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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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter VIII. - Mines

Collection:: Economics Books

126 CHAPTER VIII. will live near their collieries and work regularly would ultimately prove a disadvantage, we do not think that the present is the best time for a definite step in this direction. On all grounds, therefore. we endorse the recommendation of the Select Committee. A Minority View. Mr Cliff, Mr Joshi and Diwan Chaman Lall dissent from our view and state that under the existing Statute a mine may open for bwenty-four hours on each of the six working days. The statute permits daily shifts of twelve hours, but requires that the maximum weekly hours shall not exceed fifty-four for underground workers and sixty in the case of surface workers. The Chief Inspector of Mines admits that the checking of the number of hours worked by individual workers is difficult. In his view, this arrangement of hours, together with the number of adits at some collieries, lends itself to evasion and makes enforcement difficult, if not impracticable. It appears from the report of the Select Committee that, when the question of the limitation of daily hours was being discussed, one of the main considerations which led to the decision that it would be unwise to recommend a lower daily limit than 12 hours was the fear that the workers would be unable to majn- bain the current level of earnings. Some of the larger collieries are already working eight hour shifts, and other collieries are working ten hour shifts. It is significant that at such collieries the attendance and the level of earnings tend to be higher than prevail at collieries working longer hours and it is not suggested that earnings at such collieries are below the general level. In no other country is a twelve hour shift permissible, though the weekly limit in two countries is higher. They incline to the opinion that, from the standpoint of the coal industry, a reduction of the existing level of hours would be a paying proposition and hold that, from all points of view, it would be in the best interests of the worker. They therefore recommend that the present daily limit be reduced to eicht hours Action in the Meantime. In the meantime, we have two further recommendations to make. The weekly hours of work above ground should be reduced bo 54, the limit suggested in the case of perennial factories. The enforcement of this limit should not give any serious difficulty. At present the irregular worker does not work up to his limit, and 54 hours is a long enough week for those who acquire regular habits of work. We also recommend that employers should make experi- ments during the period available to them before the further reduc- tion of the daily limit is made. In particular, we should like to see the possibilities of 10 and 9 hour shifts explored, as well as the more usual 8 hour shift. The 10 hour shift isalready in operation in more than one mine and it may well prove a useful halfway step, if the interval between shifts is properly utilised in clearing the output of the earlier and preparing facilities for the later shift

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