WAGES ON PLANTATIONS. 399

from the planter a commission of one pice for each hazira worked by his
men. In a number of gardens the wages are paid in a lump sum to the
sardar who in turn pays the individual labourer. We were informed that
this system had not led to any unauthorised deductions by the sardars,
but it is fraught with danger to the labourer, who is frequently in debt
to hig sardar. For this reason we recommend that the direct method of
payment should be universally adopted. The payment for the first
hazira is made to the workers monthly, but the extra kaziras are paid
to them weekly. In the matter of concessions, the policy pursued in the
Dooars is similar to that in Assam, and the factors to which we referred
in dealing with Assam apply equally here. The representatives of the
two planters’ associations admitted that there was an understanding
among their members not to raise the rates of wages. No limit is
imposed on individual earnings and in some cases workers have been
able to earn as much as Re. 1 or even Re. 1-4 in a day. No official
statistics of average earnings are available, but we were informed by
the representatives of the Dooars Planters’ Association that the
average monthly earnings in 1929 were Rs. 14-4-1 for men. Rs. 10-5-8
for women and Rs. 2-14-5 for children.
Other Tea Planting Areas in North India.

In the Darjeeling district practically all the tea estates are
represented in the Darjeeling Planters’ Association, and here, too,
there is a “labour agreement ” the object of which, as stated by the
Association, is ““ to prevent undue competition between estates to secure:
labourers and to regulate matters arising out of the movement of labour
from one estate to another ”. Thereis no organisation among the employ--
ses. Wages are fixed on a piece work basis and are paid weekly. No
statistics are available as to the average monthly earnings of the workers,
but, according to the statement furnished by the Association, the minimum
earnings of an ordinary worker would be about 7 annas 6 pies a day
for men, 6 annas for women and 2 annas 9 pies for children. It
1s stated that the earnings are higher during the plucking season and that,
in addition to the money wage, the workers are given free housing and
on most gardens receive plots of garden land, free of rent, for private
cultivation. We have no information as to the proportion of workers
to whom the allocation of land applies. The conditions obtaining in
the Terai are similar to those in the Dooars. The important employers’
organisation in this area is the Terai Planters’ Association. The other
planting areas in North India, ¢.e., the Punjab, the United Provinces
and the Chota Nagpur division in the province of Bihar and Orissa, are
not of any great importance. Labour is recruited locally, the wages
paid are governed by local considerations, and the close organisation
among employers. characteristics of other planting areas. does not
Ser
Employers’ Organisation in South India.
- In South India, as in other areas, the plantation workers are
illiterate and unorganised, while on the side of the emplovers there are .