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32
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 1959 was 154
The number of Pinsbury outworkers employed
by them was 241
The number of non Pinsbury outworkers
employed by them was 3,405
The number of Finsbury outworkers employed
by firms outside the Borough was 87
The total number of Pinsbury outworkers
employed by firms in or outside the
Borough was 328
Of these 77 were firms and 251 homeworkers.
Number of visits paid to homes 324
The registers of outworkers which firms are required to
maintain are inspected as part of the routine during the inspection
of the factories concerned.