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 XI. - Transport services and public works

Collection:: Economics Books

TRANSPORT SERVICES. 179 secure an equitable distribution of the available employment. This, if carried to its logical conclusion, would mean that no seaman could be lowed to remain in employment for any long period as he would thereby deprive another of his turn. Indeed, one of the demands put forward by the Indian Seamen’s Union was that no seamen should be allowed to: continue in employment for a period of more than 12 months at a time. We sympathise with the desire of the union to secure equal chances of employment for all its members, but the principle of rotation which is advocated by them is not in the true interests of the men, at any rate so long as they are as numerous as is the case to-day. In Bombay, where most effort has been made to follow this principle, the 2vils of unemployment have not diminished, A rigid system of rotation, combined with the limitation of the period of continuous employment, would mean that no seaman could hope to be employed for more than one year out of every three or four. Such a policy would make every seaman an inefficient and starved worker. It would also react unfairly on those who, by their industry and diligence, would otherwise secure reasonably continuous employment, Reduction of Unemployment. The primary need is the elimination of surplus seamen until a stage 18 reached when the numbers are such that, on the one hand, all she reasonable needs of the industry are satisfied and, on the other, cap- able seamen are assured of reasonable regularity of employment. Any reduction in numbers from the present level must involve some hardship, and the object should be to devise a scheme which will be as equitable as possible. The most obvious method is the stopping of fresh recruitment, which could be practised for a number of years without reducing the total aumber below the reasonable requirements of the industry. But the sessation of all fresh recruitment for a long period would be unwise. For, apart from the difficulty of resisting the reasonable claims of seamen, whose families have for generations followed this calling, to secure the enrolment of their sons, the result might be to break the valuable con- nections which the industry ‘maintains with various recruiting areas in India. ‘We consider, however, that fairly drastic action is necessary at the present stage, and recommend that, beginning as soon as possible, no fresh continuous discharge certificate should be issued for twelve months, unless the Shipping Master is satisfied that the newcomer is actually required for employment and that suitable men are not already available. Thereafter continuous discharge certificates should be issued only to persons for whom posts are available, and the Shipping Master should use his influence to discourage the introduction of an unnecessarily large number of fresh recruits. The numbers of seamen available should be carefully watched, and, if the other measures which we propose are not efficacious, there should be, after a suitable break, a further period of 12 months in which fresh recruitment is again restricted. Registration in the Shipping Office. For the control of recruitment some system of registration is essential. We recommend that, in maintaining the registers, the Shipping

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