The Theory and Policy of Labour Protection Part 11

But the exclusion of wives and mothers from all industrial work, or from earning money in any kind of domestic occupation, would be far too extreme a measure. Certain industrial work has always fallen to the share of the female s.e.x, and the absolute prohibition of female employment in any kind of industrial work would render large numbers of persons dest.i.tute, especially in the towns, and would thereby expose them to moral dangers and temptation.

The organs and instruments of administration for the protection of married women in factory and quasi-factory work, would be the same as for all other branches of protection of employment of women and young workers.

Prohibition of factory work for married women is advocated in the most decisive manner by _Jules Simon_, _von Ketteler_, and _Hitze_. Even the chief objection to such protection--the danger of the diminution of worker's earnings, tempting them to seek immoral means of livelihood--is combated in the most remarkable and convincing manner by Hitze. This worthy Catholic writer meets the consideration of the loss of the factory earnings of women, with the counter-considerations of the depression of wage caused by the compet.i.tion of female labour, and of the waste of money at public houses and on luxuries that takes place in such families as are left without a housewife or mother. We must be ready to make great sacrifices in the attainment of so great an object, for no less important a matter is at stake than the restoration of the family life of the whole body of factory labourers.

Only we must be under no delusion as to the difficulties of the immediate and complete enforcement of the prohibition. The adaptation of motor-machinery to use in the house, enabling the wage-earner to remain at home, might perhaps render it practically possible to carry out the prohibition in question.

It would also be necessary that the measures taken should be internationally uniform, so that separate national branches of industry might not suffer. A practical solution of the problem can only be arrived at after a careful collection of international statistics as to the married women and mothers employed in factory and quasi-factory work. Here especially, if in any department of Labour Protection, does the State require the support of the influence of the Churches, and of the organised, simultaneous, international agitation of the Churches in furtherance of this object. Whoever reads the above-mentioned writings--_Hitze's_ pamphlet gives extracts from the powerful writings of Jules Simon and von Ketteler--will derive therefrom some hope of the final success of Labour Protection in one of its most important future tasks. In the present situation of affairs I know of nothing which can shake the validity of _Hitze's_ conclusions.

In the meantime, restriction of employment of all female factory labour to 10 hours, as proposed by the commission appointed by the German Reichstag (see below), must be welcomed as an important step in advance. _Hitze_ remarks: "The first condition of all social reform is the establishment of family life on a sound and secure basis. But how is this possible, so long as thousands of married women are working daily in factories for 11 and 12 hours, and are absent from their homes for still longer? Can domestic happiness and contentment flourish under such circ.u.mstances? And is the danger any less because concentrated in defined districts? For example, in the inspectoral district of Bautzen, in 1884, nearly 5,000 women were drawn away from their family life by factory work. No extended mid-day interval is granted to married women, so far as information on this point is to be obtained. Is it merely accidental that wherever employment of children is customary, there also the work of the mothers is more frequent? And must not the man's earnings be lessened if the wife and child are allowed to compete with him? And is it merely accidental that Saxony, which is precisely the place where female and child labour is most largely employed, should also be the special haunt and stronghold of Social Democracy? Have we any right to reproach the Social Democrats with causing the destruction of family life, if we show ourselves indifferent to the actual loosening of family ties through the regular and excessive work in factories of housewives and mothers? Ought we to delay any longer in appealing to legislation, when the dangers are so pressing? What will become of the youth and future of our people if such conditions become normal? And in fact, unless legislation interferes, the number of factory women and of factory children will increase, not decrease. What a prospect!"

Separation of the s.e.xes in the workrooms wherever possible, special rooms for meals and dressing, and provision for education in housewifery, are measures which are all the more urgent, if we grant the impossibility of altogether excluding women from factory work. This further protection is above all necessary for girls.

4. _Prohibition of the employment of women during the period immediately succeeding child-birth._

Whilst prohibition of factory work for wives and mothers is of the first importance for the protection of family life, exemption from work during the period immediately succeeding child-birth of all women engaged in factory and quasi-factory employments, is a measure that is necessary for the health of the mother and the nurture of the newly-born.

