Young Persons in Shops How slowly social reform comes when
there is no strongly organized force to insist on it is exemplified by the conditions of work Which might be imposed on juveniles in shops until the new Shops Act became Iaw on New Year's Day. Up till then the law permitted a 74-hour week, with certain stipulated meal intervals, for persons wholly or mainly employed. The new Act reduces the permitted hours of work for young persons to 52 hours in a normal week, which will be further reduced to 48 hours on December 27th, 1936. There is no sufficient reason why the full reform should have been postponed. It is estimated that the hours of work Of no fewer than 400,000 persons between 14 and 18 will be affected, and there are some two million employees in shops who stand to benefit by the new provisions dealing with sanitary conditions. The law has been vastly improved. It now remains to enforce it. For this purpose a Special inspectorate should be created.'
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