WAGES.—Wages vary from 13s. to 25s. or 30s., mostly piece work. Some of the piece work rates were 9d. per 1,000 impressions, 2d. per 1,000 plain (2,000 can be done per hour); 10d. per ream one die (takes two hours to do one ream), 1s. 8d. per 1,000 impressions.
MARRIED AND UNMARRIED.—Very few relief stampers are married. In some houses married women are not allowed, in some they "come back to oblige" at busy times. In one house only we heard "that many stampers marry, though they might as well not, as they come back to work."
DISPLACEMENT.—Men used to do relief stamping, but women, owing to the cheapness of their labour, have superseded them in all but the heaviest work. For the heavy presses men are still employed, "but it is a poor trade for them."
In some houses they do illuminating, as for this the women are found not to possess sufficient skill and patience. One large house employs 4 men for a superior sort of relief stamping—gold and silver on a coloured surface. The crest or monogram has to be stamped in plain first, then coloured, then stamped with the gold or silver by the men. This last process requires great skill and accuracy and care, for if it is crooked by a hair's breadth the thing is spoilt. Girls are stated not to be accurate and careful enough for this work, although they are employed for the simpler sort of gold stamping.
Where heavy hand machines have come in they have ousted women. One employer considered that if stamping machines worked by steam came in women would be employed on them. In one house, however, where there was machine stamping, it was done by men. We were told by a large employer that there is now a new machine in the market which may supersede female labour. It colours the surface first and then embosses it out. Another new machine requires a feeder only, as the die is coloured, rubbed and stamped down by machinery.
Job Hands. Interview with Agent.
Miss R., like Mrs. B. before her, apparently acts as a sort of bureau-keeper for job hands; sometimes she has work in to do herself and keeps a certain staff, at other times she gets a notice to say that W. has got a big job and wants so many hands; she collects them, sends postcards all round, and goes and works herself too. Very few of her job hands would touch magazine work; they usually work at prospectuses. Mrs. B. used to do all the work for the —— Societies. There were hundreds of job hands, how many she cannot tell at all.
REGULARITY.—The work is quite uncertain. "You never know when there will be work; but July and August are usually the slack months, but this year (1900-01) it has been slack all the year. Job hands, however, do what they like when there is not work, whereas constant hands have to come in and wait whether there is work or not."
HEALTH.—It is hard work, but there is nothing unhealthy about it.
GENERAL.—She spoke with pitying contempt of the "constant" hands and their low prices and the long hours they worked.