The relaxation of the Factory Acts allowed during the war should cease at its termination and excessive overtime, long spells, night work and Sunday work should be forbidden. There is a prima facie case for a reduction in legal maximum hours, in overtime, and in the length of the spell, and for the abolition of work before breakfast, and the government should immediately institute inquiries with a view to amending the Factory Acts. We recommend the possibility of a 44 hours working week and an annual fortnight’s holiday on full pay for the consideration of the government.
CHAPTER XII
Safety, Health and Comfort
The lengthening of hours for women employes was often accompanied by a considerable improvement in general working conditions. “Since the committee was appointed in September, 1915,” said the Health of Munition Workers Committee in its final report in April, 1918, “there has become apparent an increased appreciation of the importance of the whole question of industrial hygiene; there is no doubt that the environment and conditions of the workers are vastly better than they were, though there is still much need for further improvement.” As women were brought into many workshops for the first time a general cleaning up often took place, and special accommodations in the way of cloakrooms, washrooms and restrooms became necessary. The long hours, the increasing distances which many workers lived from the factory and the institution of night shifts made some provision for getting meals there almost imperative. It became much more common for men and women to work together, especially on night shifts, and in many cases an effort was made to solve the problems thus raised, and those coming to the front wherever large numbers of women were taken on, by appointing woman “welfare supervisors.” Where large numbers of women were brought from a distance to work in munition centers, considerable attention was paid to the betterment of living conditions outside the factory. While the lengthening of hours was abandoned with the passing of the war emergency, the improvements enumerated seem likely to mean a permanent rise in English standards of working conditions.
The 1915 report of the chief factory inspector noted that—
The introduction of women into works where they have not hitherto been employed has been often accompanied by a striking degree of solicitude on the part of the managers for their welfare and comfort.... A question arises ... why has the manufacture of munitions of war on a terrible scale led at last to systematic introduction of hygienic safeguards that factory inspectors have advocated for many years, such as supervision of women by women in factories, provision of means for personal cleanliness, proper meal and restrooms, and qualified nurses? Probably it is in part due to a recognition that wages alone can not adequately reward those who serve the State in time of need, but it also points again to the new general awakening to the dependence of efficient output on the welfare of the human agent.[189]
Similarly, many large business offices, when they hired women for the first time, made special arrangements for their health and comfort.
Organized Efforts
Except for the requirement by the Home Office that “canteen” (restaurant) facilities should be provided wherever women were employed at night, the efforts just described were not in the beginning the result of any organized action. But soon there appeared three agencies which were mainly responsible for the development of facilities for safety, health and comfort. These were the Health of Munition Workers Committee, with its recommendations on these subjects, the Ministry of Munitions, especially its Health and Welfare Section, and the Home Office, under the increased powers for securing the welfare of employes granted it by the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act of 1916.[190]
The Health of Munition Workers Committee laid great stress on provisions for safety, health and comfort, as well as on the limitation of hours. Of female workers the committee said in January, 1916, “The effect upon the health and energy of women and girls which results from clean, bright and airy workrooms, well warmed in winter can hardly be exaggerated. The factory act secures a minimum of these essential things, but the highest standard attained in the best factories is not too high.... The provision of washing accommodations ... has become increasingly important ... cloakrooms should also be provided.... The provision of adequate and suitable sanitary accommodations is a matter of special importance.”[191] At that time it was the judgment of the committee that “if the present long hours, the lack of helpful and sympathetic oversight, the inability to obtain good, wholesome food and the great difficulties of traveling are allowed to continue, it will be impracticable to secure or maintain for an extended period the high maximum output of which women are undoubtedly capable.” The committee attached high value to “canteens” or factory restaurants, remarking that “the munition worker, like the soldier, requires good rations to enable him to do good work.... The industrial canteen has in fact proved itself one of the most effective instruments in securing and maintaining a high standard of industrial work.” Three of the committee’s memoranda dealt with the subject, and gave complete directions for setting up and equipping a canteen, with model bills of fare. Other memoranda covered “welfare supervision,” which will be discussed in the latter part of this section, “washing facilities and baths” and protective clothing for women workers.
“Welfare work” came within the scope of the seemingly boundless energy of the Ministry of Munitions at a rather early date. In November, 1915, a circular of instructions by the Ministry of Munitions contained recommendations for the comfort of women munition workers.[192] A list of appropriate occupations was given. Lavatory and cloakrooms with female attendants should be provided for the exclusive use of females, and they should be supplied with aprons and caps, to be washed without charge. Later Instructions to Investigating Officers urged that it was “of the first importance that the conditions under which [women] work should be thoroughly good.” Suitable appliances, such as lifting tackle for particularly heavy work, should be provided to lessen the physical strain. The Minister of Munitions was prepared to give “liberal financial help” to welfare arrangements by allowing them to be paid for out of what would otherwise be taken by the excess profits tax.[193]