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CHAPTER IX.—RAILWAYS.
In this and the following chapter we deal with questions affecting
labour on railways. During the three quarters of a century of their
existence, service conditions have been created which now constitute
tumerous and varied problems requiring special attention. In this
chapter are indicated the extent of the railway systems and the nature
of the administrations responsible for their working. We describe the
methods of recruitment of workers and recommend more extensive
use of employment officers and selection committees with a view to the
elimination of complaints regarding appointments and promotions. We
deal with the lack of uniformity in holiday and leave rules and goon to
discuss in some detail questions of wages, including methods of pay-
ment, standardisation, provident funds and deductions from earnings.
In the following chapter we refer to hours of employment and
to the desirability of giving fuller effect to the provisions of the ratified
conventions relating to hours of work and rest periods. Suggestions
are made for dealing with appeals against disciplinary actions with
a View to removing grievances about insecurity of service, and then pro-
posals for improved methods of regulating the relations between admin-
istrations and workers are discussed at some length. We make recom-
mendations for setting up joint standing machinery, including Loeal and
Divisional Committees, Railway Councils, a Central Board and finally
a Tribunal to which reference may ultimately be made in the event
of preceding negotiations not resulting in a settlement. The chapter
ends with a reference to health and welfare activities and to other
matters which are dealt with in greater detail elsewhere in our
Revort.
Railway Svstems
Railways in India cover a wide expanse, the total route mileage
of 41,000 miles being in excess of that in any other country save the
United States of America. With a total staff of over 800,000, the rail-
way administrations are the largest employers of organised labour in
India, and their working policy as regards wages and other terms of
employment reacts to some extent on industrial labour conditions through-
out the country. The earliest railways in India were short lines con-
structed in the vicinity of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras between the
years 1853 and 1856 by companies incorporated in England. It was
not long, however, before the Government of India definitely adopted
the policy of direct construction and ownership, and although a system
of construction and management by the agency of companies continued,
there has been a gradual change-over, until now 72 per cent of the total
route mileage is owned and 45 per cent is directly managed by the

State. Forstatistical purposes, Indian Railway systems are divided into
three classes, namely, Class I, where the gross earnings of the system
reach Rs. 50 lakhs in a year; Class II, where they are less than that
amount and more than Rs. 10 lakhs, and Class III, where thev are not