Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Bibliographic data

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

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter VI. - Seasonal factories

Collection:: Economics Books

2) CHAPTER VI, be given, as in the case of perennial factories, for special classes of workers, for intermittent work or on other grounds, but the power of granting these exemptions cannot ordinarily be used to relax the law for the rank and file in seasonal factories. Apart, therefore, from the special exemp- tion relating to intervals in tea, coffee and indigo factories, the only im- portant exemption generally applicable to seasonal factories is thg exemption from the provision of a weekly holiday, and this appears to have been used fairly generally. As the majority of seasonal factories, and particularly the cotton-ginning factories, work their operatives, during the season when the crop is at its height, for the full limit of 60 hours in six days of the week, the exemption in itself is of little value unless either fresh workers are employed on the seventh day or the law is evaded by employing the operatives who have already put in six days’ work. We fear that, where exemption is given, the latter prac- tice is not uncommon, Special Exemption to Meet Press of Work. In addition to the regular exemptions, however, the Act also provides for the exemption of a factory from the provisions relating to intervals, weekly holidays, weekly limit of hours and the daily limit of hours “ on the ground that such exemption is necessary in order to enable such factory to deal with an exceptional press of work ”. Exemptions of this nature can be given by general or special order. They arenot subject to the control of the Governor General in Council and they need not be pub- lished. The exempting power contained in this clause is clearly intended to meet cases of emergency and is so used in the case of perennial factories. Unfortunately, we have reason to believe that it has been used in the past (if it is not still so used) to give some of the seasonal factories a latitude which is unjustified. Most cotton-ginning factories, in particular, have a natural press of work during the comparatively short season for which they are open, but this press of work is normal rather than exceptional. The law should be framed with special regard to the requirements of seasonal factories, and in such a manner that the grant of exemptions to the ordinary workers should be limited to genuinely exceptional cases. We propose, therefore, to review the requirements of the factories con- cerned with regard both to the capacity of the workers and to the exigencies of the industry. Justification of Longer Hours. So far as the capacity of the workers is concerned, we believe that somewhat longer hours can be justified in seasonal factories than in perennial factories. The workers in seasonal occupations are for the most part employed on factory work only for part of the year, reverting sub- sequently to agriculture or other intermittent labour. They live to a large extent in healthier surroundings than workers in large factories and as a general rule the work itself involves less strain. Their physique is not subject, therefore, to the same tax as in the case of workers in perennial factories. Having regard to the fact that the fixing of a working day in perennial factories at 10 hours and of the working week at 54 hours has

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation