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 DEPARTMENT OF LABOUR, CANADA 
 
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 HON. JAMES MURDOCK, MINISTER OF LABOUR 
 
 BULLETIN No. 5. INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SERIES 
 
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 Canada and the International 
 Labour Conference 
 
 Issued as a Supplement to the LABOUR GAZETTE 
 February, 1922 
 
 PRINTED BY F. A. ACLAND, PRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST 
 
 EXCELLENT MAJESTY 
 
 OTTAWA 
 
 " '.V,
 
 BULLETINS 
 
 OF THE 
 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS SERIES 
 
 Bui. 1. Joint Councils in Industry. 
 
 Bui. 2. Report of a Conference on Industrial Relations held at Ottawa, 
 February 21st and 22nd, 1921. 
 
 Bui. 3. Joint Conference of the Building and Construction Industries 
 in Canada, held at Ottawa, May 3-6, 1921. 
 
 Bui. 4. Employees' Magazines in Canada. 
 
 Bu 1 . 5. Canada and the International Labour Conference. 
 
 Copies of any or all of the these Bulletins 
 post free on request to the Department 
 of Labour, Ottawa.
 
 GANADAJAND THE INTERNATIONAL LABOUR 
 CONFERENCE. 
 
 *T\dE present bulletin has been prepared for the purpose of furnishing informa- 
 * tion in reference to the International Labour Organization of the League of 
 Nations, which was created by the Treaty of Versailles and the other Treaties of 
 Peace. The object of The International Labour Organization is to promote the 
 regulation and improvement of labour conditions by international agreement. 
 
 As an indication of the results already achieved it may be mentioned that 
 the decisions of the First International Labour Conference, held in Washington, 
 D. C., in 1919, have led to the enactment of upwards of forty statutes bearing on 
 labour matters in various countries, and to the preparation of upwards of one 
 hundred separate bills. The Second International Labour Conference of 1920, 
 which was devoted entirely to the consideration of matters affecting seamen, 
 has been followed by the adoption of three laws and the preparation of twenty- 
 three separate bills. 
 
 The Organization set up by the Treaty of Versailles consists of an Inter- 
 national Conference which meets at least once in every year, a Governing Body, 
 elected by the Conference, which meets more frequently, and an International 
 Labour*0ffice]|established at the seat of the League of Nations as part of the or- 
 ganization of the League. 
 
 Membership in the League of Nations carries with it membership in the 
 International ^Labour]Body. Germany and Austria have also been admitted 
 to membership in the latter in accordance with a decision which was taken at the 
 first International JLabour Conference in Washington, in 1919. The complete 
 membership of the International Labour Organization is, therefore, as follows: 
 
 Albania, Finland, Norway, 
 
 Argentine France, Panama, 
 
 Austria, Germany, Paraguay, 
 
 Australia, Great Britain, Peru, 
 
 Belgium. Greece, Persia, 
 
 Bolivia, Guatemala, Poland, 
 
 Brazil, Haiti, Portugal, 
 
 Bulgaria, Hedjaz, Roumania 
 
 Canada, India, San Salvador 
 
 Chile, Italy, Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats 
 
 China, Japan, and Slovenes, 
 
 Colombia, Latvia, Siam, 
 
 Costa-Rica, Liberia, South Africa, 
 
 Cuba Lithuania, Spain, 
 
 Czecho-Slovakia, Luxemburg, Sweden, 
 
 Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, 
 
 Ecuador, New Zealand, Uruguay, 
 
 Esthonia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, 
 
 In the nineteenth century, the disadvantages of varying labour standards 
 as between countries whose workers moved freely from one to the other and whose 
 products competed with each other in a world market, led to a proposal to dis- 
 cuss the legal protection of labour from an international standpoint. The Swiss
 
 Government took the initiative in this movement which resulted in 1900 in the 
 formation of the International Association for Labour Legislation with head- 
 quarters at Basle, Switzerland. A Conference at Berne, Switzerland, in 1906, 
 at which fifteen European States were represented, adopted conventions respect- 
 ing the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches and the employ- 
 ment of women during the night. Adhesion to these conventions became very 
 general before the war, Canada taking her place in 1914 with the nations pro- 
 hibiting the use of white phosphorus in matches. At the Conference at Lugano, 
 Switzerland, in 1910, Canada was represented for the first time, the present 
 Premier, Honourable W. L. Mackenzie King, at that time Minister of Labour 
 being in attendance. The activities of the Association were interrupted by the 
 outbreak of war, but the experiment of the international discussion of labour 
 problems had been made, certain agreements had been reached and legislation 
 enacted in conformity therewith. 
 
 Parallel with the movement towards the international regulation of labour 
 standards, there was the development of international trade union action. The 
 labour organizations of various countries were becoming familiar with each other 
 and with labour conditions throughout the world. International conferences had 
 been held and some agreement reached as to standards to be aimed at and methods 
 to be used. Early in the war, the American Federation of Labour passed a 
 resolution that "a Labour Congress should be held at the same time and in the 
 same place as the Peace Congress." This proposal was discussed at a conference 
 of delegates of British, Italian, Belgian and French labour organizations at Leeds 
 in July, 1916. In October, 1917, a conference of labour representatives of Ger- 
 many, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the 
 Netherlands and Switzerland, approved the proposal adopted at the Leeds 
 conference, "to call an international conference before the beginning of the peace 
 negotiations." 
 
 In accordance with the resolutions of these conferences and based on the 
 experience of the International Association for Labour Legislation, a commission 
 known as the Commission of International Labour Legislation was appointed 
 by the Peace Conference to draw up a plan for a permanent organization. The 
 report of this Commission formed the basis of the Labour sections of the Treaty 
 of Versailles, comprising Part XIJI of this Treaty, and of the subsequent Treaties 
 of Peace. 
 
 Labour Principles Embodied in Peace Treaty. 
 
 The labour part of the Treaty of Versailles (the full text of which is appended 
 hereto), providing for the establishment of the International Labour Organiza- 
 tion, opens with a general statement of reasons for the action taken in the terms 
 following : 
 
 Whereas the League of Nations has for its object the establishment of universal peace, 
 and such a peace can be established only if it is based on social justice ; and whereas conditions 
 of labour exist, involving such injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people 
 as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled; and 
 an improvement of those conditions is urgently required: as, for example, by the regulation 
 of the hours of work, including the establishment of a maximum working day and week, 
 the regulation of the labour supply, the prevention of unemployment, the provision of an 
 adequate living wage, the protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury 
 arising out of his employment, the protection of children, young persons and women, provision 
 for old age and injury, protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries 
 other than their own, recognition of the principle of freedom of association, the organization 
 of vocational and technical education and other measures; and whereas also the failure of 
 any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle in the way of other nations 
 which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries. 
 
 Certain general principles in relation to labour matters, were also embodied
 
 in the text of the Treaty of Versailles for the guidance of the International 
 Labour Organization. These general principles comprise article 427, as follows : 
 
 The High Contracting Parties, recognizing that the well-being, physical, moral and 
 intellectual, of industrial wage-earners is of supreme international importance, have framed, 
 in order to further this great end, the permanent machinery provided for in Section 1 and 
 associated with that of the League of Nations. 
 
 They recognize that differences of climate, habits and customs, of economic opportunity 
 and industrial tradition, make strict uniformity in the conditions of labour difficult of imme- 
 diate attainment. But, holding as they do. that labour should not be regarded merely as 
 an article of commerce, they think that there are methods and principles for regulating 
 labour conditions which all industrial communities should endeavour to apply, so far as 
 their special circumstances will permit. 
 
 Among these methods and principles, the following seem to the High Contracting 
 Parties to be of special and urgent importance. 
 
 First. The guiding principle above enunciated that labour should not be regarded 
 merely as a commodity or article of commerce. 
 
 Second. The right of association for all lawful purposes by the employed as well as by 
 the employers. 
 
 Third. The payment to the employed of a wage adequate to maintain a reasonable 
 standard of life as this is understood in their time and country. 
 
 Fourth. The adoption of an eight hours day or a forty-eight hours week as the standard 
 to be aimed at where it has not already been attained. 
 
 Fifth. The adoption of a weekly rest of at least twenty-four hours, which should include 
 Sunday wherever practicable. 
 
 Sixth. The abolition of child labour and the imposition of such limitations on the 
 labour of young persons as shall permit the continuation of their education and assure their 
 proper physical development. 
 
 Seventh. The principle that men and women should receive equal remuneration for 
 work of equal value. 
 
 Eighth. The standard set by law in each country with respect to the conditions of 
 labour should have due regard to' the equitable economic treatment of all workers lawfully 
 resident therein. 
 
 Ninth. Each State should make provision for a system of inspection in which women 
 should take part in order to ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations for the pro- 
 tection of the employed. 
 
 Without claiming that these methods and principles are either complete or final, the 
 High Contracting Parties are of opinion that they are well fitted to guide the policy of the 
 League of Nations; and that, if adopted by the industrial communities who are members of 
 the League, and safeguarded in practice by an adequate system of such inspection, they will 
 confer lasting benefits upon the wage-earners of the world. 
 
 International Labour Conference. 
 
 The International Labour Conference is composed of four representatives 
 of each member state, two of whom are Government delegates and two represent 
 employers and employed respectively. Each delegate i s entitled to two advisers 
 for each item on the conference, one of whom, it is specified, shall be a woman 
 when questions specially affecting women are to be considered. Non-Govern- 
 ment delegates and their advisers are to be nominated by the member states 
 in agreement with the industrial organizations, if such organizations exist, which 
 are most representative of employers or workpeople as the case may be, in their 
 respective countries. The conclusions of the Conference may be cast in the form 
 of Draft Conventions or of Recommendations to the national Governments, 
 a two-thirds majority being required for the adoption of either a Draft convention 
 or a Recommendation. 
 
 Article 406 of the Treaty of Versailles and of the other Treaties of Peace 
 provides as follows: 
 
 Each of the Members undertakes that it will, within the period of one year at most 
 from the closing of the session of the Conference, or if it is impossible owing to exceptional
 
 6 
 
 circumstances to do so within the period of one year, then at the earliest practicable moment 
 and in no case later than eighteen months from the closing of the session of the Conference 
 bring the Recommendation or Draft Convention before the authority or authorities within 
 whose competence the matter lies, for the enactment of legislation or other action. 
 
 In the case of a Recommendation, the Members will inform the Secretary-General of 
 the action taken. 
 
 In the case of a Draft Convention, the Member will, if it obtains the consent of the 
 authority or authorities within whose competence the matter lies, communicate the formal 
 ratification of the Convention to the Secretary-General and will take such action as may be 
 necessary to make effective the* provisions of such Convention. 
 
 If on recommendation no legislative or other action is taken to make a Recommenda- 
 tion effective, or if the Draft Convention fails to obtain the consent of the authority or 
 authorities within whose competence the matter lies, no further obligation shall rest upon 
 the Member. 
 
 It is of special interest to Canada that the Treaty recognizes the limited 
 power of a federal government and provides that in the case of a federal state, 
 the authority of which to enter into Conventions on labour matters is limited, 
 the federal government may treat a Draft Convention as a Recommendation 
 only. 
 
 Commissions of Inquiry. 
 
 Machinery is provided by the Treaty for securing the observance by the 
 various states of Conventions which they, have ratified. Complaints that any 
 state "has failed to secure in any respect the effective observance within its juris- 
 diction of any Convention to which it is a party" may be made to the Inter- 
 national Labour Office by any other state which is a party to the Convention 
 or by any industrial association of employers or of workers or by any delegate 
 to the Conference. The Governing Body of the International Labour Office is 
 empowered to invite the state concerned to make such statement on the subject 
 as it may think fit, and if no satisfactory reply is received, the complaint may be 
 referred to a Commission of Inquiry which is to be appointed by the Secretary- 
 General of the League of Nations from a standing panel of persons of industrial 
 experience nominated by the member states. Each state is required to nominate 
 three persons for appointment to this standing panel, two representing employers 
 and workers respectively and the third a person of independent standing. A 
 Commission of Inquiry is to be composed of three persons, one from each group. 
 
 The Government of Canada, in accordance with these provisions of the 
 Treaty of Peace, nominated the Right Honourable Mr. Justice Duff, of the 
 Supreme Court of Canada, as a person of independent standing, Mr. S. R. 
 Parsons, of the British American Oil Company, Toronto, as a representative of 
 the employers, and Mr. Joseph Gibbons, business manager of the Toronto 
 Division of the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Em- 
 ployees of America, as a representative of the workers. 
 
 Permanent Court of International Justice. 
 
 It is required by the Peace Treaty that each Government shall inform the 
 Secretary-General of the League of Nations whether or not it accepts the report 
 of the Commission of Enquiry and, if not accepting the report, if it proposes to 
 refer the complaint to the Permanent Court of International Justice of the League 
 of Nations. 
 
 Under Article 416 of the Peace Treaty, in the event of any member state 
 failing to take the action required by the Peace Treaty with regard to a Draft 
 Convention or Recommendation any other member state is entitled to refer 
 the matter to the Permanent Court of International Justice whose decision with 
 regard to such matters shall be final.
 
 International Labour Office. 
 
 Article 396 of the Treaty states that "the functions of the International 
 Labour Office shall include the collection and distribution of information of all 
 subjects relating to the international adjustment of conditions of industrial life 
 and labour and particularly the examination of subjects which it is proposed 
 to bring before the Conference with a view to the conclusion of international 
 Conventions and the conduct of such special investigations as may be ordered 
 by the Conference." 
 
 The International Labour Office is required to collect all available informa- 
 tion in regard to the problems to be dealt with and to prepare Draft Conventions 
 or recommendations for submission to the Conference. The work of the Office 
 has been divided for the proper performance of its duties into two divisions, 
 namely: the Diplomatic Division which conducts the correspondence with 
 Governments and is called upon to deal "with the questions connected with the 
 obligations entailed by the labour provisions of the Treaty and in particular with 
 those relating to the work of the International Labour Conference", and[ the 
 Scientific Division, which is "responsible for the collection, compilation and 
 dissemination of information of international interest and importance about 
 industry and labour conditions in all countries". Technical'^ services have been 
 created to supply the necessary information on technical;, questions such as 
 maritime problems, industrial hygiene, employment and unemployment, hours 
 of labour, agriculture, alien labour, employment of women, home work, wages, 
 social insurance, education and co-operation. 
 
 Mr. Albert Thomas is the Director of the International Labour Office. He 
 has been associated with political and social movements in France both as a 
 writer and as an active worker in public affairs. During the war? he rendered 
 signal service as Minister of Munitions and he has, therefore, a wide knowledge 
 of industrial conditions and labour problems. Mr. H. B. Butler, formerly Assist- 
 ant Secretary to the British Ministry of Labour, is the Deputy) Director of the 
 Office. Mr. Butler acted as Assistant Secretary General of the Commission on 
 International Labour Legislation at the Peace Conference and, later, as Secretary- 
 General of the -Organizing Committee of the Washington Conference. The staff 
 of the International Labour Office has been recruited from different countries, 
 Dr. W. A. Riddell, formerly Deputy Minister of Labour for the province of 
 Ontario, being head of the Agricultural Service. 
 
 Three of the publications of the Labour Office are issued periodically "In- 
 dustrial and Labour Information", published weekly, contains brief notes on 
 current events of interest to labour and industry; the "Official Bulletin", also a 
 weekly publication, contains the text of official documents, reports of meetings 
 of the Governing Body and similar matters; "The International Labour Review", 
 published monthly, is a "scientific popular publication containing articles, statis- 
 tics and information of interest to employers, workers and Governments". A 
 Series of Studies and Reports is being issued giving short reports on special 
 subjects of immediate interest. A Legislative Series is also being published 
 which contains translations of the texts of the laws, decrees, etc., affecting 
 labour which are issued in the various countries of the world. 
 
 It has devolved upon the Department of Labour of Canada to conduct 
 considerable correspondence with the International Labour Office, with other 
 departments of the Dominion Government, with the provinces and with workers' 
 and employers' organizations in connection with the collection and transmission 
 of information of various kinds at the request of the International Labour Office, 
 and also to prepare the replies of the Government of Canada to various question- 
 naires.
 
 Governing Body of International Labour Office. 
 
 The International Labour Office is under the control of a Governing Body 
 consisting of twenty-four persons appointed by the International Labour Con- 
 ference; twelve persons representing Governments, six representing employers 
 and six representing workers. The Governing Body, in addition to its control 
 of the Labour Office, is charged with the preparation of the Conference Agenda. 
 Article 393 of the Treaty provides that "of the twelve persons representing the 
 Governments, eight shall be nominated by the members which are of chief indus- 
 trial importance and four shall be nominated by the members selected for the 
 purpose by the Government Delegates to the conference, excluding the Delegates 
 of the eight members mentioned above. Any question as to which are the mem- 
 bers of chief industrial importance shall de decided by the Council of the League 
 of Nations." 
 
 The countries at present represented on the Governing Body of the Inter- 
 national Labour Organization as states of chief industrial importance are Belgium, 
 France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. The states 
 nominated by the Conference are Argentine, Canada, Denmark, Poland and 
 Spain. . It is to be noted that a place has been left among the chief industrial 
 states for the United States of America and that in the absence of that country 
 representation has been given to Denmark. The Government of Canada has 
 been duly represented at all of the meetings of the Governing Body which have 
 been held since its establishment in 'October, 1919. 
 
 The employers' and workers' representatives are chosen by the employers' 
 and workers' delegates at the Conference. At the present time the representatives 
 of the employers are from the following countries: Belgium, France, Czecho- 
 slovakia, Italy, Switzerland and Great Britain. The workers' representatives 
 are from Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden and the Nether- 
 lands. Appointments to the Governing Body are for a period of three years. 
 The Canadian Government representative on the Governing Body of the Inter- 
 national Labour Office is the Honourable James Murdock, Minister of Labour, 
 who succeeded Senator G. D. Robertson in this capacity following the change of 
 government in January, 1922. Mr. P. M. Draper, Secretary-Treasurer of the 
 Trades and Labour Congress of Canada, is one of the six workers' representatives. 
 
 Protests have been made regarding the present composition of the Governing 
 Body, both as to the states deemed to be of chief industrial importance and as to 
 the number of representatives accorded to European countries. As the term of 
 office of the present members expires in 1922, consideration was given at the last 
 Conference to proposals for adequate representation of extra-European countries 
 and for a satisfactory basis of selection of the states of chief industrial importance. 
 These subjects have also been set down for consideration at the next Annual 
 Conference of the International Labour Body with a view to the possible necessity 
 of changes in the terms of the Treaty of Peace. The League of Nations also has 
 the latter subject before it at present for interpretation of the intent of the Treaty 
 in its present terms, and it is hoped that a decision will be announced before the 
 next Annual Conference in October, 1922.
 
 FIRST INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, 1919 
 
 The first session of the International Labour Conference, was held at 
 Washington in October and November, 1919, in accordance with Article 424 of 
 the Treaty of Peace. The subjects to be considered at this first Conference were 
 stipulated in the Treaty and included the application to industry of the principle 
 of the eight-hour day or forty-eight hour week: the prevention or mitigation of 
 unemployment; the employment of women before and after child-birth, during 
 the night and in unhealthy processes; the employment of children during the 
 night and in unhealthy processes, and the age at which they should be employed 
 the extension and application of the International Conventions adopted at Berne 
 in 1906 on the prohibition of night work for women and of the use of white 
 phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. 
 
 Thirty-eight countries were represented by delegates as follows:" Argentine, 
 Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, China, Czecho-Slovakia, Columbia, Denmark, 
 France, Great Britain, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, 
 Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Persia, Peru, Poland, 
 Portugal, Roumania, San Domingo, San Salvador, Siam, Kingdom of the Serbs, 
 Croats and Slovenes, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay and 
 Venezuela. 
 
 The Canadian Government delegates were the Honourable G. D. Robertson, 
 at that time Minister of Labour, and the Honourable N. W. Rowell, at that time 
 President of the Privy Council and Acting Secretary of State for External 
 Affairs. As some of the items on the agenda related to matters falling within the 
 jurisdiction of the provinces, the Dominion Government invited each province 
 to nominate a representative to act as adviser to the delegates. The list of advisers 
 included Mr. F. A. Acland, Deputy Minister of Labour, Mr. Gerald|H. Brown, 
 Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour, Mr. Loring G. Christie, Legal Adviser to 
 the Department of External Affairs, and the following provincial representatives: 
 Mr. D. A. Cameron, M.P.P., of Sydney, N.S., on behalf of the province of Nova 
 Scotia; Honourable C. W. Robinson, Minister of Lands and Mines .of the 
 province of New Brunswick; Honourable W. L. Mackenzie King, M.P., at that 
 time Leader, of the Dominion Opposition, on behalf of the province of Prince 
 Edward Island; Mr. Louis Guyon, Deputy Minister of Labour of the province 
 of Quebec; Dr. W. A. Riddell, then Deputy Minister of Labour of^the province 
 of Ontario; Honourable Thomas H. Johnson, Attorney General of Manitoba; 
 Honourable C. R. Mitchell, at that time Provincial Treasurer for Alberta; and 
 Mr. J. D. McNiven, Deputy Minister of Labour of the province of British 
 Columbia. Mr. Gerald H. Brown, also acted as secretary of the Canadian 
 delegation. The employers' delegate was Mr. S. R. Parsons, appointed on the 
 nomination of the Canadian Manufacturers' Association. The workers were 
 represented by Mr. P. M. Draper, Secretary-Treasurer of the Trades and Labour 
 Congress of Canada. Each of these delegates was accompanied by five advisers. 
 One of the advisers of the workers' delegation was a woman, Mrs. Kathleen 
 Derry, of the Boot and Shoe Workers' Union, Toronto. 
 
 Commissions, composed of an equal number of representatives of Govern- 
 ments, employers and workers, were set up by the Conference to consider the 
 various items of the agenda. In dealing with the matter of the eight-hour day, 
 it was decided to appoint two commissions, one to deal with the general problem 
 of hours of work and the other to deal with it as it affected countries in which 
 special climatic or other conditions exist. The Peace Treaty recognized that 
 "differences of climate, habits and customs, of economic opportunity and indus- 
 trial tradition, make strict uniformity in the conditions o labour difficult of 
 immediate attainment," but holding ''that labour should not be regarded merely
 
 10 
 
 as an article of commerce," it considered "that there are methods and principles 
 for regulating labour conditions which all industrial communities should endea- 
 vour to apply, so far as their special circumstances will permit." It was, there- 
 fore, necessary to give particular consideration to the requirements of tropical 
 countries and countries less highly developed materially. 
 
