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

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter VIII. - Mines

Collection:: Economics Books

MINES, 123 regards the deficiency of tubs, he believes the cases where piece-workers in mines are prevented from earning normal daily wages on this account are comparatively few. They are confined to a short period about the month of February when, in the absence of other employment in agri- culture, surplus workers flock into the coalfields. In his opinion the solution of this problem is for managers to refuse to permit workers to enter the mines in larger numbers than are required for efficient working. He does not consider that the difficulties referred to or the conditions generally obtaining in the coalfields justify the provisions which we re- commend for the introduction of a system of guaranteed minimum output for every piece-worker who goes underground. Variations in Tubs. Another source of irregularity in the payment to miners is the extent of the variations in the size of the tubs and in the amount of coal loaded into them. An inquiry conducted by the Chief Inspector of Mines on our behalf shows that, while tubs of 30 ec. ft. capacity are used at 256 out of 296 collieries examined, other sizes are used, exclusively or in combination, by 210 of these collieries. No less than 107 collieries use two or more sizes of tub, two collieries at Jharia having no less than 6 different sizes each. Not only does the size vary but the standard load of the common 30 c. ft. tub is far from uniform. Thirteen cwt. is the load at more than 2/5 of the collieries using this size, 14 cwt. at slightly less than 2/5, while the remaining fifth carry 10, 11, 12, 15 or even 16 cwt. in each. Miners’ wages are sometimes cut for under-loading and in some mines there is a form of payment for ‘surplus’ coal, where- by a bonus is given to the supervisory staff if the aggregate output ex- ceeds the standard tub load multiplied by the number of tubs filled. One of our witnesses, an underground munshi, estimated his income from this source at between 8 and 12 rupees per month at a colliery where 14 cwt. was the standard load. The effect of this practice is to deprive the miner of some of his legitimate earnings. He may be penalised for under-loading and is sometimes induced to overload without any benefit to himself. On the other hand, in some mines the miners benefit from the surplus allowance, and there is evidence that in other cases there is no deduction for shortage. We recommend that the Mining Boards should examine the question of securing greater uniformity in the size of tubs and of in- suring that remuneration bears a closer relation to output. The intro- duction of a system of check-weighing may be practicable in the larger mines and the possibility of instituting such a svstem should be explor- ed Legislation and Administration. We now come to the operation of the Indian Mines Act, which is applicable both to coal mines and to other mines in British India. The first Act, which was passed in 1901, contained provisions relating to safety and health, but it was not until the present Act was passed in 1923 that any restrictions were imposed on the employment of labour. The 1923 Act, which is still in force, contains inter alia provision for the

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