Appendix Iv.--Women in the Printing Trades in Birmingham.

FIFTEEN firms were visited.

No women compositors were found in the chief printing businesses visited in Birmingham. The wife of the manager of one factory said that ten years ago in non-society places there had been a very few women compositors in Birmingham. They took 15s., as compared to 33s. taken by the men compositors for the same work. It is now fifteen years since the informant left the trade, and she believes that at present none exist in Birmingham. She imagines that it is the strength of the Compositors' Union which has driven them out.

Only one owner of a printing business considered that factory legislation was detrimental to the interests of women in the printing trade. He says that he keeps a number of youths where he would otherwise employ women, as in stress of trade overwork has to be done, including Sunday work, e.g., at the time of the great cycle boom. He tried to get permission for the women to work on Sunday, but could not.

Another manager considered that the Compositors' Union spoilt the chance of women workers in the printing trade. He himself, if it were not for the Union, would like to train girl compositors. No other printer expressed this opinion. All said that, on the whole, men were better in the compositors' room, as they could be set on any job, and the pressure of women would necessitate much rearrangement.

MACHINE RULING.

Training and Wages.--Machine Ruling is the only process for which training can be said to exist. In some houses women are still articled or apprenticed to this branch, but in many they simply learn their trade as they can, from the foreman or forewoman. They generally begin as machine feeders of the ruling machine. The secretary of the Union of Bookbinders and Machine Rulers gave the information that women had been first employed as machine rulers about twenty years ago. He himself had learnt his trade under a woman who was head of the whole department. The final wage of a woman machine ruler is 17s. to 20s. In one case a female ruler was taking 22s., but I was told that was because she was a relative of the employer. The minimum wage of a man belonging to the Union is 32s. I was informed, however, that the man always worked a heavier machine, generally made the pens, was responsible for the good condition of all the machines, and that his output was always in advance of that of a woman.

Men and Women.--In six businesses (the largest in Birmingham visited) the proportion of women machine rulers is about three to one man. An attempt was made about eight years ago to organise the women machine rulers in Birmingham, but met with no response. The secretary of the men's union informs me, "The reason why the attempt failed is probably that they have little to complain of. The wages vary from 4s. to 5s. per week for beginners, to £1 per week of fifty-two hours."

TABLE PROCESSES.

All table processes, such as folding, knocking-up, gumming, numbering, paging, interlaying, etc., are done by women. The average wage varies from 8s. to about 12s. 6d. Numbering seems to be about the best. Three numberers had taken 15s., but the average maximum was between 11s. and 12s. 6d.

ENVELOPE MAKING.

Training.--A beginner is given a teacher, that is, a more experienced worker, for six weeks. The teacher gets the profits of the beginner's work, and the beginner is paid about 4s. per week.

All the work in the establishment was piecework, with the exception of the new Scotch folding machine, which turns out 25,000 envelopes per day, as against 2,000 done by hand. The day wage is 12s. per week.

Sub-divisions.--Envelope folders take 7s. to 15s. The smallest envelopes are 6d. per 1,000, the largest 1s. 10d.

Average wage for folding is 10s. to 12s. Stamping, 7s. to 10s. Stitching, 8s. to 10s. Gumming, 10s. to 14s.

General Remarks.--Envelope making is not a seasonal trade.

Hours.--Maximum, 49½ per week.

8.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m., winter.

8 a.m. to 6 p.m., summer.

One week's holiday in August.

One week's holiday at Christmas.

COLOUR PRINTING.

Colour Printing takes about six months to learn well.

Wages.--10s. to 12s. for a woman. A man employed on a heavier machine took 20s.

The forewoman takes 14s.

BOOKBINDING.

By the rules of the Machine Rulers' and Bookbinders' Consolidated Union women may only bind paper pamphlets. They are not allowed to bind regular books. They may book-stitch with thread or wire, glue, fold, bronze, and gild.

PAPER-BAG MAKING.

Business No. 1.

Conditions.--Cap bag-making is all piecework, except for beginners, who start at 4s. In fifteen months, manager says they should be able to earn 10s. per week by piecework.

Average Wage.--13s. to 15s. Manager considered that in heavy cap bag-making 19s. was top wage ever taken by an extra good hand in extra busy time.

