WAGES ON PLANTATIONS. 
ash 
devoted much labour to rendering it suitable for cultivation ; but, so 
far as we are aware, eviction is not resorted to except for purposes of 
redistribution. The concession is unevenly distributed ; in most gardens 
there are a number of workers without land, while there are a few who 
hold more than what is strictly their fair share. 
Other Concessions. 
The remaining concessions, such as free grazing, free fuel, ad- 
vances without interestand the supply of rice at concession rates, are of 
less importance. The first two, where available, are not regarded as con- 
cessions, as they are enjoyed by villagers in almost all agricultural areas 
in India ; on the other hand, thelack of such facilities in certain areas is 
felt as a deprivation. The third is frequently regarded with suspicion, 
as the worker naturally feels that he is bound to the garden till the ad- 
vance is repaid and still harbours in his mind the unfortunate associa- 
tion of advances with penal contracts. The last concession is now 
rare, and we are glad to note that the practice of supplying rice on credit, 
which was condemned by the Enquiry Committee of 1921-22, has dis- 
appeared. 
Other Factors. 
Apart from concessions, there are two other factors which 
have an important influence on wages. In the first place, as we have 
shown earlier, the migration to Assam is one of families rather than of 
individuals, since the gardens offer employment to women and children 
as well as to men. In most other industries the scope for the em- 
ployment of women and children is limited, and in consequence the 
worker usually leaves his family behind in his village, remitting money 
for its maintenance. On the plantations nearly all the members of a 
worker’s family are wage earners, and even children of tender age come 
out with their parents to increase the family earnings. There are thus 
comparatively few non-working dependents in a working class family. 
The effect of this on the standard of living is important for, even with low 
individual earnings, the total family income may be sufficiently high 
to prevent the worker from feeling the pinch of poverty. The second 
factor is the extent of standardisation in the matter of wages, as a result 
of combination among employers. The tea industry in Assam is perhaps 
the most highly organised industry in the country, and the Indian Tea 
Association, with a branch in each of the two valleys, represents about 90 
per cent of the total area under tea cultivation in Assam. The object of 
this Association is to promote the common interests of all persons con- 
cerned in the cultivation of tea in India”. We have already seen that 
problems connected with the recruitment of labour have been of primary 
importance for the development of the industry and that jomt action has 
been taken through the Association to prevent the enticement of labour 
from one garden to another. But efforts to regulate the relations between 
employers and employed go further than this. In addition to the “labour 
rules’, the Association has been able to enforce what are known as “ wage 
agreements >’ among its members in order to secure, as far as practicable, 
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