1 36. Upper Fitzwilliam Street 1 st February. 1916. Dear Sir Matthew Nathan I regret the delay that occurred
in sending you the statement on the situation
of the factory & mill workers (women) in Belfast
at present, — but it was unavoidable. I have sent you the names & addresses of the
competent persons who gave me the information,
so that it will be easy to test the truth of my 2 statements. I earnestly hope you will proceed to do
so. I shall be well rewarded for any work that
I have done if I can succeed in bringing the
facts of the conditions under which these women
labour to your personal knowledge, for then
I know you will strive to give them any chance
of betterment that you can obtain for them. I am sending a copy of my note of the conversations
with each person to them except Mr Mackey, as his contribution was negative to check my report
but I believe it is accurate enough to forward without
waiting for the answers. Any material corrections I will
forward at once. Once more apologies for the delay I remain
Sincerely yours S.C. Harrison 3 To the Right Honble. Sir Mathhew Nathan. K.C..M.G.
Under Secretary of State for Ireland Memorandum on the short hours now being
worked in the linen mills & factories in Belfast
& district, with the heavy tasks & low pay
given in certain classes of war work. I visited Belfast on the 18. th—19. th January
1916, & discussed the situation of the women factory
& mill hands employed in the manufacture of
linen, with
Miss Galway, Secretary of the Textile Operatives
Association. Avenue Hall, Garfield St. Belfast.
W. Greig. National Amalgamated Union of Labour
Avenue Hall, Garfield Street.
Miss Daunt. Board of Trade Labour Exchange
W. M cDowell. Secretary of the Tenter's Society.
11. Dover Street, Shankill Road.
W. Dawson Gordon. Secretary of the Flax Roughers &
Servers. Engineer's Hall, College Street.
W. Mackey, of James Mackey & Sons' Factory
Springfield Road, Belfast
& with about a dozen numbers of the textile operations
association who met me for the purpose. I told each & all that I had come to get 4 facts from them to lay before the Government. That
I was to be held personally responsible for the truth
of the statements I should make; that the facts
would be investigated to test them, on behalf of
the Government. 18. th January Miss Galway informed me that in June 1915, a
Joint Deputation of Flax Roughers (men), dressers
& textile operatives waited on the Flax Spinners
Association at the Chamber of Commerce, —
Chairman W. Garrett Campbell, Secretary, W. Wilson —
Joint Deputation to Employers to ask for an increase of wages to meet the increased
cost of living. This demand was refused on the ground of the lack
of raw material. If the Dardanelles were forced
fresh supplies of flax might arrive which would alter
the situation, but, in the absence of this relief, in addition
to the short time that had been worked for sixteen months,
they might have to close down some of the machinery
now working In June no linen workers were working more than
40 hours per week, i.e. 15 hours short, amounting to
a reduction of 20 per cent in output. About 28,000 men, women & children were employed in 1906. 95 per cent are women or girls In answer to a question as to the hours being worked
& the number of women employed at present, Miss
Galway advised one to see Secretary of the Tenter's 5 Miss Galway (continued.) Society, Every tenter is paid according to the output
of the looms for which he is responsible, each week
he has to report to the Sec. of his union what looms
have been stopped or started. The tenters are mechanics
& each one is responsible for a share (about 60) of the
looms at which the women work, to see that the
machines are in order & that the cloth made is up
to standard. Miss Galway infomed me that munition work
for women was just about to be started in Belfast.
A notice was put up on Wednesday the 12. th January
at James Mackey & Sons factory, Springfield Road,
saying that women desiring munition work should
apply by letter only. This factory & Coombe
Barbour's on the Falls Road are called 'black shops'
by the workers because they do not pay trade union
rates except perhaps to a few engineers, & on this
ground it was regretted that Government work
had been given to them. Miss Galway had
advised some of her members, who are on very short
time, to write applying for work, & said we should
hear from them in the evening what the result had
been. W. Greig, National Amalgamated Union of Labour—
deplored the fact that the Government work was given to 6 W. Greig. (continued) three 'black shops'. He spoke of the new Government
factory being opened at gretna, & pointed out that
there are acres of unoccupied land close to 'the island'
on the Belfast Harbour Estate on the Co. Down side,
which would be a convenient site for a government
factory, - here where so many good factory hands are
short of work. Fifty or sixty trams come from
all parts of the city to 'the island' every morning
about 6.30 a.m. Miss Daunt Miss Daunt of the Labour Exchange, said that in
spite of the short time being worked in the linen mills
& factories few women registered, as they dared would not
risk the loss of the low wages they were earning
with the present high cost of living. W. M cDowell, Secretary of the Teuters Society,
11 Dover Street, Shankill Road.
told me that a tenter has 28 or 34 weavers under his
control, & is paid 1 s/5 superscript text in the £1 on the wages earned
by them. The tenters are now getting 35/-
instead of 50/- per week, (or a reduction of 30 per cent).
He gave a list of the factories in Belfast & district,
(attached hereto) 34 in number — 2 are working overtime xx (the Grove, & Highfield.)