The exclusion of pregnant women from certain occupations is another important question; the Confederate Factory Act leaves this in the power of the _Bundesrath_.

Prohibition of the employment of nursing mothers in factories is a measure that has long received recognition in some countries, and lately it has become general.

The resolutions of the Berlin Conference demand that the protection should cover a period of 4 weeks; Switzerland already grants protection for 8 weeks, a period which is recommended in Germany by the Auer Motion; the _von Berlepsch_ Bill proposes 4 weeks (instead of 3 weeks as. .h.i.therto appointed by the Imp. Ind. Code); the Reichstag Commission proposed 6 weeks, and this will probably be the period adopted.

If it were necessary to enforce exemption from work after childbirth for _all_ women engaged in industrial wage-labour, even this would scarcely be found to be attended with insuperable difficulties.

The Auer Motion on this point receives no notice in the _von Berlepsch_ Bill.

It would be preferable in itself for such exemption to become general even for factory women, without special protective intervention from the State. But under the existing moral and social conditions legal prohibition of employment can hardly be dispensed with.

The measure may be carried out by the help of the official birth-list, or of a special factory list of nursing mothers. The industrial inspector will not be able to do without the help of the workers themselves.

The economic difficulties of the question are partly met in Germany by the existing agency of Insurance against sickness for all factory workers, which grants a.s.sistance during the period of lying-in, as during sickness. The means of help provided by the family and the club have to supply the additional a.s.sistance necessary for the nursing period.

The granting of state a.s.sistance to women during the lying-in period, without which exemption from work would be a questionable benefit, is vigorously opposed by some on grounds of morality as likely to promote the increase of illegitimate births, and by others from the point of view of the population question.

The question was brought before the German Reichstag, on the representation of Saxony, in 1886. Pet.i.tions from twenty-one district sick clubs in the chief district of Zwickau demanded the withdrawal of the legal three weeks a.s.sistance of unmarried women after childbirth, on the ground that this was calculated to promote an increase in the number of illegitimate births. The pet.i.tions were accompanied by statistics of each club showing that the funds were actually called in to a.s.sist more unmarried than married women. No information however was given as to the proportion between married and unmarried women members of the club, an omission which rendered the statistics worthless. Moreover the conditions existing in Zwickau are hardly typical of German industry as a whole.

A general collection and examination of statistics of sick funds must be made, and possibly the necessary information may be obtained by comparison of the numbers of births during the periods before and since the introduction of Insurance against sickness, and especially in such districts as had no free clubs, before the introduction of Insurance, for the a.s.sistance of women after child-birth.

Probably it will be found that the increase in the number of illegitimate births is not due to the a.s.sistance granted after child-birth by the official sick fund, if we take into consideration that in the district mentioned the a.s.sistance granted during the three weeks only amounted to from 7 to 12 marks, generally to less than 10 marks. "If," says _Hitze_, "the meagre sum of the a.s.sistance granted could lead to an increase of illegitimate births, this fact would be more shocking than the number itself." I take it that the root of the evil lies, not in the lying-in-fund, but in the destruction of family life and s.e.xual morality by the employment of women in factories.

5. _Prohibition of employment of women and children in work underground._

This prohibition is claimed in the interests of family life, of morality, and of the care of the weaker portion of the working cla.s.s.

The enforcement of this prohibition comes within the province of the police in the mining districts, and of the industrial inspectorate.

But it is probably best that it should be legally formulated.

The extension of the prohibition to all women is recommended generally in the resolutions of the Berlin Conference, and the work has already been commenced in the _von Berlepsch_ Bill.

The enforcement of the measure will meet with some difficulties in the mines of Upper Silesia, but it will also remedy serious evils.

The force of public opinion is insufficient to prevent the employment of women in work underground. The very necessary demand for prohibition of employment of women in work on high buildings, follows on the prohibition of their employment underground. Such employment is almost completely excluded by custom.

CHAPTER VII.

EXCEPTIONS TO PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION.

All prohibition of employment and limitations of employment are apparently opposed to the interests of the employers. As long as they are kept within just limits, however, this will not be true generally or in the long run.

