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30
Outworkers
Many firms arrange for some work to be undertaken as outwork
either under contract by other factories or by homeworkers and, in
order to check the spread of vermin or infectious disease, information
as to such outwork must be supplied in relation to certain classes of
work. Because smallpox and scarlet fever, the two diseases considered
most likely to be spread in this way, are no longer of serious concern
and verminous premises only infrequently discovered, the supervision
of outwork has become of less importance than heretofore. Nevertheless,
the information supplied, which it must be remembered does not
embrace all forms of outwork, is still of use in that it enables some
supervision of the home circumstances.
A proportion of the homes have been visited each year and the
conditions are on the whole satisfactory and no evidence has been
found of children being required to spend long hours on this type of
work or of it being carried out by groups of persons working in unhygienic
ill ventilated and ill lit rooms as occurred frequently at
one time. The rate of pay for outwork may not be good but it often
provides occupation for those who for one reason or another are unable
to go out to work and eases financial stresses.
The number of firms employing outworkers in
1957 was 170
The number of Finsbury outworkers employed by
them was 329
The number of non Finsbury outworkers employed
by them was 4,306
The number of Finsbury outworkers employed by
firms outside the Borough was 95
The total number of Finsbury outworkers employed
by firms in or outside the Borough was 424
Of these 82 were firms and 342 homeworkers
Number of visits paid to homes 516
The registers of outworkers which firms are required to maintain
are inspected as part of the routine during the inspection of the factories
concerned.
Atmospheric Pollution
Certain sections of the Clean Air Act, 1956 came into force on
the 31st December 1956. These included provisions relating to the
installation of new furnaces and the establishment of smoke control
areas.