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98
Despite the national and local publicity given at various times
regarding the requirements of the Act , general experience indicates that
many employers have little idea of their obligations and the number of
employees who are aware of the existence of this legislation is even less.
Bearing this in mind, an essential part of the work is that of education
both of employees and employers.
With regard to the administration of the specific sections of the
Act, the following comments may be of interest.
Cleanliness in shops has been of a high standard but in some cases
attention has been drawn to the need for cleansing in store and stock
rooms. Offices were found generally to be satisfactory. Pew cases of
overcrowding were noted; in some butchers' shops the installation of
large cold rooms had reduced the effective area for cutting and preparation
and thereby the risk of accident was increased. With regard to
overcrowding in offices, the operative date for this provision for those
offices which were in existence on the 31st July, 1963 is August 1967,
but the co-operation of managements is expected to be such that in the
few cases where improvement is necessary, it will not be delayed until
this date. Offices provided after the 31st July, 1963 must comply with
the provisions relating to overcrowding, Reasonable standards of heating
are provided in offices, in fact the tendency is towards over heating.
In shops the conditions are also satisfactory, but butchers, greengrocers
and fishmongers generally take advantage of the section provided
in the Act for shops where perishable foods are sold. In such cases,
however, every effort is made to provide 'warm points' for the use of
the staff.
Ventilation was perhaps the most difficult problem encountered due,
in the main, to internal alterations to both shops and offices where
partitions, walls and shelving had been erected in such a manner as to
hinder or completely prevent through ventilation.
The tendency in the design of modern shop fronts is to make no provision
for ventilation; in fact from the number of times the attention of
shop-fitters has been drawn to this matters, one forms the opinion that
there is a deep rooted aversion to ventilation.
The standard of lighting in offices varies considerably, but it is
evident that the need for good lighting standards is being appreciated
on the grounds of efficiency. It has been found in the main that when an
employer has been confronted with the results of a lighting survey where
low readings have been quoted, he has been surprised but, on the other
hand, has been pleased to effect an improvement.
In shops the disparity between the shopping area and the stock room
is often most marked and our efforts have been directed to improvements
at the rear of shops on the grounds of safety.