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45
During the year 15 premises were added to the Register.
At the end of the year 1903. 88 places were on the Register.
As a rule proper attention is given to ensure a satisfactory
provision as regards sanitary conveniences. In respect of
warming and ventilation, the Workrooms will doubtless compare
favourably with those of most other districts, but
i am unable to say that in the majority of cases
the warming and ventilation can be regarded as wholly
satisfactory. There is a great prejudice among the workers
against obtaining fresh air by open windows, and even
if extra provision for ventilation is made, the v. workers
almost invariably close such ventilators during the
working hours. I am of opinion that this circumstance is
largely due to the fact that in many cases the Workrooms
are not efficientlv warmed, and the workers therefore find it
necessary to keep the temperature up by their own body heat,
and this can only be done when the fresh cold air from outside
is excluded from the room. It is a pity that the Act does not
define what a "reasonable temperature" is; it would be of
great value to those of us who have to administer the Act if
a low limit and a high limit of temperature were defined by
the Home Secretary.
During the year there were no cases of notifiable infections
disease occurring on premises in which there were Workshops.
but on several occasions outworkers in connection with
several Workshops had to be stopped from carrying on their
work at home. A list of all outworkers has been
kept in the office; these lists have generally been obtained
on calling at the workshops, for employers generally fail to
realise their duty to send in their list of outworkers twice a
year, viz.. in February and August, as the Act directs,