Weights of Loads

Abstract

What should be the maximum limits to be placed on the weights of loads to be lifted or transported by women at work? No such regulations had existed in Russia before the revolution when women had been employed in many heavy and arduous tasks. The post-revolutionary debates on this, like other issues, were framed in terms both of the relative frailty of the female organism and of the need to preserve women’s reproductive capabilities. A number of factors were taken into account. Girls under the age of 16 were prohibited altogether from employment in jobs specifically requiring the transportation of loads. A lighter set of norms was established for young women between the ages of 16 and 18 years and for girls under the age of 16 years in other tasks. The norms for adult women were initially set as equivalent to those for young male workers between the ages of 16 and 18 years. In some cases, the legislation set out the amount of time which women should spend in the carrying and transporting of loads in the course of their shift. The agreement of labour inspectors and the local labour protection organisations was to be sought if women were to spend more than one-third of their shift in transporting loads.