Dressmakers
The Trade Board for Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing covered the manufacture of non-tailored clothing for women, including blouses, skirts, bodices, gowns and coats. Women's tailored suits and some over-garments were covered by a separate Wholesale Mantle and Costume Trade Board.
The trade board papers in the Trades Union Congress archive include 10 files relating to dressmakingLink opens in a new window and the production of "women's light clothing." As part of the Modern Records Centre's 'Sweated trades' digitisation project, we have made a selection of these documents available online, including the items highlighted below. It is also possible to browse all of the digitised material relating to the Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing Trade BoardsLink opens in a new window.
Illustration: skirt-workers, cropped version of a photograph included in 'Sweated Industries', handbook of the Daily News exhibition, 1906.Link opens in a new window
Working conditions and pay:
General wages and working conditions:
Summaries of the Trade Board rates in England and Wales:
Minimum rates of wages for male and female workers, 1920Link opens in a new window
Minimum rates of wages for male workers, 1921Link opens in a new window
Proposed minimum time rates for female workers, 1921Link opens in a new window
The draft includes separate scales for London and for urban and rural areas outside London.
Copy of Ministry of Labour letter and schedule providing information about the proposed new rates, introduced in response to "a considerable volume of criticism" of the existing rates.
Application for increase of 25% on minimum rates of wages, 1920Link opens in a new window
Copy of letter sent by J.J. Mallon, workers' representative on the Trade Board. He also asks that "female workers when employed on time, in processes ordinarily done by men, should receive not less than 75% of the time rate paid to male workers".
Negotiations between representatives of employers and workers over changes to minimum wage rates, 1921:
Report of conference between workers' and employers' representatives,Link opens in a new window with proposed general minimum time rates for female workers, November 1921
Brief notes of a meeting of trade union representatives and a joint meeting of trade union and employers' representatives.
Objections to rates of pay:
Each change to the recommended minimum wage was publicised by the issuing of printed notices by the Trade Board. Individuals and organisations then had a set period of time during which they could submit formal written objections to the proposed changes. Inevitably, when wage rates increased most objections were sent in by employers; when rates were reduced most objections were sent by trade unions or workers.
Summary of 61 objections received regarding the proposed increase in the minimum wage in England and Wales. They included complaints from named dressmakers who ran small workshops.
Objections to proposed minimum rates of wages, 1920Link opens in a new window
Full copies of objections numbered 62-86, sent as letters to the Trade Board.
Objection to proposed rates of pay for learners, 1920Link opens in a new window
Correspondence between Mary Macarthur, National Federation of Women Workers, and J.J. Mallon.
Summary of 457 objections to the proposed increase in the minimum wage in England and Wales, most sent by employers.
Objection to wage rise for women aged 22 or over, 1920Link opens in a new window
Copy letter sent to employers by Joseph R. Quilter, Secretary of the Drapers' Chamber of Trade of the United Kingdom. He enclosed a questionnaire designed to prove that workrooms had been closed and workers dismissed as a result of the Trade Board minimum wage.
Full copy of 'Objection no.224', sent by J.R. Quilter.
The author of the memorandum isn't identified but it is likely to have been submitted by an employers' association. It includes objections to the use of age rather than ability as the criteria for increases in the minimum wage rate as well as broader objections to the Trade Board system.
Resolution protesting against increases in minimum rates of wages, 1920 Link opens in a new window
Protest by Torquay and District Chamber of Commerce.
Summary of 194 objections received to the proposed change to the minimum wage in England and Wales, mostly from employers.
Objections to proposed minimum rates of wages, 1921Link opens in a new window
Full copies of 199 objections.
Objections to proposed minimum rates of wages, 1921Link opens in a new window
Copies of letters sent by 5 employers.
Objections to proposed minimum rates of wages, 1921Link opens in a new window
Summary of 13 objections received to the proposed change to the minimum wage in England and Wales, mostly from employers.
Appeal for reduction in basic wage, 1921Link opens in a new window
Copy correspondence from Ethelwynne Wilson, Cardiff businesswoman, sent on to J.J. Mallon, workers' representative, by H. Kay, Secretary of the London Employers' Association. Wilson states that she is in favour of paying more than a living wage in principle, but that her dressmaking business is currently running at a loss due to the current abnormal state of trade.
Reports on potential closing of workrooms, 1921Link opens in a new window
Copy correspondence forwarded on to J.J. Mallon, workers' representative, by H. Kay, Secretary of the London Employers' Association. The letters include a report on conditions in Weston-super-Mare and a request for information from Bell’s Fashion Bureau Ltd., Swansea.
Report containing extracts from trade papers, inspectors' reports (including long extract about the Harrogate company 'Ethyl & Olive'Link opens in a new window and their soon to be sacked employees), and summary of complaints submitted by Employment Exchanges.
Brief reports relating to problems of learners and the dismissal of dressmakers due to the minimum wage in Depwade, Derby, Weston-super-Mare, and an unnamed village near Kings Lynn.
Summary of objections to proposed minimum rates of wages, 1922Link opens in a new window
Summary of 40 objections received to the proposed change to the minimum wage in England and Wales, most from employers.
Summary of objections to proposed minimum rates of wages, 1923Link opens in a new window
Summary of 48 objections received to the proposed change to the minimum wage in England and Wales, most from employers (a quarter of the objections were from workers).
