Background to Home‐Making

Extract

The most important factors in any home are the people in it and the relationships between them. This paper is, however, mainly concerned to discuss other aspects of home making because it was originally delivered at a conference at which the strains and stresses of human relationships within a family were covered by other papers.

Let us look first and very briefly at the economic factor. How do we reconcile the contradictory views of our society which are from time to time presented to us, an affluent society on the one hand, slums and poverty stricken homes, on the other.

Some recent figures of average earnings published by the Ministry of Labour are significant. These include overtime, nightwork and bonuses; they cover both skilled and unskilled workers in industry, mining and quarrying and transport, but do not include employees of the National Coal Board and the National Dock Labour Board for whom separate statistics are given. The figures are based on returns made during one pay week published in February 1961. The heaviest concentration of earners lay between £12 and £14 and more than half earned between £9 and £15. Average earnings in these industries as published last February were £14. 17s. for manual workers and £14.19s. for weekly paid clerical and administrative staff. A very few (0.42 per cent) earned less than £7 and about 5 per cent earned less than £9, all these figures refer to what is described as full time adult work. Skilled craftsmen could well earn a good deal more than the average, but the unskilled man might earn a good deal less.