Women in the Printing Trades: A Sociological Study.
General
Women in the Printing Trades: A Sociological Study.
Printing industry -- Great Britain; Women -- Employment -- Great Britain; Women printers -- Great Britain; Working class women -- Great Britain
Tuesday to Friday are busy days, and the forewoman employs some married
women who come in as long as they are wanted.
DANGERS.--One stitching machine is dangerous, the forewoman said; the
folded sheet has to be pushed along with the hand and there is the
_chance_ of the hand being caught.
HOURS.--The hours are from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., occasionally till 8; one
hour being allowed for dinner and half an hour for tea.
PROSPECTS.--The girls may rise to forewomen and a sort of
deputy-forewoman, chosen by forewoman, to overlook certain rooms. The
girls are not, as a rule, at all eager for the responsibility.
7. _Large Bookbinding Firm in London._
(A.) _Manager's Information._
WORK.--Folding, sewing, collating, placing plates, laying-on gold, etc.
REGULARITY.--The work is partly seasonal. They are busy in the winter
time, and work to limits allowed by the Factory Acts; they are slack in
the summer, and may even have no work for three weeks or so at a time.
DANGERS.--They have only had two accidents. One was with an ordinary
sewing machine; the other was with a Bremner machine, when a little girl
was setting it up. She caught her finger in it, but was not away from
work a fortnight.
HOURS.--They work 48 hours per week, allowing one and a half hours for
meals per day, _i.e._, from 8 a.m. to 12, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and
from 4.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m.; on Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 12. This
really comes to 49 hours a week if the girls are punctual, but he
reckons 48 hours because they are not punctual.
PROSPECTS.--Only a chance of rising to forewomen.
(B.) _Forewoman's Evidence._
REGULARITY.--It is a season trade and they are just beginning to be
slack (March) in Miss X.'s shop where the new work is done.
HEALTH.--Miss X. "had been through it all," and thought folding
dreadfully tiring. There is nothing specially unhealthy about it.
HOURS.--The hours are supposed to be 49 a week, but if there is any work
they do not keep to that. A 48 hours' week only means that the time
workers get paid extra. Miss X. worked in a place where they were
supposed to have 51 hours a week but rarely made more than 40.
The firm make their girls stay as little as possible when there is no
work, but this is very different to most places, as the workpeople are
studied here.
(C.) _Employée's Evidence._
WORK.--In E., Bible work and new or cloth work are quite separate, and
there are separate hands for each. She did folding for the Bible work
herself.
HEALTH.--The work is not very healthy. "Sitting all day is bad for you,"
but there is no special disease. Bible work is light work, as much of it
is on India paper; new work is much heavier.
HOURS.--The hours are from 8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., with an hour for
dinner and half an hour for tea, but when busy they work till 8 p.m. or
9 p.m. This happens about thirty times a year. They are allowed to go
home if there is not work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account