Letter: Powers of DTI inspectors are an offence against natural justice
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: The real iniquity of the Government's proposal to abolish the two- hour limit for children working on Sundays ("Unions move to sign up child workers", 21 December) is that it will result in more children working above the current permitted weekly total of 20 hours.
Although the Government claims there will be no significant change, as the overall limit on working hours will remain the same, in reality many children will be pressured by poverty and their employers to work above the permitted weekly maximum.
Unrepentant scrooges will be rubbing their hands in glee. In 1996 the chances of a firm being inspected by the authorities are in the order of once every six years, and those caught offending will suffer only a small financial penalty.
One factory inspector's report noted that:
"The profit to be gained by it [violation of a Factory Act] appears to be, to many, a greater temptation than they can resist; they calculate upon the chance of not being found out; and when they see the small amount of penalty and costs, which those who have been convicted have to pay, they find that if they should be detected there will still be a considerable balance of gain."
That report was published in 1856. Tragically, 140 years later, we have slipped back into the full viciousness of the 19th-century economy.
Dr GARY SLAPPER
Director, Institute of Industrial and Commercial Law
Staffordshire University
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments