The third of these changes we have found to be practically imperceptible, whilst the second has affected women most beneficially.
The job hand.
On the margin of casual and regular labour the job hand stands—the reserve battalion of this section of the labour army. She is generally a married woman, and commonly the wife of a faulty husband. She does not want regular work, and only desires to earn a certain limited wage. When she goes to a factory in search of work, she has to wait idle for hour upon hour, but she generally stays at home until summoned by her forewoman. Certain kinds of cheap seasonal work as, for instance, penny almanacs, are almost exclusively done by her,[68] and she is commonly employed either periodically, e.g., for weekly papers and monthly magazines, or casually, e.g., prospectus work, for rushes. A notice in certain public-houses, or information supplied to certain known agents, brings her to the place where she is wanted.
[68] "The majority of the almanac makers are married women who stay at home from February to July": Leeds.
Job hands existed before 1867, but at that time they did not hold quite the same position in the trade as they do now. They were the hands who went to different firms for two or three nights a month to help in a recognised rush of work which occurred regularly. In the Commissioners' Report for 1876, mention is made several times of job hands who were employed quite regularly for definite pieces of work at definite times during the month. Firms publishing certain weekly papers were in the habit of employing women in folding during the early hours of the morning before distributing the papers to the newsagents. Firms which printed monthly magazines needed women to fold all night for two or three nights or more at the end of each month. Such employment naturally came to an end as soon as the Act of 1867 came into operation; but the job hand only changed her hours. It became necessary during rushes of work to call in extra hands, in order to comply with the clauses of the Act, and many firms solved the difficulty by employing job hands during the day instead of at night, for a few days to meet the emergency.[69] This work was generally taken up by married women who had served in the trade before marriage, and who were glad to get a few days' employment from time to time.
[69] But this is not the invariable rule. A manager of a firm dealing largely in magazines and periodical issues says: "The effect of legal restrictions on our business is to make women work hard for two weeks and slacken off for two weeks. There is no thought of giving the work to men, or of sending it home, or of employing job hands."
Increase of permanent staff.
The second method of solving the difficulty—by employing a larger permanent staff—involves the erection of more extensive premises, and can only be adopted by firms whose financial position enables them to meet a considerable outlay. It is probably the best means for ensuring that work shall be done efficiently for the employer, and conducted under the most favourable conditions for the employed.