Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 1850495947

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-233603

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Off.

Year of publication:: 1931

Scope:: xviii, 580 S.; graph. Darst., Kt.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter VI. - Seasonal factories

Collection:: Economics Books

[8 CHAPTER VI. latter is the commoner process. Here the paddy is first steamed, then soaked in large vats, after which it is strained off and again steamed until the husk bursts. It is then spread on specially prepared drying grounds and exposed to the sun. When dried it is dehusked, polished and clean- ed, by which time it is in a marketable state and ready for bagging. In Burma, Indian male labour is largely employed, and we dealin a later chapter with the complicated system of recruitment which characterises the industry in that province. In Madras and Bengal men are employed on the machine processesand on the heavy work of weighing, bagging, etc. Some of the bigger mills in Madras employ a permanent staff on a monthly basis for the machine work, but normally the only persons paid on a salaried basis, apart from the manager, are the firemen and magstries who maintain the plant. The bulk of the male labour is en- gaged through maistries or contractors, and may move from mill to mill a8 work offers, often returning to their villages at harvest or other times. Women are employed on the drying process, spreading and turning the fice and also on occasions removing the rice from the hullers and win- nowing bran ; they are almost invariably recruited from the surround- ing villages and are paid on a time-rate basis either daily or weekly. In the Madras Presidency it is common for the occupier to maintain the salaried staff and to let out the mill on the hire system to merchants who mill their own paddv with the help of the workers in their direct employ. Jute Presses. In the case of jute pressing, which is virtually confined to Bengal, a distinction must be drawn between the Calcutta presses and the others. The latter are entirely seasonal and for the most part pack bales of 3 to 4 maunds for home consumption, although some in Narain- ganj and Chandpur pack 5 maund bales for export. Anything from 50 bo 75 per cent of the workers are employed from surrounding villages, the remainder coming mainly from Bihar and Orissa, the United Pro- vinces and even the Punjab. Those employed locally return nightly to their homes, the others being housed mainly in rent-free coolie lines built by the firms. The season extends from July to December or per- haps later, after which the workers disperse to follow their normal agri- cultural pursuits. All labour is employed and paid through contrac- bors, who undertake the work at a fixed rate per bale. Those employed from the locality are obtained through the offer by the contractor of small advances ; those obtained from distant provinces are recruited through contractors’ sardars, who give more substantial advances. The Calcutta presses, although they have a busy and a slack period, and to that axtent are seasonal, are mostly open intermittently throughout the year. The buildings as a general rule are rented by the owners to jute balers who, in return, pay an agreed rate per bale. This rate is fixed to cover the rent of the godowns in which the jute is stored and assorted and all charges for baling and exporting. The bulk of the labour employed, which comes mainly from outside Bengal, is engaged in carrying the heavy jute bales. Skilled labour is employed in the assorting and pressing operations. The workers fall into three categories—ecarriers in the

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