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FACTORIES AND OUTWORK
(Factories Act, 1937)
FACTORIES. The Council is responsible for arranging for the inspection of
factories in the Borough with a view to seeing that the requirements of Sections
1 to 7 and any Regulations made thereunder are enforced. The sections
in question deal with cleanliness, overcrowding, temperature, ventilation,
drainage of floors, and sanitary conveniences. In factories where, however,
power is used the local authority is only responsible for the section dealing
with the provision and maintenance of sanitary conveniences.
SECTION 5 enacts that effective provision shall be made for securing and
maintaining sufficient and suitable lighting, but this matter is dealt with
entirely by H.M. Inspector of Factories.
SECTION 8 provides that every district council shall keep a register of
all factories situate within their area.
SECTION 107 deals with works of building and engineering construction and,
under the heading of "Building operations", includes building operations under
taken by way of trade or business or for the purpose of any industrial or
commercial undertaking. Such works can, generally speaking, be described as
factories in which mechanical power is used, and the local authority is responsible
for seeing that sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences are
provided for the persons employed.
By the terms of SECTION 128 the Medical Officer of Health of every district
council shall, in his annual report to the authority, report on the
administration of the sections of the Act for which the authority is responsible
and send a copy of his annual report, or so much of it as deals with those
matters, to the Secretary of State. He is also under an obligation to give
written notice to H.M. Inspector of Factories for the district of any factory
coming to his knowledge in which no abstract of the Act is affixed as provided
for in Section 114.
The Secretary of State, if satisfied that any district council have failed
to enforce any of the provisions of the Act enforceable by them, may by Order
authorise one of Her Majesty's Inspectors to take such steps as appear necessary
or proper for enforcing those provisions.
At the end of the year there were 1,549 factories in the Council's register;
they varied in type from small premises employing two or three people
to those employing 600.
The principal industry in Hackney is the manufacture of clothing, and the
largest factories are engaged in the manufacture of chemicals, furniture,
paint, cardboard boxes, shoes, plastic and rubber articles, fountain pens,
electric lamps, and clothing.
The Department frequently receives complaints of alleged nuisances caused
as a result of factory operations; they, in the main, deal with such matters
as noise from machinery, smoke, fumes, effluvia and trade refuse. It will be
appreciated that industrial nuisances can on occasion have a serious effect on
the health and wellbeing of persons residing or working in the vicinity. All
complaints made to the Department are very carefully investigated and much
time is taken up in making contact with executives, works managers and other
persons in an endeavour to get to the source of the trouble and to secure the
prompt alleviation of the circumstances complained of. In this connection I
am very happy to report that in the vast majority of cases the fullest possible
co-operation is received from those concerned.
During the year there was considerable activity in connection with alter
ations and additions to factories in the Borough. These works involved, in
many cases, industrial plumbing and drainage on a large scale and necessitated
regular and frequent visits to ensure that requirements of the various drain
age by-laws were properly carried out.