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CHAPTER XX. o
we consider that it would be advisable for the planter, so far as the right
of repatriation is concerned, to treat a worker who has come up on his
OWN account in the same way as one who has been assisted to do so. We
contemplate that, when an emigrant has served for three years, he should,
unless. he desires to stay, be sent back by the employer, receiving his fare
and the means of subsistence on the journey. It will be necessary to
devise some machinery for ensuring that the right of repatriation is
everywhere effective, and this should be considered by the planters and
the Protector in consultation, as soon as the latter is appointed. Among
the matters which would require consideration are the number of days
within which a worker who has completed his three years in Assam must
be repatriated by his employer and the measures necessary to ensure
that a worker surrendering his right of repatriation does so of his own
free will. We anticipate that, under a repatriation scheme, some workers

will desire to go and others will not : but we hope that a large number will

be sent by their employers not with the single fare, which is obligatory
under our scheme, but with the promise of a return fare also, 1.e., that
they will go on short leave and will not abandon Assam.

Transferred Workers.

Provision will have to be made for the labourer who transfers
his services to another garden before the three years have expired. In
this case we recommend that the cost of repatriation should fall on the
employer by whom he was last engaged before the three years expire.
This will minimise the danger of employers securing labour without
sharing in the costs of recruitment. It will probably be necessary to
provide labourers with a certificate showing the date of their recruitment
and the garden by which they were recruited. Such certificates can
be given at a convenient depét during transit and can be inspected by
employers before engaging labour in Assam. A worker transferring his
services to an employer outside the tea industry will surrender the right
to repatriation.
Earlier Repatriation.

In addition, it should be possible, where adequate cause is
shown, to secure the repatriation of a labourer before the three years
have expired. Under the present Act, the District Magistrate can
repatriate at the employer's expense any persons who have been
wrongfully recruited or who are physically incapacitated from earning a
livelihood. We would transfer this power to the Protector of Immi-
grants. At the same time we would enlarge somewhat the grounds om
which repatriation can be ordered on the lines of the general conditions
governing repatriation in Ceylon and Malaya. Thus the Protector
should be able to order repatriation of any worker within one year of
his arrival in Assam, if this is necessary on the ground of health, the
unsuitability of the work to his capacity, unjust treatment by the em-
ployer, or for other sufficient reason. The, employer should, of course,
have an opportunity of presenting his case before an order is passed.
This type of repatriation would be the exception and is designed partly to