 Draft Conventions were adopted by the Conference on the eight-hour day, 
 unemployment, employment of women before and after childbirth, employment 
 of women during the night, minimum age for the employment of children, and 
 the night work of young persons. 
 
 Draft Convention Respecting the Eight-Hour Day. 
 
 The Draft Convention regarding hours of labour, adopted by a vote of eighty- 
 two to eight, with one abstention, limits the working hours of persons employed 
 in any public or private industrial undertaking to eight in the day and forty- 
 eight in the week with certain exceptions. The daily hours of labour may be 
 extended not more than one hour for the purpose of obtaining a shorter work-day 
 on one or more days of the week. Provision is made for a maximum average work- 
 week of fifty-six hours in continuous industries, and for the regulation by public 
 authorities of exceptions in the case of men whose work must necessarily be 
 carried on outside the limits laid down of the general working of an establish- 
 ment or whose work is essentially intermittent. Such regulations may be made 
 only after consultation with the organizations of employers and workers con- 
 cerned and the rate of pay for overtime must not be less than one and one-quarter 
 times the regular rate. 
 
 In case of accident, actual or threatened, or of urgent work to be done to 
 machinery or plant, or in case of force majeure, the limit of hours may be exceeded, 
 but only when necessary to avoid serious interference with the regular working 
 of the undertaking. In order to insure against abuse of these exceptions, each 
 Government is required to communicate to the International Labour Office a 
 list of processes deemed necessarily continuous, full information in regard to 
 public regulations permitting exceptions, and as to agreements between workers' 
 and employers' Associations which permit more than eight hours work in a day 
 but not more than an average of forty-eight in a week. 
 
 The term "industrial undertaking" is defined to include, besides mining, 
 manufacturing and construction work, the transport of passengers or goods by 
 road, rail, sea or inland waterway, the handling of goods at docks and ware- 
 houses, but excluding transport by hand. 
 
 The Draft Convention provides for the consideration of the provisions 
 relating to transport by sea or inland waterway by a special Conference which 
 was held in the following year. 
 
 Certain modifications in the Draft Convention were made in its application 
 to Japan, a maximum of fifty-seven hours being fixed for all persons of fifteen 
 years of age or over except in the silk industry, in which case the limit is fixed at 
 sixty hours. Forty-eight hours in a week is the maximum allowed all persons 
 under fifteen years of age and this age-linit must be raised to sixteen not later 
 that July 1, 1925. It is further provided that in the case of factories, only the 
 undertakings covered by the Japanese factory law shall be covered by the Con- 
 vention, though it is also provided that the law must be amended to cover 
 factories employing ten or more persons instead of only those employing more 
 than fifteen persons as at present. 
 
 The Convention is not to apply to China, Persia and Siam, nor to British 
 India except in a limited degree. In the case of the last-named country, a maxi-
 
 . 11 
 
 mum of sixty 'hours in a week is fixed for all workers in industries covered by the 
 factory acts and in certain branches of railway work. Consideration of the appli- 
 cation of this con\ 7 ention to China, Persia and Siam was reserved for a future 
 Conference. 
 
 In Greece and Roumania, the period allowed for ratification is extended, the 
 date for full ratification being July 1, 1924. 
 
 The ratification of the Draft Convention regarding hours of labour must be 
 considered in connection with the political constitution, existing laws and 
 customs and the economic conditions of the various countries. 
 
 The eight-hour day and forty-four hour week is the general practice in 
 Great Britain through the working of collective agreements and in the coal mining 
 industry by law, but the British Government has found difriculty in ratifying 
 the Draft Convention owing as it is understood, to the restrictions on overtime 
 work imposed by the Convention and the fact that existing agreements 
 between the railway companies and their employees provide for an eight - 
 hour day and the forty-eight hour week, but allow a greater amount of daily 
 overtime than the Draft Convention permits. 
 
 In Italy the eight-hour day or a forty-eight hour week is already established 
 in the majority of industries, and a bill was drawn up in 1920 to give legal force to 
 the practice. Delay has occurred however, owing as it is understood to a desire 
 to combine acceptance of the Draft Convention with a previously proposed bill. 
 
 In France, a somewhat similar situation exists. An act of 1919 provided for 
 an eight-hour day in industrial and commercial undertakings, and special acts of 
 the same year made similar provision for the mercantile marine and for mines. 
 A law enacted in 1913 established an eight-hour day for coal mines. A bill to ratify 
 the Draft Convention of the Washington Conference was introduced in the 
 Chamber of Deputies in 1920 but has not yet been passed. 
 
 In the Netherlands an act was passed in 1919 providing for an eight-hour 
 day and forty-five hour week in factories and workshops. Ten hours a day and 
 fifty-five a week were permitted in mercantile stores and in hospitals. Authority 
 was given to the Minister of Labour to extend the hours in factories by not more 
 than two hours a day and not more than ten hours a week during a maximum 
 period of four years if the protection of national industries rendered such action 
 advisable. The act was to come into force on October 24, 1920, but in September, 
 1920, regulations were issued exempting from its operation for two years the iron 
 and steel foundries, engine-building, shipbuilding, railway construction, textile 
 industries, cotton and wool spinning, ribbon and hosiery manufacture and some 
 less important industries. The extensions of hours of work in no case, however, 
 exceeded forty-eight hours. A revision of the act was proposed to permit of 
 exemptions in undertakings which are liable at certain seasons of the year to extra 
 pressure of work, or where the employers' and workers' organizations agree to 
 demand them. The Draft Convention, therefore, has not as yet been ratified by 
 the Netherlands Government. 
 
 In Sweden, a law which came into operation in July, 1921, enforces a forty- 
 eight hour week with a daily maximum of nine hours in establishments employing 
 more than four persons. Overtime is limited to 30 hours in a month and 200 in a 
 year, except in cases of special urgency when the Department of Social Affairs may 
 permit a further extension of not more than 20 hours in a month and 120 in a 
 year. This act is of an experimental nature and is to be revised in 1923. 
 
 In Belgium, an act providing for an eijrht-hour day came into force in 
 October, 1921. Permission is to be given for an extension of hours in consequence 
 of an agreement between an employer and a majority of his workrr.en and the 
 application of the act may be suspended by the King in cases of national danger or
 
 12 
 
 if it is deemed "necessary in the national interest to secure by the development of 
 exports the means of exchange required for the import of necessities." 
 
 In Germany the normal system is now the eight-hour day. Orders issued in 
 1918 and 1919 limited the working day of industrial and commercial employees to 
 eight in a day, and the majority of collective agreements have embodied the eight- 
 hour day system often with less than the forty-eight hour week. A draft bill was 
 prepared during the latter part of 1921, concerning hours of labour of industrial 
 workers in industry, commerce and mines. The introductory note accompanying 
 it states that one of the main reasons for introducing the bill "arises from the 
 participation of Germany in the International Labour Organization of the League 
 of Nations of which Germany is a member with full rights and obligations." 
 The essential provisions are in agreement with the fundamental provisions of the 
 Draft Convention of the International Labour Conference, and it is expected that 
 a bill to ratify the Draft Convention will be considered when the government bill 
 on hours of work is brought before the Reichsrat. 
 
 In Switzerland, the Factory Act of 1919 provided for a forty-eight hour week 
 for all but small industries and the Federal Council proposes to enact special 
 legislation covering these occupations. 
 
 Austrian laws, enacted in 1919, conform in their essential principles with 
 the Draft Convention. 
 
 A Spanish decree, issued in 1919, also conforms generally to the Washington 
 Draft Convention and in April, 1921, a bill was submitted to the Senate to ratify 
 the various Draft Conventions. 
 
 In Denmark similar action has been taken, and a commission has drawn up a 
 bill concerning hours of labour. 
 
 In Poland, it has been decided to lay before the Diet a bill for the ratification 
 of the majority of the Draft Conventions, and an act of 1919 established the eight- 
 hour day and forty-six hour week. 
 
 In Luxemburg, a ratifying bill has been .submitted to the Council of State 
 and a decree of December, 1918, and an act of October, 1919, partially cover the 
 requirements of the Convention. 
 
 In Argentine and Chile, bills embodying the principles of the Draft Con- 
 vention have been submitted to the proper authorities. 
 
 In South Africa, an amendment to the Factories Act in course of preparation 
 limits working hours to eight in a day and forty-eight in a week in industrial 
 undertakings. 
 
 Greece, India, Roumania and Czecho-Slovakia have ratified the Draft 
 Convention concerning hours of work. The first three of these states, however, 
 were made the subject of special provisions at Washington. 
 
 In Canada, the question of legislative jurisdiction as between the Dominion 
 and the provinces in the matter of dealing with this Draft Convention was 
 referred by the Dominion to the Minister of Justice for examination and was 
 afterwards dealt with in a federal order-in-council, dated November 6, 1920.* 
 The opinion given by the Minister of Justice, which is confirmed by the Order in 
 Council, is that it involves legislation competent to the Dominion Parliament in 
 so far as Dominion works and undertakings are concerned but which is otherwise 
 within the authority of the Provincial Legislatures. Following the adoption of 
 this Order in Council the subject was referred to the attention of the several 
 provincial governments in so far as the matters within their jurisdiction were con- 
 cerned. The Draft Convention was also brought to the attention of the Dominion 
 Parliament.! 
 
 See LABOUR GAZETTE, November, 1920. 
 See LABOUR GAZETTE, June 1921.
 
 13 
 
 With respect to the existing hours of labour in industrial undertakings in 
 Canada, it may be observed that the provincial Factory Acts and Minimum 
 Wage Acts restrict the employment of women and young persons in the matter 
 of hours, and collective agreements and trade practices make the eight-hour day 
 the rule for large numbers of workers. A basic eight -hour day obtains for railroad 
 workers through agreements effected by the Canadian railways in 1918. In 
 Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario the eight-hour day is enforced by law for 
 miners working underground. British Columbia includes within its act men 
 working above ground and Ontario excludes shift -bosses, cage-tenders, etc. In 
 1921, British Columbia passed an act providing for an eight-hour day in accord- 
 ance with the provisions of the Draft Convention, but it is provided that this 
 act shall come into force concurrently with or after the enactment of similar 
 le^islatlation by the other provinces. 
 
 Draft Convention Concerning Unemployment 
 
 The second item on the agenda of the Washington Conference was "the 
 question of preventing and providing against unemployment." A Draft Con- 
 vention was adopted providing that each Government should communicate to 
 the International Labour Office at intervals, not exceeding three months, all 
 available information, statistical or otherwise, concerning unemployment; 
 providing for the establishment of a system of free public employment exchanges 
 under central control and assisted by committees including representatives of 
 employers and employed; and providing, further, that states which already had 
 systems of unemployment insurance should come to some arrangement among 
 themselves whereby workers moving from one country to another might receive 
 the same benefits as other workers in the same country. 
 
 Two Recommendations were also adopted regarding this item; one that each 
 state should, on condition of reciprocity and upon terms to be agreed between 
 the countries concerned, admit foreign workers and their families to the benefit 
 of its labour laws and to the right of organization enjoyed by its own workers, 
 and the other, suggesting the establishment of an effective system of unemploy- 
 ment insurance; the co-ordination of all work undertaken under public authority 
 in order to reserve such work as far as practicable for periods of unemployment; 
 the prohibition of private employment agencies and of the recruiting of bodies of 
 workers in one country with a view to their employment in another except by 
 mutual agreement between the countries and after consultation with the em- 
 ployers and workers in the industries concerned. A resolution was passed 
 inviting the Governing Body of the International Labour Office "to form an 
 International Comniission empowered to formulate recommendations upon the 
 best methods to be adopted in each state for collecting and publishing all in- 
 formation relative to the problem of unemployment in such form and for such 
 periods of time as may be internationally comparable." 
 
