Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1850495947

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-233603

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Off.

Year of publication:: 1931

Scope:: xviii, 580 S.; graph. Darst., Kt.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XI. - Transport services and public works

Collection:: Economics Books

173 CHAPTER XI—TRANSPORT SERVICES AND PUBLIC WORKS. We devote this chapter mainly to the industrial labour employed in transport services other than railways and deal in turn with maritime shipping, inland steam navigation, docks, tramways and motor trans- port by road. After discussing these. we add some observations on public works. Employment of Indian Seamen. The statement on the following page gives the number and ton- nage of all steam vessels and sailing vessels which entered or cleared in the five important ports of India with cargo or in ballast in 1929-30. As the table indicates, the great bulk of the tonnage is registered outside India, particularly in Great Britain. The steamers registered in India form about 5%, of the total tonnage cleared at the main ports and re- present, for the most part, small craft. Some evidence was tendered 60 us regarding the conditions of labour at sea on ships registered outside British India. We recognise the importance of such questions, but they do 00% come within our terms of reference and we must leave their consi- eration to the Governments concerned. We have, however, regarded t as our duty to consider the conditions affecting seamen while on shore, and particularly the control of their recruitment. The recruit- ment of Indian seamen is at present virtually confined to the ports of Calcutta and Bombay. When seamen are required to fill vacancies at Other ports, they are sent from these two principal ports. During the three years from 1926-27 to 1928-29, the average number of seamen engaged in Calcutta was 58,300 a year and in Bombay 34,600. The crew on board the larger ships works in three groups—the deck crew, the engine-room “réw and the saloon crew. The deck crew and the engine-room crew work ander serangs responsible to the Chief Officer and the Chief Engineer respec- fively, and the saloon crew under a butler responsible to the Purser or Chief Steward. With the exception of a proportion of Goans in the saloon Crews, the Calcutta crews consist of Bengali Musalmans, and come prin- zipally from Eastern Bengal. The Bombay deck crews come from various Parts of the West Coast, some crews being Hindus and others Musalmans. The engine-room crews are Musalmans, many of whom come from the Punjab and the North-West Frontier Province to serve the P. and O. Steam Navigation Company. The saloon crews are mainly Goans by Origin, For many years all persons, with the exception of Shipping Mas- bers, owners, masters and mates of ships or regular servants of owners have been prohibited from engaging or supplying seamen unless they have been specially licensed for the purpose.

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