Sec. 2. Women's Wages.--Turning now to women engaged in city industries,
let us gauge their industrial condition by the tests of wages, hours of
labour, sanitary conditions, regularity of employment
The following is a list of the average wages paid for different kinds of
factory work in London.
Artificial flowers 8 to 12 shillings.
Bookbinding 9 " 11 "
Boxmaking 8 " 16 "
Brushes 8 " 15 "
Caps 8 " 16 "
Collars 11 " 15 "
Confectionery 8 " 14 "
Corsets 8 " 16 "
Fur-sewing 7 " 14 "
Fur-sewing in winter 4 " 7 "
Matches 8 " 13 "
Rope 8 " 11 "
Umbrellas 10 " 18 "
These are ordinary wages. Very good or industrious workers are said to
get in some cases 20 per cent, more; unskilful or idle workers less.
It must be borne in mind that these sums represent a full week's work.
The importance of this qualification will appear presently.
It is obvious at a glance that these wages are for the most part
considerably lower than those paid for any regular form of male labour.
But there is another fact which adds to the significance of this.
Skilled labour among men is much more highly paid than unskilled labour.
Among women's industries this is not the case to any great extent.
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