Women -- Employment -- Great Britain; Women labor union members -- Great Britain; Working class women -- Great Britain
that the girl mastered her disappointment, and in two or three days after
the operation began to practise writing with her left hand, and in a month
had become almost as proficient in writing as with the right hand. The
value they attach to inspection is obvious from what follows in this
report, and is shrewdly summed up in a remark overheard by a Senior Lady
Inspector in a northern mill: "Yon's a Lady Inspector, nay, but it's time
we had one."
2. _A Factory Worker's Letter._
_Miss Slocock._--The complaints outside the Acts received during the year
have been interesting, and they often indicate in a remarkable way the
workers' needs and the omissions of present legislation. Irish workers
express themselves graphically and exceedingly well in writing, and the
following letter is a typical one: "Dear Madam, I am sure you will think
it presumption on the part of a factory worker to write to you however as
pen and paper refuses nothing I venture to write you this annonamos
letter. When you come to inspect a factory, does it ever strike you to
look around and see if any of these weary women and girls have a seat to
sit down on. I am a winder myself I have worked in a great many factories
for the last 30 years one looks on their workshop just like their home why
should we be denied a seat I suppose you think our work very light so it
is we have no extra heavy lifts we have mettle cups that I suppose they
would be 2 lb. weight or more we are pushing these up continually the
whole thing is tedious just look around you and you will see some winders
have not so much as a lean for their backs. I hope Dear Lady you see to
this. You would never think of putting a servant to work in a kitchen
without a chair in it, she would not stick it, the winders are an
uncomplaining lot if you asked them would they like to be provided with
seats they would smile and say they were all right, it would look to them
like making complaints behind backs but don't ask us but think about us
and do something for us and our children will rise up and call you
blessed. I hold that rest is essential to Good Health."
3. _Lighting._
_Principal._--An increasing number of complaints is received with regard
to defective natural lighting and badly adjusted or otherwise defective
artificial lighting. The Inspectors do what they can to secure
improvements, though, as the matter is outside the Factory Act, in
general no contravention notice or other official action is as yet
practicable. Two bad cases concerning women compositors in different parts
of the kingdom are specially reported; in both artificial lighting was
required during the greater part of the day, and in only one of these
instances is a remedy being supplied by removal to better premises. In the
other case, when the women learned that lighting is still outside the
Factory Act so far as their case is concerned, they exclaimed to the
Senior Lady Inspector, Miss Squire, "but this is the most important thing
of all to us."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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