irons. This can be partly remedied by open windows, but in some rooms which
are used also as drying rooms the windows are kept closed in order to hasten the drying
process, thus producing very unhealthy conditions for the workers. The practice of hanging
damp clothes from the ceiling of the ironing-room is an unhealthy one, and ought to be
forbidden. These conditions appear especially objectionable in the case of an industry
where the law allows excessively long hours and where a great part of the work is done in
a standing position. Another matter which might be altered with advantage to the workers
is the want of drainage of wet floors in the small Laundries which at present are exempt
from the regulations of the Factory and Workshop Act.
Outworkers.—During the year 221 lists were received from Islington employers, containing
1,793 names. The names and addresses of 947 Outworkers on these lists residing
outside Islington were forwarded to the Medical Officers of Health of their respective
districts. This makes a total of 2,749 Outworkers notified from all sources as living in
Islington, 1,903 names having been sent in from other districts.
Many of the Outworkers were unknown at the addresses given, some had removed or
ceased to work, others had their workrooms already on the workshop register, being employers,
whilst many other names are duplicates, as the lists are forwarded twice a year. In some
cases the same name is forwarded by several firms. Many of the firms employing Outworkers
do not appear to revise their lists before forwarding them to the Local Authority
in order to get correct up-to-date addresses of their employees. It has sometimes been found
on inquiry that the workers have removed several years before from the addresses given.
There are at present on the register of Islington firms employing Outworkers 147 names.
It is probable that there are still others who have not as yet become acquainted with their legal
responsibility in the matter of forwarding their lists of outdoor hands. According to the
recent Order of the Home Secretary (August, 1905), there are several new industries which
are now also to come under the supervision of the Sanitary Authority. The including of
these industries (brush making, box making, paper bag making, making of stuffed toys,
covering, finishing, etc., of umbrellas), will make a considerable increase in the number
of home-workers whose premises are subject to inspection.
The system of giving out work to be done by home-workers does not appear to be a
desirable one, and is to a great extent responsible for certain evils in the industrial world.
Homework is done mostly by women who are unskilled and unorganised, and thus without the
means of insisting upon a proper wage. When the work is sublet several times, as frequently
happens, the wages paid to the final Outworker must necessarily be low, even if a fair wage
be paid in the first instance. The work is also frequently done by married women who do
not absolutely require to work, and so work for a small wage, in this way bringing down the
earnings of all. There seems to be an increasing tendency amongst employers to employ