Women in the Printing Trades Part 26

GENERAL.--They can cook food on the premises at this firm.

15. B., _Stationery Firm in London. Visit to Works_.

WORK.--About 150 to 200 women are employed.

(1) Hand folding and cementing of envelopes (includes putting band round packet).

(2) Machine folding and cementing of envelopes (includes putting band round packet).

(3) Black bordering.

(4) Stamping, plain and relief.

(5) Printing of addresses for circulars, etc. (small machines).

(6) Packing twelve packets in long packets and sample packing.

(7) Vellum sewing (folding, sewing, and looking over).

(8) Perforating (in same room).

(9) Machine ruling.

The number of women at each process in the part of factory seen were as follows:--

(1) About 27, (2) 30, (3) 1, (4) 4 stamping, (5) about 8, (6) 3 and 1 sample packer (probably many more), (7) 4 sewing, 1 looking over, 2 hanging about, (8) 1, (9) 4.

There are 42 other workers who are all older hands.

The girls employed in (1) are a superior grade to those in (2) and will not mix at all. Wages about the same. (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) are more or less same grade as (1); (9) are lower than (2).

REGULARITY.--The work here is steady all the year round.

HEALTH.--All the girls are healthy, and the work is quite healthy.

HOURS.--They work 51 hours per week.

PROSPECTS.--Envelope hand folders can rise to be cementers or forewomen (envelope hand folders being themselves a superior cla.s.s to machine folders or machine rulers); packers can rise to be sample packers.

16. R., _Stationery Firm (Christmas Cards, etc.) in London. Visit to Works_.

WORK.--There are three departments:--

(1) _Relief Stamping_, with 20 regular hands. These girls work the presses, which are of the newest kind, and some of which are very heavy.

They do monograms and all sorts of designs on menus, wedding cards, Christmas cards, ball cards, etc., and stamp in gold, silver, or colours.

(2) _Hand Painting_, with 21 regular hands. This means filling in stamped-out or printed designs of various kinds of cards with colour, _e.g._, figures of soldiers, flowers, and so on.

(3) _Packing Department_, with about 12 regular hands. They do up the cards in packets, fold and gum special wedding envelopes, paste pictures on to cards, tie the little ribbon bows on cards, and do all the many little processes required for finis.h.i.+ng this kind of work.

REGULARITY.--The work of this firm is very seasonal. The busy time is for about three months before Christmas, but they are specially rushed for the six weeks before Christmas. The regular hands are kept on all the year round, but about 25 or 30 extra are employed for the packing room for six weeks before Christmas. In the other departments they get a few married hands just to come in and help. They are now (July) preparing books of Christmas cards, but the orders for private Christmas cards do not come in till November and December.

The girls who work in the packing room pack scents, etc., at other times of the year.

HEALTH.--The work is quite healthy and the girls all appeared to be healthy. The premises were light and airy. Two of the relief stamping presses _looked_ very heavy indeed, and the forewoman said that they were really men's work. The girls working them always had the same machines, and did not look ill, though they said that it was very tiring.

MACHINERY.--Machinery has not displaced women in this firm.

HOURS.--For _stamping and packing_ the hours are from 9 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. with three-quarters of an hour for dinner and a quarter of an hour for tea; on Sat.u.r.days, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with half an hour for lunch. For _painting_ they are from 9 a.m. to 5.45 p.m., with the same meal hour; on Sat.u.r.days, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The hours of painters had been shortened about a year ago, and it was found that they did just as much work. For the six weeks before Christmas they regularly work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with as much overtime as is allowed, _i.e._, three nights a week.

PROSPECTS.--They may rise to forewomen; _e.g._, the forewoman over the stampers came as an ordinary hand.

GENERAL.--There is a dining room, and every girl can pay 3_s._ a week and get dinner of meat and pudding and tea every day. This covers all expenses, wages of cook, gas for stove, all utensils, etc. Last year there was money over, so they had free meals for a week.

17. G., _Large Stationery Firm in London. Visit to Works_.

WORK.--About 60 girls are employed. _Stationery and Printing_ with following divisions:--(1) Plain cameo and relief stamping (about 25 girls), (2) illuminating, _i.e._, putting on the colour by hand (2 girls), (3) envelope folding and cementing (9 girls), (4) packing, including cleaning (girls in each department), (5) folding notepaper (saw 3 little girls doing this), (6) feeding printing machines, big and small, and lithographic machines (about 6 girls), (7) various odd jobs, _e.g._, cutting visiting cards to proper size, (8) feeding ruling machine (1 girl).

REGULARITY.--This firm's trade is regular. They are busy all the year round, though perhaps they are busiest at Christmas. The bulk of their orders come from the country though.

HEALTH.--The little printing and lithographic girls looked anything but healthy.

MACHINERY.--Machines have not displaced women. There was nothing dangerous about the machinery used, though the small printing machine which 1 girl was feeding _might_ be dangerous.

HOURS.--The hours worked are from 8.30 a.m. to 7 p.m., with one hour for dinner and half an hour for tea; on Sat.u.r.days, from 8.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

They work overtime at Christmas.

PROSPECTS.--Girls in (4) may rise to (1), and those in (1) to (2).

18. K., _Stationery Firm in London. Visit to Works_.

WORK.--_Numbering and Perforating_; girls also dust and clean up after blocking.

REGULARITY.--The work in this firm is regular, "as they work for the trade."

SKILL.--Intelligence is required for numbering, or else valuable material is spoilt, _e.g._, the other day a girl, who was six months out of her time, never changed when she came to the 1,000 and so spoilt the work, as one figure came out darker. Three numbers are harder to do than two or four. The firm had tried to take two girls from the blocking work and teach them numbering, but it was no good, they were not intelligent enough.

HOURS.--The hours worked are from 9 a.m. to 7.30 p.m., with one hour for dinner, ten minutes for lunch, and ten minutes for tea; on Sat.u.r.days, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

PROSPECTS.--The girls can rise to be forewomen.

19. I., _Stationery and Stamping Firm in London. Employee's Evidence_.