Eighteen girls were employed in cap bag-making.

A rougher class of girls were employed in the sugar bag department, which is heavier work. The wages were higher for this heavier work. The average wage approached 15s.

The bag-stringing machine was the only machinery employed in this business. It was worked by a foreman and forewoman. No married women were employed. The clerks were all women, taking 20s. per week. The manager preferred them to men because they were content with that wage as a maximum.

Outwork given to old workers under known conditions, as since the bags are for the grocery trade it is important to know home conditions. Same price as for inworkers, but outworkers found their own paste and brushes, etc.

Hours.--8 a.m. to 7 p.m., 1 hour dinner, 20 minutes tea. Saturday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Remarks.--The contrast between this business and the business next door (see following case) was very striking as regards relation between manager and employees.

Business No. 2.

Girls are employed here in bag-making and table processes. The employer considered that the girls could average 9s. to 10s. He gave the highest wage for machine laying-on, which begins at 7s. and goes up to 12s. and 13s. This wage was given because of the danger of the process (I think the machine was the "Arab," which in union houses women may not work "because of the danger"). Manager believed a good many of his hands were married women. He did not care whether they were married or not. The forewoman and the girl in the warehouse were each taking 11s.

Homework.--Given out in busy times to whoever applied, without further precautions. Manager thought no outworker took more than 4s. to 5s. per week.

Hours.--8 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.

Fifty-two and a half hours per week regular time. Just now (December) they were working ten hours per day.

August slackest month. Manager generally turned off hands then. Manager spoke of difficulty of getting workers--he could not get boys to feed the machines, for example, because it led to nothing.

Manager said he "conducted his business on purely business principles" and got his work done as cheaply as he could.

MACHINE FEEDING.

This is the lowest work in letterpress printing. Girls are employed largely as feeders, and are replacing boys. The managers said that the work was not liked by boys, as leading to nothing, and it was difficult to get them. The wages for a machine feeder are 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d. initial wage, which rises to 8s. 6d. or 9s. In the best workshops we were told that the firm tried to find better work for machine feeders when they had been some time with them and had proved themselves capable and steady. Other firms did not know what became of machine feeders when they grew dissatisfied with the small wage paid to them.

Employment of Married Women.

It is curious to notice how few married women there are in the printing trade in Birmingham compared to the pen trade, for example. A better class of girl seems to go into the printing trade, coming from better homes than women employed in the hardware trades. It is very exceptional for a girl who marries a skilled artisan in Birmingham to continue her work, and in these trades girls appear to belong more to the skilled artisan class. Several employers refuse married women; one employer told me that he never had had an application for work from a married woman. Only one employer was indifferent as to whether he employed married women, and did not know whether his hands were married or not.

Women and Machinery.

It was very difficult to ascertain whether the machinery introduced meant dismissal of hands. In one business, for example, the thread sewing machine introduced 12 months ago did the work of 12 girls. The machinist was taking 12s. per week in place of 12 girls at 10s. to 12s. 6d. The manager said that they had not dismissed any thread sewers when this machine was introduced, but had absorbed them in other processes. They would, however, engage no more girls as thread sewers.

The new Scotch folding machine for envelopes, which turns out 25,000 per day against 2,000 done by hand, also was said not to have been productive of dismissals.

Continuity of Employment in Printing Trade.

The printing trade in Birmingham is slackest in August and September. The busiest times are November, December, and towards Easter time. In the best businesses the hands are asked to take half-holiday in turns in slack times, or short hours are worked, but the managers appeared to make every effort to keep the workers employed as far as possible, and in no cases actually to dismiss hands. In the worst businesses dismissal in slack times is common.

Overtime and the Factory Laws.

Only one employer considered that the factory laws against overtime militated against women's employment. All spoke of their endeavour to reduce overtime, owing to the fact that their union men asked one and a half and twice usual rate. No employer acknowledged that women were ever kept overtime, although, from the account of one worker, apparently this does sometimes occur.

All concurred that the cheapness of women's work compared to men's outweighed any inconvenience arising from special legislation for women and young persons. In no case was the cheapness of women's work attributed to legislation, but to absence of unionism and different standards of life for men and women, and inferiority of physical strength and mental ingenuity, and also to custom.