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 X. - Railways - continued

Collection:: Economics Books

RAILWAYS, 159 We are informed that steps are already being taken to apply the regulations to running staff, as well as to the rest of railway servants, and that instructions have been issued to provide them with a periodic rest by an increase in staff that will not exceed 29, of the present strength. ‘We have been advised by the Railway Board that, during next year, administrations will report the extent to which it has not been possible, with this increase, to apply in addition the stipulated weekly limitation. In view of the years that have elapsed since the ratification of the Washington and Geneva Conventions and since the application of the provisions to workers in factories and mines, special efforts should now be made to put these regulations into effect as quickly as possible, In our opinion increased measures of uniformity of application are desirable and in particular it should be possible, after consulting the workers and their representatives, to arrive at an understanding respecting the general lines of classification of essentially intermittent workers, As indicated above, the proportion of these workers is small, and the Act of 1930 pro- vides that they cannot be employed for more than 84 hours in any week. We recommend that the Railway Board should reconsider the practi- cability of reducing these hours and of giving days of absence at reason- able’ intervals where weekly rest days cannot be given, Uniformity Undesirable. The Act of 1930 also provides that railway servants whose work is continuous shall not be employed for more than 60 hours in the week on the average in any month. Work in railways varies greatly from branch to branch, and it is not possible to apply to such work uniform breatment on the lines applicable to work in factories and mines, In tonsequence a limit designed to cover all persons employed more or less continuously may be too high for certain classes of work, whereas a limit based on the requirements of those workers from whom most is demanded would be unjustifiably low if generally applied. We consider that there are branches of employment where, by reason of the degree of concentra- bion required, the existing hours are too long. In the report of the Select Committee which considered what is now the Act of 1930, reference was made to the possibility of « fixing the hours of work at a lower figure than fifty-six hours a week for those railway servants whose duties are specially arduous and involve continuous concentration.” In such cases the aim should be to secure a weekly limit not exceeding 48 hours. We recommend that, as soon as experience of the altered working hours is available, the case of all individual branches be examined in turn with 3 View to determining to what extent the prevailing hours require reduc- tion, and that thereafter action be taken to secure. on all rail ways, the reduction necessary. A Minority View Mr Cliff, Mr Joshi and Diwan Chaman Lall are of opinion that any consideration of the hours of railway workers must have regard to the fact that the times of beginning and finishing duty are irregular and are spread over both dav and night. - The workers CITING Lars eet

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