 The Draft Convention regarding unemployment has been ratified by Den- 
 mark, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, India, Roumania and Sweden. 
 
 The Government of Austria is of the opinion that all the provisions of the 
 Draft Convention and Recommendations concerning Unemployment are already 
 in force in that country. 
 
 The Italian Government has made a similar statement. . 
 
 Belgium has undertaken since 1919 the larger part of the cost of carrying 
 on free public employment agencies. 
 
 France has a system of free public exchanges,^and a bill has been introduced 
 to define their legal status and that of the joint committees controlling them and 
 to give the monopoly of finding employment to these institutions.
 
 14 
 
 Germany has a highly developed employment system. 
 
 A Spanish decree of September, 1920, established, under the control of the 
 Ministry of Labour, a general service of employment agencies in order to develop 
 and promote the agencies established by other bodies. 
 
 Norway has a system of public employment exchanges, and private offices 
 are allowed to operate only with the consent of the Minister for Social Affairs 
 and under municipal license. 
 
 A bill]has T 'been introduced in the Netherlands to develop the present system 
 of public employment agencies along the lines of the Draft Convention. 
 
 Switzerland has also drafted a bill to bring the existing system into conform- 
 ity with the draft convention. 
 
 Similar legislation is pending in Poland, Czecho-Slovakia and in the Serb- 
 Croat-Slovene State. 
 
 In Chili, private employment agencies will be prohibited if a proposed bill 
 is adopted. 
 
 In Uruguay a bill is being drawn up to provide for the organization of public 
 facilities for finding employment under the joint control of employers and workers. 
 
 A Japanese law of April 8, 1921, provides for the establishment of free public 
 employment exchanges in all towns of more than 30,000 inhabitants. The 
 Government has announced its intention of gradually suppressing private agencies 
 and, in the meantime, placing them under its control. 
 
 The Canadian Employment Offices Co-ordination Act of 1918 provides for 
 co-operation between the Dominion and the provincial governments in the oper- 
 ation of public employment exchanges. By provincial legislation in Alberta, 
 British Columbia, Manitoba,, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan, employment 
 offices charging fees have been abolished. Ontario has taken similar action 
 except in the case of a few specified agencies. British Columbia passed an act 
 in. 1921 requiring that all private employment agencies shall furnish a written 
 monthly report to the Provincial Government officer in charge of the provincial 
 branch of the Employment Service of Canada. 
 
 Recommendation Concerning Unemployment. 
 
 One section of the Recommendation of the Washington Conference concern- 
 ing unemployment deals with unemployment insurance. In this matter a 
 choice is allowed between the establishment of a state system and the grant of 
 government subventions to institutions providing benefits for unemployed 
 members. 
 
 In 1920 and 1921, Great Britain extended the scheme of compulsory in- 
 surance established by the National Insurance Act of 1911. 
 
 In Austria, compulsory unemployment insurance was established by an 
 act passed in March, 1921. 
 
 An Italian decree to the same effect was issued in October, 1919. 
 
 In Belgium, Germany and Luxemburg, bills providing for compulsory in- 
 surance are being prepared. 
 
 Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Norway, Netherlands, and Czecho- 
 slovakia have in force systems with state subventions. 
 
 In Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Argentine and 
 India, the matter of unemployment insurance is under consideration. 
 
 An investigation of the subject of unemployment insurance was also under- 
 taken for the Government of Canada in 1921.
 
 With regard to that part of the Recommendation urging that Governments 
 should take measures to co-ordinate the execution of public works and to reserve 
 as far as practicable such work for periods of unemployment, and for districts 
 most affected by such unemployment, approval has been expressed by a number 
 of Governments. Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Italy, 
 Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Sweden and South Africa are taking steps to 
 carry out this policy. In the case of some of these countries, the practice had 
 already been established. 
 
 In Canada the regulation of employment by a well-planned distribution 
 of government orders has been endorsed by the Employment Service Council. 
 An order-in-council of October 4, 1921, provides for co-operation .between the 
 Department of Labour and the Department of Railways and Canals in the placing 
 of orders for equipment for the Canadian National Railways. Various Govern- 
 ment departments have conferred with the Employment Service as to the ad- 
 visability of initiating or continuing public works in view of the prevailing 
 employment situation. The local offices of the Employment Service are con- 
 stantly being called into council by Dominion, provincial and municipal authori- 
 ties with regard to the need for ' undertaking public works in their localities. 
 
 That the collective recruiting of workers in one country with a view to their 
 employment in another should be permitted only by mutual agreement between 
 the countries concerned and after consultation with employers and workers in 
 each country in the industries concerned, was a further feature of the Recom- 
 mendation concerning Unemployment of the Washington Conference. 
 
 Denmark, Germany, Spain, Finland, France, Italy, Norway, Netherlands, 
 Poland, Czecho-Slovakia and the Argentine have adopted this Recommendation. 
 
 Spain, France, Italy, Poland and Czecho-Slovakia have concluded inter- 
 national agreements based on this principle. 
 
 Under the terms of the federal order-in-council of November 6, 1920, the 
 Draft Convention respecting unemployment is regarded as falling within federal 
 jurisdiction. Consideration has since been given to the subject by the federal 
 authorities. The principal object of the Draft Convention, namely, the establish- 
 ment of a national system of employment agencies, has already been met by the 
 establishment in 1919 of the Employment Service of Canada. 
 
 Reciprocity of Treatment of Foreign Workers. 
 
 With regard to the Recommendation on reciprocity of treatment of foreign 
 workers, the International Labour Office has been informed that South Africa, 
 Germany, Austria, Chili, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, India, Italy, Luxem- 
 burg, Poland and Czecho-Slovakia have adopted it in whole or in part. In 
 the case of certain countries conventions have been concluded with other states 
 with respect to reciprocal treatment of foreign workers in the matter of certain 
 laws such as social insurance. 
 
 In this connection a resolution of the International Labour Conference at 
 Washington is worthy of note. It is to the effect that the Governing Body of 
 the International Labour Office should appoint "an International Commission 
 which, while giving due regard to the sovereign rights of each state, shall consider 
 and report what measures can be adopted to regulate the migration of workers" 
 and protect the interests of wage-earners living abroad. A Commission was 
 duly constituted for this purpose in 1921, of which Viscount Ulls water is chairman, 
 and the problems dealt with will be placed, in all probability, on the agenda of a 
 future Conference. Canada is represented on this Commission by Lt.-CoI. Obed 
 Smith, Commissioner of Emigration in London.
 
 16 
 Employment of Women Before and After Childbirth. 
 
 The Draft Convention for the protection, before and after childbirth, of 
 women employed in industrial and commercial undertakings provides for the 
 prohibition of employment for six weeks following childbirth and the right to 
 leave work on production of a medical certificate stating that confinement will 
 take place within six weeks. Maternity benefits paid from public funds or by 
 a system of insurance, free medical attendance and the right to half-hour periods 
 twice a day for the purpose of nursing the child are to be provided. No women 
 may be dismissed by an employer during the time she is permitted under this 
 convention to remain away from work unless the absence exceeds a maximum 
 period fixed by the competent authorities in each country. A resolution was 
 passed by the Conference requesting the various countries to study this question 
 with a view to giving every working woman the right to more than six weeks' 
 freedom from employment after childbirth and for further benefits. 
 
 Greece and Roumania have fully ratified this Convention. Argentine, 
 Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain have taken steps with a 
 view to ratification. In Great Britain, provision is made for maternity and 
 sickness benefits by the National Insurance Act of 1911, and the Act respecting 
 factories forbids any one to employ a woman within four weeks after childbirth. 
 Switzerland has provided for an examination of the question together with a 
 revision of the system of sickness insurance. 
 
 Austrian legislation of 1921 gives practical effect to the Convention, and 
 Chili, Denmark and Portugal have introduced bills making similar provision. 
 Action in Czecho-Slovakia has been delayed owing to the desire to include 
 agricultural workers. The Netherlands Government has expressed its intention 
 of amending legislation in order to put into force the principles of the Convention. 
 In South Africa the Factory Act provides for freedom from work for four weeks 
 before and six weeks after childbirth and for a benefit of 20s. per week. 
 
 The enactment of legislation in Canada to carry out the provisions of this 
 Draft Convention is declared by the federal order-in-council of November 6, 
 1920, to be a matter within the jurisdiction of the several provinces. An act was 
 passed in British Columbia in April, 1921, which became operative on January 1st, 
 1922, and which provides for the carrying out of the Convention in all respects 
 except in so far as maternity benefits are concerned. 
 
 Y 
 
 Night Work of Women 
 
 A Draft Convention adopted at Washington prohibits the employment of 
 women in any industrial undertaking for eleven consecutive hours between 10 
 p.m. and 5 a.m. In countries where there is no legislation on this subject, the 
 consecutive period is reduced to ten hours but must be extended to eleven at 
 the end of three years. An exception is permitted in the case of an interruption 
 to work which it was impossible to foresee and which is not of a recurring charac- 
 ter and in work which has to do with raw materials subject to rapid deterioration. 
 Special provisions are made for India and Siam and tropical countries. 
 
 A somewhat similar convention had been drawn up at Berne in 1906 and 
 was later ratified by twelve states. 
 
 Czecho-Slovakia, Great Britain, Greece, India, Roumania and South 
 Africa have ratified the Washington convention. Of these countries, Great 
 Britain is the only one which had ratified the Berne convention. 
 
 Argentine, Belgium, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Spain 
 have introduced bills with a view to ratification. Argentine and Brazil being the 
 only two countries which had not adhered to the Berne convention.
 
 17 
 
 Chili, Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland have drawn up or introduced 
 bills concerning the night work of women. 
 
 Australia, Bulgaria, Finland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Serb- 
 Croat and Slovene State, Siam, Uruguay and Venezuela have announced their 
 intention of taking measures with a view to ratification or the enactment of 
 legislation. 
 
 In Canada, this matter is within provincial jurisdiction. The Factory Acts 
 of the various provinces prescribe the hours during which women may not be 
 employed and in no case are they permitted to be employed in a factory or 
 workshop before 6 a.m. or later than 11 p.m. One province permits employ- 
 ment up till 11 p.m. and two up to 10.30 p.m. One fixes 10 p.m., three fix 9 p.m. 
 as the limit and one 8 p.m. The hour in the morning varies from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. 
 in the different provinces. Regulations issued under the Minimum Wage Acts 
 of certain of the provinces also stipulates the hours during which women may be 
 employed in the industries concerned. British Columbia passed an act in 1921 
 to prohibit the employment of women between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m., 
 but it is provided that the law shall come into force concurrently with or after 
 the coming into force of similar laws in the other provinces. 
 
 Age of Admission of Children to Employment. 
 
 The Draft Convention on the age for admission of children to industrial 
 employment fixes the minimum age at fourteen and requires an employer to keep 
 a register of all persons under sixteen years of age employed by him. Exemption 
 is provided for children in technical schools which are under public supervision. 
 Special provisions apply to Japan and India. In the former country, children 
 over twelve years of age who have completed a course in an elementary school 
 may be admitted to employment. In India, the minimum age is fixed at twelve 
 years, but only factories employing more than ten persons are included within 
 the scope of this provision. 
 
