§ Mr. WARDLAW-MILNEasked the Under-Secretary of State for India how the hours of labour in Japanese cotton mills in Osaka compare with those in Bombay; to what extent the hours are worked by women; and whether women are employed at night?
§ Earl WINTERTONI am informed that the legal maximum working hours under the Japanese Factory Act are fixed at 12 daily, but that this need mot be strictly adhered to in factories employing only male operatives over 15 years of age. I am further informed that women, in fact, usually work from 10 to 12 hours daily. Women are employed at night. By the Japanese Factory Act Amendment Act of 1921 the legal maximum for women is reduced to 11 hours a day, and night work for women is prohibited; but these changes do not come into force until three years after enforcement of the Amendment Act, which is not in force at the present moment. In India the legal maxima are 60 hours a week and 11 hours a day for adults, and six hours a day for children under 15. Night work for women is prohibited.