On This Day, 27 November 1918

Birmingham Daily Post

Wednesday 27 November 1918

CHILD LABOUR IN BIRMINGHAM

EDUCATION COMMITTEES PROPOSE BYE-LAWS

The Attendance, Finance, and General Purposes Sub-Committee of the Birmingham Education Committee will on Friday bring forward draft bye-laws under the Employment of Children Act 1903. The Education Committee will be asked to send these bye-laws to the City Council for approval and to take the necessary steps to obtain their confirmation by the Home Office. Under these bye-laws there will be a clean out of all children under the age of 12 years from employment in any form, and children under 14 will be prevented from following many occupations which they are now allowed to follow in large numbers. Until he has attained the age of 14 no boy will be allowed to work as a lather boy in a barber’s or hairdresser’s shop, nor allowed to sell programmes or refreshments, or do any work in theatres, picture houses, music halls, or other indoor places of amusement. Furthermore not to be employed as a marker or attendant in a billiard or bagatelle room; or as a kitchen boy or assistant in fried fish shops, kitchens of hotels, cooks, shops, etc. Concessions are to be made in other directions for children between the ages of 12 and 14 years who are liable to attend school.  On school days they may be employed between 7 and 8 a.m. and 5.30 and 7.30 p.m.; but they may not be employed for more than five hours altogether on any Saturday or school holiday, nor on those days except wholly between the hours of 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., or 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the case of milk and newspapers, however, children between these ages may deliver them both morning and evening on any Saturday or school holiday, but children so employed must wear a badge supplied by the City Council. The hours for this special employment are to be between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Children under 14 years old, but exempt from attendance at school, may not be employed before 7 a.m. or after 7 p.m., and for not more than eight hours altogether on any one day. Each child so employed must be allowed absence from work of no less than 1 ½ hours for meals, and those engaged on industrial work at home must not be so employed for more than four hours without an interval of at least half an hour. Such children also must be released from employment not later than 1 p.m. on one day of the week.