The just claims of Capital may be protected by admitting carefully regulated exceptions; but wherever and in so far as employment is opposed to the higher personal interests of the whole population, Capital must submit to the restrictions.

As regards the exceptions, these are in part regular or ordinary, in part irregular or extraordinary. We find examples of both kinds alike in the legislation for restricting the time of working and in legislation for protecting intervals of rest.

_Ordinary_ exceptions to prohibition of employment consist mainly of permission by legal enactment in certain specified kinds of industrial work, of a cla.s.s of labour which is elsewhere prohibited, _e.g._ night work for women and young workers. The greater number of cases of prohibition of employment appear in the inverse form of exceptions to permission of employment.

_Ordinary_ exceptions to restriction of employment are provided for partly by legislation, partly by administration, _i.e._ partly by the Government, partly by the district or local officials.

Wherever in the interests of industry it is impossible to enforce the ordinary protection of times of labour and hours of rest, this is made good to the labourer by the introduction of several (two, three, or four) s.h.i.+fts taking night and day by turns, so that an uninterrupted continuance of work may be possible without any prolonged resting time either in the day or in the night; moreover, the loss of Sunday rest can be compensated by a holiday during the week.

_Extraordinary_ exceptions occur chiefly in the following cases: (_a_) where work is necessary in consequence of an interruption to the regular course of business by some natural event or misfortune; (_b_) where work is necessary in order to guard against accidents and dangers; (_c_) where work is necessary in order to meet exceptional pressure of business.

_Exceptions to protection of holidays._

These exceptions are so regulated that in certain industries holiday work is indeed permitted but compensation is supplied by granting rest on working days. The exceptions provided for by the Berlin Conference have already been given. The _von Berlepsch_ Bill admits, if anything, too many exceptions. The Auer Motion permits holiday work in traffic business, in hotels and beer houses, in public places of refreshment and amus.e.m.e.nt, and in such industries as demand uninterrupted labour; an unbroken period of rest for 36 hours in the week is granted in compensation to such workers as are employed on Sunday.

Switzerland wishes to give compensation in protection of holidays in railway, steams.h.i.+p and postal service, by granting free time alternately on week days and Sundays, so that each man shall have 52 free days yearly, of which 17 shall be Sundays.

_Exceptions to prohibition of night work._

The Imp. Ind. Code Amendment Bill (-- 139_a_, 2, 3) admits ordinary and extraordinary exceptions. The Auer Motion does not entirely exclude such exceptions, as it provides exceptions in traffic business and such industries as "from their nature require night work." We cannot here enter into details as to the rules on the limitations of exceptions, and as to the enforcement of those rules.

_Exceptions to the maximum working-day._

Overtime: _Extraordinary_ exceptions to an enforced maximum working-day consist in permission of overtime; _ordinary_ exceptions consist in the employment of children, women and men, in certain kinds of business, for a longer time than is usual (see Chapter V.).

The _von Berlepsch_ Bill a.s.sumes a very cautious att.i.tude in the matter of overtime. _Extraordinary_ exceptions in the case of pressure of business are provided for as follows: "In cases of unusual pressure of work the lower courts of administration may, on appeal of the employers, permit, during a period of 14 days, the employment of women above the age of 16 years until 10 o'clock in the evening on every week-day, except Sat.u.r.day, provided that the daily time of work does not exceed 13 hours. Permission to do this may not be granted to any employer for more than 40 days in the calendar year. The appeal shall be made in writing, and shall set forth the grounds on which the permission is demanded, the number of female workers to be employed, the amount of work to be done, and the s.p.a.ce of time required. The decision on the appeal shall be given in writing. On refusal of permission the grievance may be brought before a superior court. In cases in which permission is granted, the lower court of administration shall draw up a specification in which the name of the employer and a copy of the statements contained in the written appeal shall be entered."

The Auer Motion sets the narrowest limits to admission of overtime, permitting it only in case of interruption of work through natural (elemental) accidents, and then only permitting it for 2 hours at the most for 3 weeks, and only with consent of the "labour-board."