 Ratification of the Convention has -been reported by Great Britain, Greece, 
 Roumania and Czecho-Slovakia. 
 
 In Belgium, an act of June, 1921, which establishes an eight-hour day and 
 forty-eight hour week gives effect also to the Convention concerning the night 
 employment of women. Chile proposes to give effect to the Convention through 
 the Draft Code of Labour and Social Welfare. 
 
 In Denmark and Portugal, bills* concerning the night work of women have 
 been introduced, and in Switzerland one has been prepared. 
 
 In Poland, the custom of working two shifts of 12 hours each in sugar refin- 
 erieo during the busy season has placed difficulties in the way of ratification, but 
 the Minister of Labour is endeavouring to find a solution of this problem. 
 
 -In Austria and Italy, it is thought necessary to raise the age of compulsory 
 school attendance before the minimum age of employment can be fixed at 
 fourteen years. 
 
 Most of the Canadian provinces have legislation prohibiting the employment 
 of children in industry below the age of fourteen years. In 1921, British Columbia 
 passed an act embodying the provisions of this Draft Convention, but it is pro- 
 vided that this act shall come into force concurrently with or after the enactment 
 of similar legislation by the other provinces. 
 
 Night Work of Young Persons. 
 
 The Draft Convention regarding the night work of young persons provides 
 for the prohibition of the employment during the night of persons under the age 
 of eighteen years, except in the case of certain continuous industries when persons
 
 18 
 
 over sixteen years of age may be employed. Special provisions are made for coal 
 mines, bakeries, industries in tropical countries, and in cases of special emergency. 
 In coal mines, young persons may be employed between 10 p.m. and 5 J a.m., if 
 there is an interval of ordinarily fifteen hours and in no case less than thirteen 
 hours between the periods of work. In bakeries, the' prohibited period is between. 
 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. 
 
 Great^ Britain, Greece, Roumania, and India have ratified this Draft Con- 
 vention. 
 
 Great Britain, Belgium and Denmark have enacted legislation r giving"effect 
 to its provisions and Argentine, Belgium, Czecho-Slovakia, France Italy, 
 Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain and S wit zerlandj have introduced, bills 
 authorizing its ratification. 
 
 Chile and Denmark have introduced bills to bring existing laws into harmony 
 with the convention. 
 
 In Canada those provisions in the Factory Acts of Quebec, Ontario and 
 Saskatchewan, which prohibit the employment of women duringjTthe night, 
 forbid also the employment of young persons. The act, passed in British Colum- 
 bia in 1921, forbidding the employment of young persons between the hours of 
 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. is to come into force concurrently with or after the enactment 
 of similar legislation in the other provinces. 
 
 Industrial Hygiene. 
 
 The Washington Conference had also under consideration matters. relating 
 to industrial hygiene. Recommendations were made concerning the prevention 
 of anthrax, the protection of women and children against lead poisoning and the 
 establishment of Government health services. 
 
 With reference to anthrax, the Conference recommended that arrangements 
 should be made for the disinfection of wool infected with anthrax spores either in 
 the country exporting such wool or in the country importing it. 
 
 With regard to lead poisoning, it was recommended that women, young 
 persons and children should be excluded from employment in certain specified 
 industries and employed in processes involving the use of lead compounds only 
 under conditions of proper ventilation, cleanliness, periodic medical examinations, 
 notification of lead poisoning and compensation therefor, suitable clothing and 
 accommodation and the prohibition of bringing food or drink into workrooms. 
 
 It was further recommended that each state should establish a system of 
 efficient factory inspection and a Government service especially charged with 
 the duty of safeguarding the health' of workers. 
 
 Concerning the first of these Recommendations, Great Britain has passed 
 legislation empowering the Government to prohibit the importation of dangerous 
 wools. The Government has also established an experimental disinfecting station 
 at Liverpool. India has taken steps to deal with anthrax in an amendment to the 
 Factory Act and the Netherlands has also dealt with the matter. In Canada, an 
 order-in-council was passed on August 12, 1920, approving regulations requiring 
 the furnishing of sanitary certificates by foreign exporters as to the cleanliness and 
 freedom from infection of wool and hair destined for Canada. 
 
 Great Britain and the Netherlands have enacted laws giving effect to the 
 recommendation regarding lead poisoning; and Chili, India, Portugal and 
 Switzerland have introduced bills for this purpose. Other countries have informed 
 the International Labour Office that action is under consideration. 
 
 Austria, Chile, and India have prepared bills to give effect to the recom- 
 mendation for the establishment of Government health services.
 
 19 
 
 In Canada, the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New 
 Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan impose a general restriction 
 on the employment of women and young persons in unhealthy processes by 
 prohibiting the employment of such persons where their health is likely to be 
 injured. Alberta and Ontario prohibit any person taking food into any room 
 where paint, varnish, dye, white lead, arsenic or other poisonous substance is 
 exposed, and provide that drinking water in any such room shall be taken 
 directly from taps or suitable closed receptacles. Alberta provides that where 
 any woman or girl over fifteen years of age is employed in'a factory where there 
 is a contravention of this provision, such person shall be deemed to be unlawfully 
 employed. Ontario makes a similar provision applicable to[girls between fourteen 
 and eighteen years of age and to boys between fourteen and sixteen years. In 
 Quebec, an order-in-cpuncil issued under the authority of the Industrial Estab- 
 lishments Act prohibits the employment of boys under sixteen and girls under 
 eighteen years of age in industries in which lead, mercury, phosphorus and^arsenie 
 are manufactured or used. 
 
 A further Recommendation of the Washington Conference was that "states 
 which had not already prohibited the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture 
 of matches in accordance with the Berne Convention of 1906 should adhere to the 
 convention without delay. The result of this Recommendation is the reporting 
 to the International Labour Office of the adherence of Australia, Austria, Czecho- 
 slovakia, India, Poland, Roumania and Sweden^ Acts prohibiting such manufac- 
 ture have been passed by Greece, Japan and Italy. Denmark, France, Germany, 
 Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, New Zealand, Norway > 
 Spain and South Africa signed the convention before the end of 1914.
 
 20 
 
 SECOND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, 1920 
 
 The second session of the International Labour Conference was held at 
 Genoa in June and July, 1920, and in accordance with a resolution adopted at 
 the Washington Conference, was devoted to the consideration of matters relating 
 to seamen. 
 
 The Canadian Government delegates were the Honourable Philippe Roy, 
 Commissioner-General of Canada at Paris, and Mr. G. J. Desbarats, Deputy 
 Minister of Naval Affairs. The employers were represented by Mr. Thomas 
 Robb, of Montreal, Secretary of the Shipping Federation of Canada, and the 
 workers by Mr. J. C. Gauthier, of Montreal, President of the Sailors', Firemen's 
 and Cooks' Union of Canada. 
 
 Draft Conventions were adopted regarding facilities for finding employment 
 for seamen, the minimum age of employment of children on board ship and 
 unemployment indemnity in case of loss or foundering of ship. Recommenda- 
 tions were passed concerning hours of work in inland navigation, hours of work 
 on fishing vessels, unemployment insurance for seamen and the establishment of 
 national seamen's codes. Resolutions were also adopted for the instruction and 
 guidance of the International Labour Office concerning the prevention and 
 treatment of venereal disease in the mercantile marine, insurance against unem- 
 ployment, special clauses in articles of agreement and seamen's codes and the 
 education of children or apprenticed seamen. The prohibition of the employment 
 of trimmers and stokers under eighteen years of age, the medical examination of 
 children before employment on board ship and the education of children were 
 referred to the next Conference for consideration. These last mentioned subjects 
 were dealt with at the Conference of 1921. 
 
 A Joint Maritime Commission composed of twelve persons was appointed 
 to advise the International Labour Office on questions relating to seamen. Mr. 
 Thomas Robb, of Montreal, being one of the five ship-owners' representatives on 
 the Commission. 
 
 Employment Offices for Seamen. 
 
 The Draft Convention regarding facilities for finding employment for 
 seamen provides that the business of finding employment for seamen shall not 
 be carried on for pecuniary gain, but in the case of existing agencies they may 
 be continued temporarily under Government license and supervision. Free 
 public employment offices for seamen are to be maintained either by joint 
 arrangement between shipowners and seamen or by the state, but in any case 
 administered by persons having practical maritime experience. Joint committees 
 are to be constituted to advise on matters connected with the carrying on of these 
 offices. The necessary guarantees for protecting all parties concerned must be 
 included in the contract of engagement and proper facilities must be assured to 
 seamen for examining such contract before signing. Each state must see that 
 facilities for finding employment for seamen are available for seamen of all 
 countries ratifying the Convention, and the International Labour Office is charged 
 with taking steps to secure the co-ordination of the different national systems for 
 finding work for seamen in agreement with the Governments and organizations 
 concerned. 
 
 In Australia, the Navigation Act, 1919, prohibits the finding of employment 
 for seamen for payment. 
 
 In Germany, a bill has been introduced to systematize the seamen's employ- 
 ment offices. Denmark has introduced a bill to ratify the Convention, and Italy, 
 France, Great Britain and Norway have systems which maintain special services 
 for seamen.
 
 21 
 
 In Chile, it is considered that the provisions of the Convention are already 
 in force. 
 
 Sweden has ratified the Convention, a system of employment offices for sea- 
 men being already in operation. 
 
 In the case of Canada the proposals contained in the Draft Convention are 
 regarded as falling within federal jurisdiction and legislation now on the statute 
 books enables the Dominion, in so far as legislation for the purpose is required, to 
 implement all the proposals of the Convention. Consideration is being given 
 to the subject by the federal government. 
 
 Minimum Age for Employment at Sea. 
 
 The Draft Convention adopted by the Conference prohibits the employment 
 of children at sea under the age of fourteen years. 
 
 Great Britain and Sweden have ratified this Convention. 
 
 Germany, Belgium, and Denmark have introduced bills to ratify it, and 
 France, Norway and Poland have prepared legislation putting the provisions into 
 effect. 
 
 In Poland the age limit is fixed at fifteen years. 
 
 Australia, Belgium, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden had laws prohibiting 
 employment on board ship under fourteen years of age. 
 
 The provisions of this Draft Convention and an opinion obtained from the 
 Department of Justice relative to the legislative jurisdiction of the Dominion 
 Parliament to deal with the subject were submitted to Parliament at its last 
 session.* 
 
 Unemployment Indemnity in Case of Loss of Ship. 
 
 The Draft Convention adopted concerning unemployment indemnity in 
 case of loss or foundering of the ship provides that the wages of the seamen shall 
 be continued for two months or until they find employment, whichever period 
 is the shorter. 
 
 The Australia Navigation Act provides an indemnity in case of loss or 
 foundering of the ship. 
 
 Germany and Chile have introduced bills to carry out the Convention and 
 France proposes to provide for an unemployment indemnity. 
 
 The provisions of this Draft Convention and an opinion obtained from the 
 Department of Justice relative to the legislative jurisdiction of the Dominion 
 Parliament to deal with the subject were submitted to Parliament at its last 
 session.* 
 
 Unemployment Insurance for Seamen. 
 
 A Recommendation passed at the Genoa Conference was to the effect that 
 each state should establish an effective system of unemployment insurance for 
 seamen and that the joint committee appointed to advise the International 
 Labour Office should study the whole question of unemployment insurance. 
 
 In Great Britain, Norway and the Netherlands, existing legislation provides 
 insurance against unemployment for seamen. 
 
 Sweden and Poland are studying the matter with a view to legislation. 
 
