204 
CHAPTER XII. 
that the workers whose cases have been combined to furnish the 
statistics and who constitute a very small proportion of the industrial 
workers generally, constitute an entirely representative section. The 
most highly-paid industrial employees, who are engaged mainly in 
supervision, run less risk of accidents than others. At the other end 
of the scale, the unskilled worker runs less risk of a serious accident 
than the semi-skilled worker who is dealing with machine processes. 
Secondly, the Act, as we shall show later, is only gradually becoming 
known to the general mass of the workers, and it is probable that 
claims have been less frequent from the lower-paid workers and their 
dependants than from those who are in receipt of higher wages. But, 
in the main, these factors are common to all provinces. The Madras 
levels are somewhat higher than we would have expected, but otherwise 
the comparison between the major provinces afforded by the table is 
very closely related to that indicated by other evidence. Assam 
is omitted as the numbers are too small to yield any results of 
value. Wages are lowest in Madras, the Central Provinces and the 
United Provinces ; the provinces to the east of this group, namely, Bengal 
and Bihar and Orissa, have a higher level, and so have those to the west, 
namely, the Punjab and Bombay. Bombay comes first of the Indian pro- 
vinces, while Burma has a still higher level. For the reasons we have given, 
the table is much less reliable as a picture of wage-levels, but we consider 
that it gives a general impression of these levels for the semi-skilled opera- 
tives in organised industry. In this connection it should be remembered 
that, while children are excluded from the figures, they include both men 
and women and the workers on the lowest wages are, for the most 
part. women. 
Percentage of cases earning monthly wages of . 
Province. 
United Provinces . 
Madras .. ve .e 
Central Provinces ., a4 
Bihar and Orissa oe vi 
Bengal Pr . ws 
Punjab po vw . 
Bombay .. . 
Burma 
X 
> 
2g 
35 
53 
a8 
att 
28 27 
22 25 
18 38 
21 24 
13 18 
10 18 
Bb mn 
LK 
4 0 
xX 8 
3 
3 
1 
16 
19 
| : 
1 
<8 
26 | 
19 
10 
AE 
gl 
wn 
= 
- 
m 
8 
0 5 
z & 
3 
wn 
mw 
< 
mea 
- © 
= +» 0 
ew 2 
528 
; 
8 8 
Sail 
Eg 
2 
15 
£ L 
1° 8 
15 10 
10 7 
23 13 
16 27 
16 
15 
i 
2¢ 
21 
32 
49 
- - 
EP 
23 
°3 
304 
110 
209 
717 
873 
324 
273 
1R8 
III. 
Family Income. 
Hitherto we have been referring to the earnings of individuals, 
but in respect of both income and expenditure itis the family and net 
the individual that is important in relation to the standard of living.