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 IV. - Hours in factories

Collection:: Economics Books

HOURS IN FACTORIES. in his earnings a serious matter. We proceed to examine these questions with special reference to the cotton textile industry, as this is by far the most important of the industries which still work most of their operatives for 60 hours a week. Nominal and Actual Hours. One of the points stressed before us by employers in this industry was the substantial difference between the nominal hours and the hours of actual work. The point emphasised was that, although in practically every case the operative is nominally working for 10 hours, he spends a considerable part of his time in the compound smoking, loitering or eating his meals. We were given a number of estimates of the hours of actual work during the day. The representatives of the Ahmedabad Millowners’ Association placed this at 7 hours, and the representatives of the Bombay Millowners’ Association at 8 to 8% hours. An Association of textile managers in Bombay estimated the extent of working time spent outside the factory at 2 hours daily, and the same figure was given by an agent of an up-country mill. In Cawnpore, the leading textile employers estimated actual hours of work at 8 to 8% daily. We are not in a position to confirm or to question the actual figures, but we do not doubt the main fact that a considerable portion of the day is not spent at the machine. In Bombay particularly, the visitor is struck by the large num- ber of men who can be found outside the factory building at almost any hour of the day. Thus meals are generally taken, not during the statutory interval, which is inconveniently placed for the purpose, but during the nominal working hours. During the unauthorised periods of rest work is carried on either by other operatives under- baking it in addition to their own, or by extra workers definitely engaged for the purpose. : Attitude of the Operative. It may seem that an appreciable reduction of hours could be achieved merely by the elimination of a portion of the unauthorised periods of rest. But it is stated by some observers that the worker prefers a long day with lax discipline to a shorter day with strict dis- cipline. It can be argued in support of this view that many of them come from agricultural surroundings and that the idea of giving concen- trated attention to work day by day for regular hours is foreign to them. There is an element of truth in this and, quite apart from the question of habit, few of the present operatives have the physique and training which would enable them to work with that degree of concentration which is de- manded in the West. It is indeed arguable that climate and other factors would always render a somewhat slower pace imperative in India. On the other hand, we have no doubt that it is impossible for the average opera- tive to remain at work regularly through a 10 hour day either in a cotton mill or in any other factory. The unauthorised intervals are a form of self-defence against over-work. It is significant that the statements made to us by employers regarding the great difference between nominal and actual hours of work were mainly confined to the cotton mill industry. We do not suggest that loitering is unknown elsewhere, but we are satisfied

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