Statutes
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1937.tb00029.x |
| Published date | 01 March 1938 |
| Date | 01 March 1938 |
310
MODERN
LAW
REVIEW
March,
1938
STATUTES
The
Fadories
Act,
1087
The Factories Act,
1937,
which comes into force on 1st July,
1938,
may be regarded from three points of view, in that it consolidates a good
many earlier Acts, simplifies the basic definitions used, and introduces
some important amendments.
It
has long been overdue. In
1924
and
again in
1926
Bills with similar objects were introduced, the former by a
Labour Government. and the latter by a Conservative Government, but
both on the same general plan as the present Act.
The last general factory legislation before the Act of
1937
was the
Factory and Workshop Act,
1901.
The Factory and Workshop Act,
1907,
revised the definition of a domestic workshop, introduced new provisions
for laundries, and dealt with labour in charitable institutions. Legislation
dealing with particular industries was contained in the
White
Phosphorous
Matches Prohibition Act,
1908,
the Factory and Workshop (Cotton Cloth
Factories) Act,
1911,
which was superseded by a similar Act of the year
1929,
and the Women and Young Persons (Employment in Lead Processes)
Act,
1920.
All these Acts are repealed, and their contents with some
amendments are included in the Act of
1937.
But this
is
not tke whole
story. Welfare Provisions which are to-day considered a most important
part of factory legislation were introduced by what may aptly be called
“hole and comer” methods. In the middle of the War Period
an
“omnibus”
Act, entitled the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act,
1916,
was passed with three sections
(7,
8,
and
9)
dealing with factories.
Section
7
empowered the Home Secretary to make Orders on various
matters affecting the health, safety, or general well being of factory
workers. These orders, of which there are now a considerable number,
have come to
be
known
as
Welfare Orders. Then a few years later the
passing of the Workmen’s Compensation Act,
1923,
was made the occasion
of some general legislation
as
to First Aid equipment in factories. The
relevant sections of these
two
Acts are repealed and re-enacted, and the
welfare provisions with additions now appear
as
Part I11 of the Act of
1937
with the heading Welfare (General Provisions).
But the ronsolidation is not
as
complete
as
it might have been. The
Employment of Women, Young Persons, and Children Act,
1920,
was
passed primarily to give effect
to
some of the agreements contained in the
Washington Labour Convention, which covered the whole field of industry.
The opportunity was taken in sect.
z
to
legalise the two shift system for
women and young persons of the age of
16
and upwards in factories and
workshops. Sect.
z
was repealed by the Employment of Women and
Young Persons Act,
1936.
As this latter Act
is
merely concerned
with
factories and workshops
it
should have been congolidated with the Act
of
1937.
Simplification of definition and classification was badly needed. Factory
legislation began with textile factories. Then it was extended to print
works but with different hours and conditions of labour. Next a group
of
trades ancillary to the textile
trades
was
dealt with in a series of five Acts
all having slightly different provisions. Finally, factories and workshops
in general were brought in, and domestic factories and workshops and
women’s workshops were recognised
as
separate classes.
It
was not sur-
prising that the Act of
1901
provided five
sets
of regulations
as
regards
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