184

CHAPTER XI.
is vested in Port Trusts constituted under provincial Acts and consisting
of representatives of shipping and commercial interests and a few official
and nominated members. In one or two ports the latter include a
member representing labour interests, and we recommend that this
practice be extended to all the major ports. The following table of
the total trade of the five principal ports in India gives an indication of
their growth and relative imvortance -—

Name
of
port.

Bombay
Calcutta 3s
Rangoon “i
Karachi ee
Madras .

Pre-
war
average,

Ra.
{lakhs.)
,45,45
,69,78
48,96
47,87
19.61

War
average,

Rs.
(lakhs.) |
,68,37
,62,50
51,64
46,88
21 15

1926-27.

Rs.
(lakhs.) |
2,05,04
2,37,97

© 92,69
| 7.56
41.98

1927.98.

Rs.
(lakhs.)

2,15,62
2,54,29
1,03,64
71,89
47.73

1998.90

Ra.
(lakhs.)
2,22,91
2,60,22
90,77
74.44
59 02

109G-30

Rs.
(lakhs.)
2,11,73
2,40,24
94,19
66,47
50.62

Labour in Docks.

The demand for dock labour is intermittent ; 1t depends upon
the arrival and departure of vessels and the size and nature of their
cargo as well as on seasonal and cyclical fluctuations. In India, the
monsoon is an additional factor affecting both shipping arrangements
and the amount of produce available for export. In all ports, therefore,
there is usually labour in excess of immediate requirements, and the
tendency is for employers to encourage larger reserves than necessary
in order to provide ample margins against emergencies. ‘We visited the
leading ports and received both written and oral evidence regarding the
conditions of employment. Usually the port authorities maintain a
permanent establishment under their direct control, but the bulk of the
labour engaged in loading and unloading is casual and is employed
indirectly through stevedores or other contractors. In regard to the
latter, there is no uniform system of employment in the different ports.
In Karachi, the loading and unloading on the docks is entrusted to
stevedores who employ jemadars or headmen to provide the necessary
labour. The jemadar receives payment from the stevedore for the
work done by his gang, the members of which are in turn paid by him.
At Bombay the casual dock labourers are employed through toliwalas,
who are paid by the Port Trust at piece-work rates on the tonnage
handled. The toliwalas pay their men sometimes on tonnage and
sometimes at daily rates, according to the nature of the cargo. Some
of the bigger foliwalas may have 10 to 15 gangs working under them,
while the smaller ones control two or three gangs; the average size of
each gang is 15 to 18. The Port Trust have about 40 or 50 toliwalas
on their register. In Calcutta, most of the dock labour is supplied
by one firm of contractors and is not directly employed by the Port