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.