Individual or local wages and working conditions:
Minimum rates of pay for female workers, 1920Link opens in a new window
Printed notice which sets out the agreement over pay for different grades of workers made between the London Employers' Association, Dressmaking and Light Clothing Section, and the Shop Assistants' Union, Metropolitan Dressmakers' Section.
The case of Miss Digby, Liverpool, 1923Link opens in a new window
Letter written by Miss Digby of Birkenhead about the experiences of her daughter, who had been sacked on several occasions due to the Trade Board rate of wages required for her age group.
Proposed district committees and difference between town and country, 1923Link opens in a new window
Copy of letter from J.H. Bunting of Swaffham, arguing the need for a separate district committee to represent rural areas. An additional letter from J.H. Bunting is also available.Link opens in a new window
Scope of the Trade Board:
Not all workers in Trade Board regulated industries were eligible for the minimum wage, employees who were regarded as doing peripheral jobs (such as messenger, delivery driver, etc.) could be excluded. In some cases the Trade Board was required to rule on 'questions of scope' - whether the work of certain employees came within the scope of the Board (and the minimum wage). Submissions to the Board on questions of scope can include information about manufacturing processes and types of work done by individual employees.
Questions of scope re production of coats, skirts and other garments, 1921Link opens in a new window
Includes some information about the processes involved in manufacturing the garments.
Note regarding the definition of women's tailored garments, [1921]Link opens in a new window
The memorandum includes information about the difference between tailored and non-tailored items of clothing.
Includes discussion of 1921 memorandum; query regarding the firm of D. Collins Davies, including information about type of work performed by employees; queries regarding drapery firms, a manufacturer of women's costumes and a manufacturer of fancy dress, including information about the processes involved in manufacturing the garments. An additional report on D. Collins Davies, and its owners and employees, is also available.Link opens in a new window
Includes brief information about the work performed by the employees.
Questions of scope, including re ticket writing and sketching, 1923Link opens in a new window
Includes brief information about the work performed by the employees.
Questions relating to the case of a firm engaged in making children's straw hats and the case of a blouse and dress showroom, and whether they come within the scope of the Trade Board.
Learners, juvenile workers and training:
Includes extracts from documents reporting on the dismissal of learners or apprentices due to Trade Board minimum wage rates.
"Paying to work", 1920Link opens in a new window
Correspondence and press cuttings regarding the legal case of Proctor v. Simpson at Nottingham Munitions Tribunal. Doris Simpson, a dressmaker of Kirkby in Ashford, was prosecuted for paying no wages to her learner, Marie Proctor. Proctor had paid Simpson £1 1s to become a learner. The case was dismissed at court.
Short memorandum regarding training war widows as dressmakers, 1920Link opens in a new window
The memo was circulated by the Ministry of Labour Training Department, Women's Branch. An example of an apprenticeship agreement is attached.
Note on a case of substitution of adult workers by juveniles, 1921Link opens in a new window
Report of a case at Kettering in which two adult women workers were sacked and replaced by girls under 18 years of age, who could be paid lower wages.
Report regarding applications for certificates of learnership, 1922Link opens in a new window
Statistical information about the number of certificates of learnership issued between March - May 1922.
Report on dressmaking courses and the placement of pupils, 1922Link opens in a new window
Includes information about the training on offer at Manchester Day Trade School for Girls, Gloucester Girls Junior Technical School, and Plymouth School of Cookery and Domestic Economy.
Definition of a female learner, 1925Link opens in a new window
Circular showing the original Trade Board definition, the present definition and a proposed revised version. It also includes information provided by "Forewoman Miss A." about the processes involved in making women's coats and a report of an application for a learners' certificate for a worker employed by Madame Sheldon of Sutton Coldfield.
Report on the application for a learners' certificate.
Exempted workers:
Trade Boards could issue permits of exemption which allowed employers to pay less than the minimum wage. Permits were given to workers who were regarded as having a physical or psychological disability which affected their work. Applications (usually submitted without the employees' names) include short medical profiles of the individuals.
Applications for permits of exemption, 1920-1926Link opens in a new window
The Dressmaking and Women's Light Clothing Trade Board papers include a series of applications for permits of exemption, including cases relating to workers who were described as having a range of physical and psychological symptoms, including being "deaf and dumb", "dull and mentally slow", having "spinal curvature", "heart trouble", "anaemia and nervous debility", "asthma", and being old.
Inspection and enforcement:
Tip off regarding law-breaking employers, 1921Link opens in a new window
Letter from N. Fritchley to J.J. Mallon, enclosing the names and addresses of four employers, one in Nottingham and three in Alfreton, Derbyshire, who were paying below the minimum rate.
Copy of a protest passed by the Federation of Ladies' and Children's Light Clothing Manufacturers Associations Ltd., sent to J.J. Mallon via the National Federation of Women Workers.
Summary reports of legal proceedings against employers:
Caroline Bird, Bury St Edmunds, 1925Link opens in a new window
John Field & Son, Sidmouth, 1926Link opens in a new window
Miss E. Fletcher, Rochdale, 1926Link opens in a new window
Mrs Smith, Burnley, 1926Link opens in a new window
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