 In Belgium and Denmark state subventions are provided for unemployment 
 funds for seamen. 
 
 *See]LABOUR GAZETTE, June, 1921.
 
 22 
 
 The provisions of this Recommendation and an opinion obtained from the 
 Department of Justice relative to the legislative jurisdiction of the Dominion 
 Parliament to deal with the subject were submitted to Parliament at its last 
 session.* 
 
 Hours of Work in Inland Navigation and in Fishing Industry. 
 
 The Conference recognized the difficulties arising from the fact that inland 
 waterways are frequently boundaries between two countries. It was, therefore, 
 proposed in a Recommendation of the Conference that an agreement should 
 be entered into by nations having boundary waters so that their regulations 
 should be uniform and should follow the general lines of the labour clauses of the 
 Peace Treaty and the Draft Conventions adopted at the Conference. In the case 
 of other countries, it was recommended that legislation should be enacted limiting 
 hours of labour as far as possible in the spirit df the Convention adopted at the 
 Washington Conference. 
 
 Another Recommendation is to the effect that hours of work in the fishing 
 industry should be limited to eight in a day and forty-eight in a week in so far 
 as the conditions peculiar to the industry permit, and that legislation enacted to 
 this end should be framed after consultation with the organization of employers 
 and workers concerned. 
 
 The provisions of this Recommendation and an opinion obtained from the 
 Department of Justice^ relative to the subject of legislative jurisdiction were 
 submitted to Parliament at its last session.* 
 
 National Seamen's Codes. 
 
 With regard to seamen's codes, it was recommended that each state should 
 undertake the embodiment in a seamen's code of all its laws and regulations 
 relating to seamen preparatory to the drawing up of an international code which 
 would apply to all maritime nations. It was recognized that an international 
 code should be very elastic in order to allow the different nations to adopt 
 supplementary legislation, but that it should cover the general conditions of 
 employment, at sea and in particular such points as articles of agreement, accom- 
 modation of seamen, discipline, methods of conciliation between ship-owners and 
 seamen and insurance for seamen. A resolution adopted by the Conference 
 recognized that contracts of engagement of seamen contained provisions inserted 
 in the public interest and also provisions inserted in the private interests of ship- 
 owners or seamen or both. It affirmed the principle that clauses in the public 
 interest should be the same in all countries, that the owners and seamen should 
 be placed on a footing of equality as regards their legal rights and that violation of 
 the private clauses should not be dealt with as criminal offences. 
 
 The provisions of this Recommendation, and an opinion obtained from the 
 Department of Justice relative to the legislative jurisdiction of the Dominion 
 Parliament to deal with the subject, were submitted to Parliament at its last 
 session.* 
 
 *See LABOUR GAZETTE, June, 1921.
 
 23 
 
 THIRD INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, 1921 
 
 The third annual meeting of the International Labour Conference was held 
 at Geneva in October and November, 1921. The Canadian Government delegates 
 were Mr. Gerald H. Brown, Assistant Deputy Minister of Labour, and Lt.-Col. 
 J. Obed Smith, Commissioner of Emigration, London. An invitation was exten- 
 ded by the Dominion Government to the provincial governments to be repre- 
 sented at this Conference. Three of the provincial governments accepted the 
 invitation and their representatives were appointed as advisers, as follows: 
 Honourable W. R. Rollo, Minister of Labour for Ontario, Honourable T. H. 
 Johnson, Attorney General for Manitoba, Honourable Antonin Galipeault, 
 Minister of Public Works and Labour for Quebec, and Mr. Ferdinand Roy, 
 K.C., Quebec. The employers' representative was Mr. S. R. Parsons of Toronto, 
 and the Workers' delegate was Mr. Tom Moore, President of the Trades and 
 Labour Congress of Canada. The employers' delegate was assisted by a technical 
 adviser in the person of Mr. E. Blake Robertson, Ottawa, representative of the 
 Canadian Manufacturers' Association, and the workers' delegate by Mr. Arthur 
 Martel, Montreal, Vice-President of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada 
 
 The discussions of the Conference resulted in the adoption of Draft Con- 
 ventions regarding the minimum age of trimmers and stokers on ships, medical 
 inspection of children and young persons on ships, the use of white lead in paint- 
 ing, the right of association of agricultural workers, workmen's compensation 
 for agricultural workers, the employment of children in agriculture, and a weekly 
 rest in industrial undertakings. Recommendations were made concerning 
 agricultural workers in relation to technical education, unemployment, social 
 insurance, night work of women and children, maternity and housing conditions 
 and concerning a weekly rest in commercial establishments. 
 
 At the time the present bulletin was prepared the authentic text of the Draft 
 Conventions and Recommendations of the third International Labour Con- 
 ference had not been received by the Canadian Government. 
 
 Employment on Board Ship 
 
 The Draft Convention relating to the employment of trimmers and stokers 
 fixes the minimum age of these workers at eighteen on all steam-propelled ships 
 except war or training ships, unless no persons over eighteen years of age are 
 available, in which case young persons of sixteen years of age or over, if found 
 physically fit after medical examination, may be employed as trimmers or stokers 
 on vessels engaged in the coastal trade of India or Japan. Two such young persons 
 are to be regarded as the equivalent of one man. 
 
 Another Draft Convention establishes compulsory medical examination for 
 any young person under eighteen years of age who is employed on any vessel, 
 except a war vessel or one on which only members of the same family are em- 
 ployed. 
 
 Use of White Lead in Painting. 
 
 The Draft Convention on the use of white lead in painting provides that 
 the use of white lead in the internal painting of buildings shall be prohibited after 
 six years, except in the case of railway stations and industrial establishments, if 
 its use in such buildings is considered necessary by the competent authority after 
 consultation with the employers' and workers' organizations concerned. Artistic 
 painting is also excluded from the prohibition. The employment of boys under 
 eighteen years of age and of all women and girls in any painting work of an indus- 
 trial character involving the use of white lead is prohibited, but special arrange-
 
 24 
 
 ments may be made with regard to apprentices. Other clauses in the Draft 
 Convention provide for the regulation of the use of white lead in painting and for 
 the notification of all cases of lead poisoning. 
 
 Weekly Day of Rest in Industrial and Commercial Establishments. 
 
 A Draft Convention was adopted providing for a rest period of at least 
 twenty-four consecutive hours in each week for all workers in industry, subject 
 to exceptions to be made by the Government after consultation with the organiz- 
 ations of employers and workers concerned and to be reported to the Inter- 
 national Labour Office. Where the rest periods are suspended or reduced, com- 
 pensatory rest is to be provided for as far as possible. 
 
 A Recommendation was made that similar provision be made for employees 
 of commercial establishments. 
 
 Agricultural Workers. 
 
 The Conference adopted Draft Conventions establishing for all agricultural 
 wage-earners the same rights of association and combination as are enjoyed by 
 industrial workers, and extending to them the benefit of laws and regulations 
 which provide compensation for personal injury by accidents arising out of or in 
 course of their employment. 
 
 A third Draft Convention relating to agricultural workers prohibits the em- 
 ployment in agriculture of children under fourteen years of age during compulsory 
 school hours. An exception is made in the case of children in technical schools 
 under public supervision. 
 
 A Recommendation was adopted for the prevention of unemployment 
 among agricultural workers by taking steps to bring more land into cultivation, 
 by making temporary work available by the provision of transport facilities, by 
 encouraging agricultural, co-operative and credit societies, by improved methods 
 of agriculture, and by developing industries and supplementary forms of em- 
 ployment which would provide employment during the slack season. 
 
 It was also recommended that each state should endeavour to develop 
 agricultural education and make such instruction available to the wage-earners 
 in agriculture. 
 
 That laws and regulations establishing systems of insurance against sickness, 
 invalidity, old age and similar social risks should be extended to cover agricultural 
 workers on the same terms as those prevailing in the case of commercial and indus- 
 trial workers, is another Recommendation. 
 
 Two Recommendations were passed regarding night work in agriculture; 
 for the granting to children under fourteen years of age of rest during the night 
 of not less than ten consecutive hours, and to women and young persons between 
 fourteen and eighteen years of rest during the night of not less than nine hours. 
 In the case of women, the hours for rest should be, if possible, consecutive; in the 
 case of young persons, they must be consecutive. 
 
 It was further recommended that the Draft Convention adopted at fthe 
 Washington Conference with regard to the employment of women in industrial 
 and commercial undertakings, before -and after childbirth, should be appliedjjn 
 the case of women employed in agriculture, and should include the right to a 
 period of absence from work and to a grant of benefit provided either out of 
 public funds or by means of a system of insurance. 
 
 A final Recommendation relating to agricultural wage-earners was for the 
 provision for the moral and hygienic regulation of the living conditions of these 
 workers when living with or without their families in buildings placed at their 
 disposal by the employer.
 
 25 
 
 PART XIII OF THE TREATY OF PEACE BETWEEN THE ALLIED AND 
 
 ASSOCIATED POWERS AND GERMANY AND PROTOCOL. 
 
 SIGNED AT VERSAILLES, JUNE 38, 1919. 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 ORGANIZATION OF LABOUR. 
 
 Whereas the League of Nations has for its object the establishment of universal peace, and 
 such a peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice; 
 
 And whereas conditions of labour exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to 
 large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world 
 are imperilled; and an improvement of those conditions is urgently required; as, for example, by 
 the regulation of the hours of work, including the establishment of a maximum working day and 
 week, the regulation of the labour supply, the prevention of unemployment, the provision of an 
 adequate living wage, the protection of the worker against sickness, disease and injury arising out 
 of his employment, the protection of children, young persons and women, provision for old age 
 and injury, protection of the interests of workers when employed in countries other than their 
 own, recognition of the principle of freedom of association, the organization of vocational and 
 technical education and other measures; 
 
 Whereas also the failure of any nation to adopt humane conditions of labour is an obstacle 
 in the way of other nations which desire to improve the conditions in their own countries; 
 
 The High Contracting Parties, moved by sentiments of justice and humanity as well as by the 
 desire to secure the permanent peace of the world, agree to the following: 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 ORGANIZATION. 
 ARTICLE 387. 
 
 A permanent organization is hereby established for the promotion of the objects set forth in 
 the Preamble. 
 
 The original Members of the League of Nations shall be the original Members of this organ- 
 ization, and hereafter membership of the League of Nations shall carry with it membership of the 
 said organization. 
 
 ARTICLE 388. 
 I 
 The permanent organization shall consist of: 
 
 (1) a General Conference of Representatives of the Members and, 
 
 (2) an International Labour Office controlled by the Governing Body described in Article 393. 
 
 ARTICLE 389.' 
 
 The meetings of the General Conference of Representatives of the Members shall be held 
 from time to time as occasion may require, and at least once in every year. It shall be composed 
 of four Representatives of each of the Members, of whom two shall be Government Delegates 
 and the two others shall be Delegates representing respectively the employers and the workpeople 
 of each of the Members. 
 
 Each Delegate may be accompanied by advisers, who shall not exceed two in number for 
 each item on the agenda of the meeting. When questions specially affecting women are to be 
 considered by the Conference, one at least of the advisers should be a woman. 
 
 The Members undertake to nominate non-Government Delegates and advisers chosen in 
 agreement with the industrial organizations, if such organizations exist, which are most represent- 
 ative of employers or workpeople, as the case may be, in their respective countries. 
 
 Advisers shall not speak except on a request made by the Delegate whom they accompany 
 and by the special authorization of the President of the Conference, and may not vote.
 
