Evening star., 1920-01-29
IMPROVE WOMEN'S
WORK CONDITIONS,
CLASS|F|ERS' VIEW
Definite Assurance Is Given
That Right to "KiCk" Will
Be Favored.

Definite assurance that the working
conditions of women in government
service here will be bettered under
congressional commission on re-
classification of salaries in the Dis
trict today.
Not only will the specific cases of
harmful working conditions brought
TO the attention of the commission at
the hearings be righted. but some
system viii be set up whereby en-
ployes VIII have the right of placing
kicks" before some tribunal
Various charges of insanitary work
ing conditions in government service
here, especially as they affect ed
woman workers. were made before
the reclassification commission at the
hearings granted the employees last
November and December
! Some women complained of lack of
backs to their chairs. Others said
they worked in dust-ridden atmos-
phere. Conditions of large numbers
of women employed in hard work
which did not seem right to the COM
plainants were brought out.
! Possibilities as to Tribunal
The Civil Service Commission. the
| United States public health service. or
the woman's bureau of the Depart
ment of Labor will get the grievance
tribunal, in all probability. Sugges-
! ton has been made to the commission
that it form wage and grievance
| tribunal.
| The Civil Service Commission is
! looked upon as the most likely re-
! cipient of the grievance tribunal
| work. Under reclassification propose Is
| the civil service body would be en-
| iarged it has been announced. and
its functions extended, 1t is prob
able. therefore. that the reclassif-
| cation commission will propose dele
i eating to the Civil Service Commits
sion the work of seeing to it not only
that all employees of Uncle Sam in
the National Capital work under sani-
I tary conditions. but also that they
have full opportunity to make charges
relative to lack of such conditions.
! 1t is regarded as fundamental that
| all workers. and especially the woman
(, employees of the government, should
have sanitary places TO work in, free
from dust. well ventilated. and will,
other surroundings adjusted to the
| employees.
+! Filing clerks. many of whom are
| women. may be so situated that they
are continually forced to bend over
hour after hour. in order to perform
their filing work. it is pointed out.
BY a slight readjustment of the fill
| up to a comfortable level for the en-
j ployes. This was cited as an example
Iof what might prevail and of how
easy it would be to right such con.
| dition should it prevail and should il
4 be known.
| Inspections Desired.
| That the conditions be known is re-
| garded as the necessary basis for all
| reformative work of this character
Therefore. it is felt to be essential in
| a working system of reform that first
! of all some elaborate inspection of
working conditions be maintained.
| The United States public health
service is regarded as logical
| agency to carry on such inspection.
| and it is possible that some system
| may be worked out whereby its agents
would do this work, possibly super
vised by the Civil Service Commits
sion.
! Each government department might
| have its own working conditions COM
mittee. to keep close track of all
working conditions and complaints
of faulty conditions and abuse, and
endeavor to solve the problems with
out going outside of the department.
If such efforts failed. it would then
be necessary to bring the attention
Of the Civil Service Commission tri-
bunal to the matter and have it ad-
justed
1t has become more and more an
axiom with commercial firms of re-
cent years that the welfare of the
employees is as much to the interest
of the companies as it is to the en-
ployes. 1t is generally felt that Uncle
Sam should be a model employer, and
to be this demands. it is held. that
he be solicitous of the working con-
ditions of his employees.