ON women's labour. 339 



In 1869 Mr, Baker reports ' that the application of the 1867 Act 

 (presumably to Birmingham) had caused a diminution of time wages at 

 any rate temporarily, but that piece earnings were seldom diminished. 

 As has been mentioned above, the hours in Birmingham are now in 

 general well below the legal maximum. 



Except for a few complaints as to the abolition of the possibility of 

 payment for overtime, which, as has been pointed out, by no means prove 

 any loss of earnings, and which are more than counterbalanced by gratitude 

 for the shorter hours, the Committee have no record (other than those 

 already mentioned) of any loss of wages or earnings traceable to the Acts ; 

 nor have they definite evidence of any gain, which (if it accrued), would 

 be due to influences which take time to produce effect, and whose action 

 would be indistinguishable from that of other causes. 



Section VI. — Effect on the Efficiency of Women as Industrial Agents. 



Under this heading there is little to report, for it is not often possible 

 to distinguish the causes which may have led to efficiency. Many who 

 say that the Acts have benefited women's health refer chiefly to the 

 clauses relating to health and sanitation, which have no doubt had many 

 important effects, but affect men equally with women. 



Very many employers say that overtime on one evening has the effect 

 of tiring the women so as to spoil their next clay's work ; and there are 

 many instances (to most of which references have already been given) 

 where a shortened or more regular week has resulted in a better output 

 per worker. So far as legislation has furthered the reduction of hours to 

 the period of greatest output, it has promoted efficiency ; and in many 

 cases the Acts have only made generally compulsory what the firms witli 

 most capital and best management had already practised. 



In laundries [London and Yo7'kshire) and smaller workshops ( York- 

 shire), in 2»'intin(/ (Bristol), in the boot trade (Bristol), it is said that the 

 workers are of a better class than in the days of non-regulation. To 

 w-hat exteiat this is due to an improvement in the girls from the same 

 social stratum, and to what to the employment of girls from a higher 

 stratum (as is sometimes alleged), it seems hardly possible to obtain 

 evidence. 



Some of our informants say that the work (in the Potteries) or the 

 moral standard of the class (in some laundries) has not improved. 



Sectiox VII. — Effect on the Efficiency of Industrial Processes in general. 



Here again evidence cannot be conclusive. 



There is a general consensus of opinion that overtime is wasteful and 

 expensive, entailing higher wages and fixed expenses for inferior work,- 

 and hence its diminution tends to efficiency. Very few, indeed, seriously 

 desire to increase the length of the week's work, and many by their action 

 have shown that it is best kept below the legal maximum. 



On the other hand, where the occasional pressure is of a kind that 

 cannot be removed, as sometimes in dealing with perishable materials, 

 issuing magazines &c., the expense of keeping large additional plant to 



' Factor]! Inspector's Report, October 1869, p. 153. 



- This is not inconsistent with the desire of some emploj-ers to work overtime 

 under special pressure or to meet unregulated competition, 



z2 