18 are down as full time, but I understand that even
xx these factories are said to have complained of want of workers,
but I am told that they neither applied to the Labour Exchange or advertised for them. 7 W. McDowell (continued) in these cases a number of looms are stopped;
2 are working full time in one branch of works
& short time for the others;
12 are on short time, - from 45 to 27 hours'
12 factories on short time. (out of the usual 55 hours week), ' & not 75 per'
'cent. of the machinery going, & still they say'
'they can't spare any labours!' One employer, outside the district, told W. M cDowell
that by working three weeks out of every four on
three quarter time his material might last seven
months. As tenters have no connection with mills he ad-
vised me to see W. Dawson Gordon of the Flax
Roughers Association W. Dawson Gordan. Enquirer's Hall, College Street.
said that Miss Galway's figure was correct when
19 out of 24 mills on short time. she said that only five out of the 24 mills
in the Belfast district were working full time.
These are Mr. Jaffe's, Cogry , Derrymount
Edenderry & Blackstaff mills.
Flax workers earn an average of 25/- per week.
Women (spinners) on full time would earn from
12/- to 13/-. Wages have gone down;-
Where 80 spindles used to be worked for a certain
wage, they now have to work 180 for a very few 8 W.Dawson Gordan (continued) shillings more. Even one of the better employers
like John Fulton & Co. are lowering their pay:—
certain work on khaki shirts that was paid at
2/8 per day has lately been reduced to 2/4 superscript text . The same story was told me when I met
some dozen members of the Textile Operatives
falling wages & rising prices Union in the evening.
Material for tents is paid at from 2/4 to 3/6 per
'cut' of 130 yards. It is very heavy work &
bad pay. A widow, an experienced worker told
me her daughter could not stand it, & as she herself
was out of work at the time, she went in to finish
the job. The flax or material used was so bad it
constantly was breaking & delayed the work greatly.
The looms break down under this heavy work:-
the girls are 'slaughtered' by it, & get no more
pay for it; — 'that is the reason weavers cannot be
got sometimes. At Agnes Street Factory this mother was paid 4/8
for 126 yards 42 ins. wide of aeroplane linens —
Ten years ago at York Street Mill she would have
got 9/- for what they get 4/8 now. She was
able to make four 'cuts' in three weeks — i.e
504 yards for 18/8 or 6 / /2 3/4 a week —
Camp cloth, they said should be paid 4/- to 5/- 9 per cut or 'set wages' of 17/6 per week. 19 thJanuary W. Mackey of James Mackey & Sons, Springfield Rd.
Next morning I went to the factory which
had invited women to apply for munition work.
On the door posts I read that volunteers for munition
work were invited to apply by letter. I entered &
asked to see the Manager. I was courteously
informed that I should apply by letter, but on ex-
plaining that I was not coming on my own behalf,
but was desirous to see that Manager & learn something
about the work, I was asked to wait. Eventually I was ushered into a room & saw a gentle-
man who, I was told later, must have been M r. Mackey.
He repeated that the rule was to apply by letter, & when I
explained that I was interested to hear that munition
work was being started for women in Belfast as I knew
the need there was for work for the womens factory &
mill workers, he at once assured me I was mistaken:
— that there was no lack of work for any women who
wished to work & did not drink. I told him my experience was different, - that I knew
women worked in Belfast for very low wages & were
now in fear of even shorter hours owing to the shortage
of flax. W. Mackey said that no doubt I would not credit it, 10 but that at Beardmore's factory in Glasgow, the
best work was done by women with University degrees
who came in their motor cars. I assured him I
had no difficulty in believing that people well
clothed & fed & educated did the best work, & if
the employers in Belfast would try paying their
women workers enough to enable them to be properly
clothed & fed & educated, they would find what
much better work they could do. This was the
experience where there were Trade Boards.
I said I had come to get facts to lay before the
Government, as there were at least two sides to
every question. After a minutes silence he raised his head & said he
thought it would be no use to discuss matters further.
I agreed & asked if I could see the works, he dismissed.
He added that they would start in about a weeks'
time, & that there was nothing he could show
me that day. Thinking of the women I had seen the night
before & of their cruel struggle for existence, — the
mill hands die early, mercifully:- I wished I
could bring the well-off women to see what they are
doing in competing for these poor women's crusts. 11 Is it impossible to get the Government to see
that instead of forbidding the increase of wages
they should forbid the lowering of them, while
food is rapidly reaching famine prices for the
workers & the poor?. I must add that, although I have heard it
suggested on several occasions that the women of
Belfast suffer particularly from the prejudice
& obstruction of the men, I have found no con-
firmation of this theory. I found no trace of
it in talking to the men & when I asked the women
they said there was not the slightest ground for
such a suggestion. their only criticism was
this, - that men who are convinced have union-
ists do not urge the women workers in their families
to organise themselves, - which they con-
sider they ought to do. I have the honour to remain
Faithfully yours S.C. Harrison. 31 stJanuary 1916. 36. Upper Fitzwilliam Street. Dublin. 12 A list of union member names A list of union member names 13