TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION F. 531 



In respect of carriage cleaners, as in the case of one or two other occupations, 

 e.g., ticket collectors and halt attendants, women were employed in these 

 capacities in small numbers and on certain railways prior to the War, but their 

 employment was so far exceptional that for the purposes of this agreement it 

 •was decided to regard them as occupations new to women. It follows from this 

 arrangement that women are henceforth liable to the same hours of work as the 

 men and the same conditions of service, so that if, for instance, it seems con- 

 venient and desirable to put women carriage cleaners on the outside work, there 

 is no technical reason which can be urged against their being so employed. 



Many of the remarks made in this Report on the question of women's wages 

 and hours of work are consequently rendered inapplicable at the present moment. 

 It has not, however, been thought desirable to exclude or modify these remarks, 

 and for this reason. The agreement with regard to women's rates, just as the 

 employment of women in capacities new to them, is clearly understood to be an 

 emergency provision, arising out of the circumstances of the War, and forms no 

 precedent whatever. This understanding applies equally to their hours of 

 work. 



The position, therefore, is this : if women prove themselves capable of 

 performing equal service with men under equal conditions of work, then the 

 case against th^ir employment on the railways falls to the ground and they 

 cannot be excluded. Further, instead of remaining content with the present 

 agreement to pay the minimum rate of the grade occupied, they will be justified 

 in demanding the increases customary in the men's scale. If, on the other 

 hand — and this seems to be the more likely event — they prove unequal to the 

 demands made on their physical powers and general ability to cope with the 

 work, then the question of their partial employment, with shorter hours and 

 lighter work, may come up for reconsideration. In the former case no argu- 

 ment is possible, but in the latter there are advantages and disadvantages to be 

 weighed, and it is because some attempt has been made to review these that this 

 Report is left in its present form. The experiment that is now to be tried of 

 giving women equal work and equal wages is one of great interest. It remains 

 for experience to throw light upon various important questions, as, for instance, 

 whether the wages bill will increase, whether women possess unsuspected 

 abilities for this kind of work and justify the consideration of their permanent 

 employment in the new posts. But, it is necessary to repeat, if it should happen 

 that women do not realise the highest expectations, that will not in itself justify 

 the total exclusion of them from these branches of the service. If we should be 

 faced with a shortage of men affer the War, a subdivision of labour, by which 

 women do some of the easier work, with shorter hours and lighter responsi- 

 bilities, may well prove to be a desirable and necessary step. And in that case 

 it seems worth while to state the conclusions reached in this Report with regard 

 to wages and hours, even though not applicable in the present conditions, because 

 at first sight the apparent injustice of a lower scale of pay for women is likely 

 to be misleading, unless the actual character and value of the services which 

 women can perform in these new branches are carefully weighed. 



For these reasons the Report is left in its present form, with the understand- 

 ing that the new agreement temporarily suspends the conditions as to wages and 

 hours here represented, and with the hope that the agreement, when put into 

 practice, will shed some light on the always difficult question, how far women 

 are capable of giving service of precisely equal value with men.] 



Outdoor Staff. 



It seems to be not generally understood that the increase in the employment 

 of women on the railways has arisen entirely out of the emergency created by 

 the War. The companies have encouraged enlistment among their employees, 

 provided due notice of their intention is given, and in consequence a steady flow 

 of recruits has been maintained, the total enlisted from the railways up to the 

 present time being estimated at 89,000 to 90,000, or about 14 per cent., at which 

 point it is thought the margin of possibility has nearly been reached. Enlist- 

 ment among those engaged in the manipulation of traffic, though less than in 

 pther branches, has been suf^cient tp demand the introduction of women into 



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