Dr. Reginald Farrar's report to the Local Government Board on the lodging of workmen employed in the construction of public works.

  • Farrar, Reginald, 1861-1921.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Dr. Reginald Farrar's report to the Local Government Board on the lodging of workmen employed in the construction of public works. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Impossible to start work in the following morning ; they will “ sleep rough ” by preference, unless actually driven to the casual wards by stress of weather. Detention to perform tasks in casual wards involves a real hard- ship to genuine navvies. Workhouse masters should in all instances endeavour* to differentiate between professional and habitual vagrants and men genuinely in search of work, and to release the latter in time to find work in the morning without exacting the usual task. “ Subbing ”—One of the worst iufiuences affecting the moral and social conditions of navvies is the practice of “ subbing,” or paying- instalments of wages daily, or at short intervals, instead of the whole wage weekly or fortnightly. The practice came into vogue when wages were paid at monthly intervals. Wages are now, as a rule, paid weekly, but men are often allowed to “ sub ” daily to Avithin 6d. or less of the full amount due to them, a few pence being withheld in order to keep the workman’s name on the pay- sheet. When men arrive penniless on public works it is necessary that they should at first receive an instalment of their wages to enable them to obtain food and lodging, but this advance is not i-equired by steady men after the fii’st week, or, at most, two weeks, and I have not been able to discover any good reason for the con- tinuance of the practice after this period. The opinion of experienced persons interested in the welfare of navvies is practically unanimous that “ subbing ” is demoralizing to the workman and injurious to the best interests of the contractor. Most contractors resort to subbing ” in order to secure a sufficiency of available labour ; for the practice certainly tends to attract workmen, though not of the best class, to works, and in many of the advertisements in “ The Labour News ” the words “ sub daily ” are inserted as an inducement. The bad effects of “ subbing ” are as follows :— 1. It encourages thriftlessuess and debauchery, the money that is paid in driblets being spent from hand to mouth; for when a man of the navvy class draws a substantial sum at the week’s end he may, if a steady fellow, spend it in the ])urchase of good clothes or in paying for good food and lodging, or, if he is married, remit the greater part to his wife ; but if he only draws two or three shillings at a time he seldom has the resolution to save out of the money, but spends it as he gets it, usually in drink ; on this system more drink is consumed than in the debauch to which the navvy wLo draws weekly wages may give way on Saturday night. * General Orders of the bocal Government Board as to the Discharge of Casual Paupers were issued on December 18th, 1882, and .June 11th, 1892. Under these Orders a large discretion in this respect is entrusted to Boards of Guardians. In the Report of the Departmental Committee on Vagrancy, pars. 178 and 179, a system of way-tickets for men on tramp in search of work is recommended. Some such system would seem to be particularly applicable to the conditions under which navvies are employed.