CO129-629-11 Manufacture of shirts 1-1-1950 - 30-11-1950 — Page 54

CONFIDENTIAL 53

A.

Section 1.

COMMENTS ON

NOTE FOR PUBLICATION.

General.

(a) Employment figures for December 1949:

C

Total number employed in cotton textiles (including spinning, knitting, garment-making, hosiery and cloth calendering) - 20,649 in 372 concerns.

b) Big expansion in spinning to: 12 mills with 5,971 workers. Automatic looms now in 4 weaving concerns; in one more now being installed - beginning of modernisation in weaving section.

(d) Very large proportion of very small concerns in all except

spinning section:

(i) Knitting, garments and hosiery combined:

one half

of total number of concerns employ 20 workers or under; and less than one-sixth employ 50 or over. (ii) Weaving: a little over one-third employ 20 or

under, and a little less than a third 50 or over. (iii) In addition, large numbers of unregistrable places

are run more or less as family concerns, making garments and hand-woven material.

(e) Not quite accurate to say that the garment-making section

is carried on in independent factories - true for shirts of woven material, but where of knitted material frequently knitting and garment-making done by same factory.

(f)

-

The following extract from a report on the Knitted Piece Goods Industry made in February 1948 is still relevant: -

"In making knitted piece goods there are two dis- tinct sections: I. manufacture of the rolls of knitted material; II. - making up the material into a variety of garments of all sizes and styles: vests, singlets, pants, open-necked sports shirts and shirts with a button opening at the neck.

Of the one hundred and seven factories inspected, thirty-seven had only section I, twenty-six only section II, and the remaining forty-four worked all processes from the yarn to the completed garment. A number of factories have in addition their own dyeing plant but this is not universal." (i) Tempo and output. Generally speaking, true to say

that the output of a Chinese workman is considerably less than that of an English workman of similar skill, but it is not rue of the spinning operatives. The spinning mills, run on modern lines with modern machinery, and skill and output of operatives the equal of their Lancashire counterpart. This greater concentration compensated for by better wages (higher general average than elsewhere), good factory con- ditions, subsidised food, free quarters, free medical attention and some recreational facilities. The tempo of certain processes in garment-making can be fairly quick, but work usually not nearly as sustained and continuous.

(ii) Workers have comparative freedom to come and go during

working hours, and also to take casual leave. Common in all except spinning for workers to supply a sub- stitute for a period of casual leave desired for any important family affairs. The provision of a sub- stitute is not always required as the larger concerns often have one or two workers specifically for that purpose and, in smaller concerns, a member of the proprietor's family can often do the job.