 26 
 
 A Delegate may by notice in writing addressed to the President appoint one of his adviser* 
 to act as his deputy, and the adviser, while so acting, shall be allowed to speak and vote. 
 
 The names of the Delegates and their advisers will be communicated to the International 
 Labour Office by the Government of each of the Members. ' 
 
 The credentials of Delegates and their advisers shall be subject to scrutiny by the Conference ^ 
 which may, by two-thirds of the votes cast by the Delegates present, refuse to admit any Delegate 
 or adviser whom it deems not to have been nominated in accordance with this Article. 
 
 ARTICLE 390. 
 
 Every Delegate shall be entitled to vote individually on all matters which are taken into 
 consideration by the Conference. 
 
 If one of the Members fails to nominate one of the non-Government Delegates whom it is 
 entitled to nominate, the other non-Government Delegate shall be allowed to sit and speak at the 
 Conference, but not to vote. 
 
 If in accordance with Article 389 the Conference refuses admission to a delegate of one of the 
 members, the provisions of the present article shall apply as if that delegate had not been nom- 
 inated. 
 
 ARTICLE 391. 
 
 The meetings of the Conference shall be held at the seat of the League of Nations, or at such 
 other place as may be decided by the Conference at a previous meeting by two-thirds of the votes 
 cast by the delegates present. 
 
 ARTICLE 392. 
 
 The International Labour Office shall be established at the seat of the League of Nations as 
 part of the organization of the League. 
 
 ARTICLE 393. 
 
 The International Labour Office shall be under the control of a governing body consisting'of 
 twenty-four persons, appointed in accordance with the following provisions: 
 
 The governing body of the International Labour Office shall be constituted as follows: 
 Twelve persons representing the governments: 
 
 Six persons elected by the delegates to the Conference representing the employers; 
 Six persons elected by the delegates to the Conference representing the workers. 
 
 Of the twelve persons representing the governments eight shall be nominated by the mem- 
 bers which are of the chief industrial importance, and four shall be nominated by the members 
 selected for the purpose by the government delegates to the Conference, excluding the delegates 
 of the eight members mentioned above. 
 
 Any question as to which are the members of the chief industrial importance shall be 
 decided by the Council of the League of Nations. 
 
 The period of office of the members of the governing body will be three years. The method 
 of filling vacancies and other similar questions may be determined by the governing body 
 subject to the approval of the Conference. 
 
 The governing body shall, from time to time, elect one of its members to act as its chair- 
 man, shall regulate its own procedure and shall fix its own times of meeting. A special meeting 
 -hall be held if a written request to that effect is made by at least ten members of the governing 
 body. 
 
 ARTICLE 394. 
 
 There shall be a director of the International Labour Office, who shall be appointed by the 
 governing body, and, subject to the instructions of the governing body, shall be responsible for 
 the efficient conduct of the International Labour Office and for such other duties as may be 
 assigned to him. 
 
 The director or his deputy shall attend all meetings of the governing body. 
 
 ARTICLE 395. 
 
 The staff of the International Labour Office shall be appointed by the director, who shall, 
 so far as is possible with due regard to the efficiency of the work of the office, select persons of 
 different nationalities. A certain number of these persons shall be women.
 
 27 
 
 ARTICLE 39<>. 
 
 The functions cf the International Labour Office shall include the collection and distribution 
 of information on all subjects relating to the international adjustment of conditions of in- 
 dustrial life and labour, and particularly the examination of subjects which it is proposed to 
 bring before the Conference with a view to the conclusion of international conventions, and the 
 conduct of such special investigations as may be ordered by the Conference. 
 
 It will prepare the agenda for the meetings of the Conference. 
 
 It will carry out the duties required of it by the provisions of this part of the present Treaty 
 in connection with international disputes. 
 
 It will edit and publish in French and English, and in such other languages as the governing 
 body may think desirable, a periodical paper dealing with problems of industry and employ- 
 ment of international interest. 
 
 Generally, in addition to the functions set out in this Article, it shall have such other powers 
 and duties as may be assigned to it by the Conference. 
 
 ARTICLE 397. 
 
 The government departments of any of the members which deal with questions of industry 
 and employment may communicate directly with the director through the representative of their 
 government on the governing body of the International Labour Office, or failing any such 
 representative, through such other qualified official as the government may nominate for the 
 purpose. 
 
 ARTICLE 398. 
 
 The International Labour Office shall be entitled to the assistance of the secretary-general 
 of the League of Nations in any matter in which it can be given. 
 
 ARTICLE 399. 
 
 Each of the Members will pay the travelling and subsistence expenses of its Delegates and 
 their advisers and of its Representatives attending the meetings of the Conference or Governing 
 Body, as the case may be. 
 
 All the other expenses of the International Labour Office and of the meetings of the Conference 
 or Governing Body shall be paid to the Director by the Secretary-General of the League of 
 Nations out of the general funds of the League. 
 
 The Director shall be responsible to the Secretary-General of the League for the proper expen- 
 diture of all moneys paid to him in pursuance of this Article. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 PROCEDURE. 
 
 ARTICLE 400. 
 
 The agenda for all meetings of the Conference will be settled by the Governing Body, who 
 shall consider any suggestion as to the agenda that may be made by the Government of any of 
 the Members or by any representative organization recognized for the purpose of Article 389. 
 
 ARTICLE 401. 
 
 The Director shall act as the Secretary of the Conference, and shall transmit the agenda 
 so as to reach the Members four months before the meeting of the Conference, and, through them, 
 the non-Government Delegates when appointed. 
 
 ARTICLE 402. 
 
 Any of the Governments of the Members may formally object to the inclusion of any item 
 or items in the agenda. The grounds for such objection shall be set forth in a reasoned statement 
 addressed to the Director, who shall circulate it to all the Members of the Permanent Organization. 
 
 Items to which objection has been made shall not however, be excluded from the agenda,
 
 28 
 
 if at the Conference a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast by the Delegates present is in 
 favour of considering them. 
 
 If the Conference decides (otherwise than under the preceding paragraph) by two-thirds'of 
 the votes cast by the Delegates present that any subject shall be considered by the Conference, 
 that subject shall be included in the agenda for the following meeting. 
 
 ARTICLE 403. 
 
 The Conference shall regulate its own procedure, shall elect its own President, and may 
 appoint committees to consider and report on any matter . 
 
 Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Part of the present Treaty, all matters shall 
 be decided by a simple majority of the votes cast by the Delegates present. 
 
 The voting is void unless the total number of votes cast is equal to half the number of the 
 Delegates attending the Conference. 
 
 ARTICLE 404. 
 
 The Conference may add to any committees which it appoints technical experts, who shall 
 be assessors without power to vote. 
 
 ARTICLE 405. 
 
 When the Conference has decided on the adoption of proposals with regard to an item in the 
 agenda, it will rest with the Conference to determine whether these proposals should take the 
 form: (a) of a recommendation to be submitted to the Members for consideration with a view 
 to effect being given to it by national legislation or otherwise, or (b) of a draft international con- 
 vention for ratification by the Members. 
 
 In either case a majority of two-thirds of the votes cast by the Delegates present shall be 
 necessary on the final vote for the adoption of the recommendation or draft convention, as the 
 case may be, by the Conference. 
 
 In framing any recommendation or draft convention of general application the Conference 
 shall have due regard to those countries in which climatic conditions, the imperfect development 
 of industrial organization or other special circumstances make the industrial conditions substan- 
 tially different, and shall suggest the modifications, if any, which it considers may be required to 
 meet the case of such countries. 
 
 A copy of the recommendation or draft convention shall be authenticated by the signature 
 of the President of the Conference and of the Director and shall be deposited with the Secretary- 
 General of the League of Nations. The Secretary-General will communicate a certified copy of 
 the recommendation or draft convention to each of the Members. 
 
 Each of the Members undertakes that it will, within the period of one year at most from the 
 closing of the session of the Conference, or if it is impossible owing to exceptional circumstances 
 to do so within the period of one year, then at the earliest practicable moment and in no case later 
 than eighteen months from the closing of the session of the Conference bring the recommendation 
 or draft convention before the authority or authorities within whose competence the matter lies, 
 for the enactment of legislation or other action. 
 
 In the case of a recommendation, the Members will inform the Secretary-General of the 
 action taken. - 
 
 In the case of a draft convention, the Member will, if it obtains the consent of the authority or 
 authorities within whose competence the matter lies, communicate the formal ratification of the 
 convention to the Secretary-General, and will take such action as may be necessary to make 
 effective the provisions of such convention. 
 
 If on a recommendation no legislative or other action is taken to make a recommendation 
 effective, or if the draft convention fails to obtain the consent of the authority or authorities 
 within whose competence the matter lies, no further obligation shall rest upon the Member. 
 
 In the case of a federal State, the power of which to enter into conventions on labour matters 
 is subject to limitations, it shall be in the discretion of that Government to treat a draft convention 
 to which such limitations apply as a recommendation only, and the provisions of this Article with 
 respect to recommendations shall apply in such case. 
 
 The above Article shall be interpreted in accordance with the following principle: 
 
 In no case shall any Member be asked or required, as a result of the adoption of any recom- 
 mendation or draft convention by the Conference, to lessen the protection afforded by its existing 
 legislation to the workers concerned.
 
 29 
 
 ARTICLE 406. 
 
 Any convention so ratified shall be registered by the Secretary-General of the League of 
 Nations, but shall only be binding upon the Members which ratify it. 
 
 ARTICLE 407. 
 
 If any convention coming before the Conference for final consideration fails to secure the 
 support of two-thirds of the votes cast by the Delegates present, it shall nevertheless be within 
 the right of any of the Members of the Permanent Organization to agree to such convention 
 among themselves. 
 
 Any convention so agreed to shall be communicated by the Government concerned to the 
 Secretary-General of the League of Nations, who shall register it. 
 
 ARTICLE 408. 
 
 Each of the Members agrees to make an annual report to the International Labour Office on 
 the measures which it has taken to give effect to the provisions of conventions to which it is a 
 party. These reports shall be made in such form and shall contain such particulars as the Govern- 
 ing Body may request. The Director shall lay a summary of these reports before the next meeting 
 of the Conference. 
 
 ARTICLE 409. 
 
 In the event of any representation being made to the International Labour Office by an indus- 
 trial association of employers or of workers that any of the Members has failed to secure in any 
 respect the effective observance within its jurisdiction of any convention to which it is a party, 
 the Governing Body may communicate this representation to the Government against which it is 
 made and may invite that Government to make such statement on the subject as it may think fit. 
 
 ARTICLE 410. 
 
 If no statement is received within a reasonable time from the Government in question, or if 
 the statement when received is not deemed to be satisfactory by the Governing Body, the latter 
 shall have the right to publish the representation and the statement, if any, made in reply to it. 
 
 ARTICLE 411. 
 
 Any of the Members shall have the right to file a complaint with the International Labour 
 Office if it is not satisfied that any other Member is securing the effective observance of any con- 
 vention which both have ratified in accordance with the foregoing Articles. 
 
 The Governing Body may, if it thinks fit, before referring such a complaint to a Commission 
 of Inquiry, as hereinafter provided for, communicate with the Government in question in the 
 manner described in Article 409. 
 
 If the Governing Body does not think it necessary to communicate the complaint to the 
 Government in question, or if', when they have made such communication, no statement in reply 
 has been received within a reasonable time which the Governing Body considers to be satisfactory, 
 the Governing Body may apply for the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry to consider the 
 complaint and to report thereon. 
 
