RAILWAYS, 167
taken the form of special passes and leave, permission to use notice
boards and to hold union meetings in railway institutes and on railway
premises, freedom of action for enrolment of members, so long as there
is no interference with the duties of the railway staff, and free access to
railway officers. There has been, however, no uniformity of practice.
We believe that a stage has been reached in the development of
some unions where facilities of this kind might with advantage be con-
reded.
Relations between Administrations and Workers.

There still remains for consideration the question of regulat-
ing the relations between the Railway Board and administrations and
the All-India Railwaymen’s Federation and individual trade unions.
This involves the right of workers to make full use of whatever machinery
is available for bringing forward and remedying grievances and disputes
of every description. Whether by direct appeal to superior officers, by
means of joint committees or by trade union agency, the workers must
feel that complaints will receive due consideration. In order that no
sense of grievance or cause for dispute may remain outstanding, we con-
sider the time has arrived to set up joint standing machinery that, as
far as possible, will Incorporate methods already in existence. While
appreciating the efforts hitherto made to provide means of discussion
and settlement of matters in dispute between the administrations and
their employees, we cannot help noticing the absence of co-ordination
detween the different agencies. At the base of the Present structure
are joint committees and individual trade unions competing for the
goodwill of the workers. The committees receive support from the
tocal officers of administrations, some of whom givelittle or no active
encouragement to the local trade union movement, which as a rule
ls in opposition to the present system of joint committees. At the apex
of the structure, on the other hand, are the Railway Board and the All-
[India Railwaymen’s Federation discussing schemes for Improving the
conditions of workers, with no visible link on the employers’ side bhe-
“ween the local conciliation machinery and the negotiating agency at the
top. This is not due to the fact that no intervening machinery exists,
for, apart from the Agents of Class I railways with whom the Railway
Board holds periodical discussions, there exists another co-ordinating
agency in the Indian Railway Conference Association which dates
back to 1879 and has met regularly since 1902. Besides meeting annually
ho discuss inter alia questions of uniformity in dealing with staff matters,
shis Association appoints standing and special committees which in
recent years have considered difficult questions such as the application
of the Hours of Work and the Weekly Rest Conventions. The Railway
Board informs us that “the powers of the Association are only consulta-
five 50 far as these matters are concerned, but there is every likelihood
hat the facilities for round-table discussion which the Association pro-
vides will in future be realised to a greater extent in the solution of the
many problems which are arising in the sphere of railway labour”. This
ndicates a development, with which we are in sympathy.