 The Governing Body may adopt the same procedure either of its own motion or on receipt 
 of a complaint from a Delegate to the Conference. 
 
 When any matter arising out of Articles 410 or 411 is being considered by the Governing 
 Body, the Government in question shall, if not already represented thereon, be entitled to send a 
 representative to take part in the proceedings of the Governing Body while the matter is under 
 consideration. Adequate notice of the date on which the matter will be considered shall be given 
 to the Government in question. 
 
 ARTICLE 412. 
 
 The Commission of Inquiry shall be constituted in accordance with the following provisions : 
 
 Each of the Members agrees to nominate within six months of the date on which the present 
 Treaty comes into force three persons of industrial experience, of whom one shall be a represen- 
 tative of employers, one a representative of workers, and one a person of independent standing, 
 who shall together form a panel from which the Members of the Commission of Inquiry shall be 
 drawn.
 
 30 
 
 The qualifications of the persons so nominated shall be subject to scrutiny by the Governing 
 Body, which may by two-thirds of the votes cast by the representatives present refuse to accept 
 the nomination of any person whose qualifications do not in its opinion comply with the require- 
 ments of the present Article. 
 
 Upon the application of the Governing Body, the Secretary-General of the League of Nations 
 shall nominate three persons, one from each section of this panel, to constitute the Commission 
 of Inquiry, and shall designate one of them as the President of the Commission. None of these 
 three persons shall be a person nominated to the panel by any Member directly concerned in 
 the complaint. 
 
 ARTICLE 413. 
 
 The Members agree that, in the event of the reference o f a complaint to a Commission of 
 Inquiry under Article 411, they will each, whether directly concerned in the complaint or not, 
 place at the disposal of the Commission all the information in their possession which bears upo 
 the subject-matter of the complaint. 
 
 ARTICLE 414. 
 
 When the Commission of Inquiry has fully considered the complaint, it shall prepare a 
 report embodying its findings on all questions of fact relevant to determining the issue between 
 the. parties and containing such recommendations as it may think proper as to the steps which 
 should be taken to meet the complaint and the time within which they should be taken. 
 
 It shall also indicate in this report the measures, if any, of an economic character against a 
 defaulting Government which it considers to be appropriate, and which it considers other Govern- 
 ments would be justified in adopting. 
 
 \ 
 
 ARTICLE 415. 
 
 The Secretary-General of the League of Nations shall communicate the report of the Com- 
 mission of Inquiry to each of the Governments concerned in the ccmplaint, and shall cause it to be 
 published. 
 
 Each of these Governments shall within one month inform the Secretary-General of the 
 League of Nations whether or not it accepts the recommendation contained in the report of the 
 Commission; and if not, whether it proposes to refer the complaint to the Permanent Court of 
 International Justice of the League of Nations. 
 
 ARTICLE 416. 
 
 In the event of any Member failing to take the action required by Article 405, with regard to 
 a recommendation or draft Convention, any other Member shall be entitled to refer the matter 
 to the Permanent Court of International Justice. 
 
 ARTICLE 417. 
 
 The decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice in regard to a complaint or 
 matter which has been referred to it in pursuance of Article 415 or Article 416 shall be final. 
 
 ARTICLE 418. 
 
 The Permanent Court of Intel-national Justice may affirm, vary or reverse any of the findings 
 or recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, if any, and shall in its decision indicate the 
 measures, if any, of an economic character which it considers to be appropriate, and which other 
 Governments would be justified in adopting against a defaulting Government. 
 
 ARTICLE 419. 
 
 In the event of any Membei failing to carry out within the time specified the recommend- 
 ations, if any, contained in the report of the Commission of Inquiry, or in the decision of the 
 Permanent Court of International Justice, as the case may be, any other Member may take against 
 that Member the measures of an economic character indicated in the report of the Commissioa 
 or in the decision of the Court as appropriate to the case.
 
 31 
 
 ARTICLE 420. 
 
 The defaulting Government may at any time inform the Governing Body that it has taken 
 the steps necessary to comply with the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry or with 
 those in the decision of the Permanent Court of International Justice, as the case may be, and 
 may request it apply to the Secretary-General of the League to constitute a Commission of 
 Inquiry to verify its contention. In this case the provisions of Articles 412, 413, 414, 415, 417, 
 and 418 shall apply, and if the report of the Commission of Inquiry or the decision of the Per- 
 manent Court of International Justice is in favour of the defaulting Government, the other 
 Governments shall forthwith discontinue the measures of an economic character that they have 
 taken against the defaulting Government. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 GENERAL. 
 
 ARTICLE 421. 
 
 The Members engage to apply conventions which they have ratified in accordance with the 
 provisions of this Part of the present Treaty to their colonies, protectorates and possessions which 
 are not fully self-governing. 
 
 (1) Except where owing to the local conditions the conventions are inapplicable, or 
 
 (2) Subject to such modifications as may be necessary to adapt the convention to local 
 
 conditions. 
 
 And each of the Members shall notify to the International Labour Office the action taken in 
 respect of each of its colonies, protectorates and possessions which are not fully self-governing. 
 
 ARTICLE 422. 
 
 Amendments to this Part of the present Treaty which are adopted by the Conference by a 
 majority of two-thirds of the votes cast by the Delegates present shall take effect when ratified 
 by the States whose representatives compose the Council of the League of Nations and by three- 
 fourths of the Members. 
 
 ARTICLE 423. 
 
 Any question or dispute relating to the interpretation of this Part of the present Treaty or of 
 any subsequent convention concluded by the Members in pursuance of the provisions of this 
 Part of the present Treaty shall be referred for decision to the Permanent Court of International 
 Justice. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 TRANSITORY PROVISIONS. 
 
 ARTICLE 424. 
 
 The first meeting of the Conference shall take place in October, 1919. The place and agenda 
 for this meeting shall be as specified in the Annex hereto. 
 
 Arrangements for the convening and the organization of the first meeting of the Conference 
 will be made by the Government designated for the purpose in the said Annex. That Govern- 
 ment shall be assisted in the preparation of the documents for submission to the Conference by 
 an International Committee constituted as provided in the said Annex. 
 
 The expenses of the first meeting and of all subsequent meetings held before the League of 
 Nations has been able to establish a general fund, other than the expenses of Delegates ana their 
 advisers, will be borne by the Members in accordance with the apportionment of the expenses of 
 the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union. 
 
 ARTICLE 425. 
 
 Until the League of Nations has been constituted all communications which under the pro- 
 visions of the foregoing Articles should be addressed to the Secretary-General of the League wiD 
 be preserved by the Director of the International Labour Office, who will transmit them to the 
 Secretary-General of the League.
 
 32 
 
 ARTICLE 426. 
 
 Pending the creation of a Permanent Court of International Justice, disputes which in 
 accordance with this Part of the present Treaty would be submitted to it for decision will be 
 referred to a tribunal of three persons appointed by the Council of the League of Nations. 
 
 ANNEX. 
 
 FIRST MEETING OF ANNUAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, 1919. 
 
 The place of meeting will be Washington. 
 
 The Government of the United States of America is requested to convene the Conference. 
 
 The International Organizing Committee will consist of seven Members, appointed by the 
 United States of America, Great Britain, France, Italy, Japan, Belgium and Switzerland. The 
 Committee may, if it thinks necessary, invite other Members to appoint representatives. 
 
 Agenda: 
 
 (1) Application of principle of the 8-hours day or of the 48-hours week. 
 
 (2) Question of preventing or providing against unemployment. 
 
 (3) Women's employment: 
 
 (a) Before and after child-birth, including the question of maternity benefit; 
 
 (&) During the night; 
 
 (c) In unhealthy processes. 
 
 (4) Employment of children : 
 
 (a) Minimum age of employment; 
 
 (&) During the night; 
 
 (c) In unhealthy processes. 
 
 (5) Extension and application of the International Conventions adopted at Berne in 1906 
 
 on the prohibition of night work for women employed in industry, and the prohibition 
 of the use of white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. 
 
 SECTION II. 
 'GENERAL PRINCIPLES 
 
 ARTICLE 427. 
 
 The High Contracting Parties recognizing that the well-being, physical, moral and intellectual, 
 of industrial wage-earners is of supreme international importance, have framed, in order to 
 further this great end, the permanent machinery provided for in Section I and associated with that 
 of the League of Nations. 
 
 They recognize that differences of climate, habits and customs, of economic opportunity and 
 industrial tradition, make strict uniformity in the conditions of labour difficult of immediate 
 attainment. But, holding as they do, that labour should not be regarded merely as an article of 
 commerce, they think that there are methods and principles for regulating labour conditions 
 which all industrial communities should endeavour to apply, so far as their special circumstances 
 will permit. 
 
 Among these methods and principles, the following seem to the High Contracting Parties 
 to be of special and urgent importance: 
 
 First. The guiding principle above enunciated that labour should not be regarded merely 
 as a commodity or article of commerce. 
 
 Second. The right of association for all lawful purposes by the employed as well as by the 
 employers.
 
 33 
 
 Third. The payment to the employed of a wage adequate to maintain a reasonable standard 
 of life as this is understood in their time and country. 
 
 Fourth. The adoption of an eight-hours day or a forty-eight hours week as the standard to 
 be aimed at where it has not already been attained. 
 
 Fifth. The adoption of a weekly rest of at least twenty-four hours, which should include 
 Sunday wherever practicable. 
 
 Sixth. The abolition of child labour and the imposition of such limitations on the labour of 
 young persons as shall permit the continuation of their education and assure their proper physical 
 development. 
 
 Seventh. The principle that men and women should receive equal remuneration for work of 
 equal value. 
 
 Eighth. The standard set by law in each country with respect to the conditions of labour 
 should have due regard to the equitable economic treatment of all workers lawfully resident 
 therein. 
 
 Ninth. Each State should make provision for a system of inspection in which women should 
 take part, in order to ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations for the protection of the 
 employed. 
 
 Without claiming that these methods and principles are either complete or final, the high 
 contracting parties are of opinion that they are well fitted to guide the policy of the League of 
 Nations; and that, if adopted by the industrial communities who are members of the League, and 
 safeguarded in practice by an adequate system of such inspection, they will confer lasting benefits 
 upon the wage-earners of the world.
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000 970 582 3
 
 If you are in need of high grade help why not notify 
 your local office of the 
 
 EMPLOYMENT SERVICE 
 OF CANADA 
 
 You will be able to select from the labour reserve of the community, and indeed, from 
 the entire country if necessary, and you will not be limited in your choice to your own local 
 reserve. You will dispense with the crowd at your factory gate. 
 
 You will save for the workers of Canada the fees paid to private employment agencies. 
 Only competent workers will be referred for interview. 
 Employment offices in the following cities are at your service: 
 
 NOVA SCOTIA: 
 Amherst, 
 Halifax, 
 New Glasgow, 
 Sydney. 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK: 
 Chatham, 
 Moncton. 
 
 QUEBEC: 
 Hull, 
 Montreal, 
 Quebec, 
 Sherbrooke, 
 Three Rivers. 
 
 MANITOBA: 
 
 Brandon, 
 
 Dauphin, 
 
 Portag^H& Prairie, 
 
 WinnipeVQ, 
 ALBERTA: V* ._ 
 
 Calgary, *fjL 
 
 Cantrose, V* 
 
 Di^fifceller/ _ 
 
 .EdmSjfton, ^ ^ 
 
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