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 XII. - The income of the industrial worker

Collection:: Economics Books

THE INCOME OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER. 203 large volume of unemployment probably results in a low scale of monthly earnings, but in Bombay, according to an estimate made by the Port Trust, the average monthly earnings, including payment for overtime, of a dock labourer in the employ of the Trust is about Rs. 32. This, however, must not be taken as covering the majority of the men employ- ed in the docks. In Calcutta the average monthly earnings of stevedore labour are estimated to be about Rs. 20. Unskilled Labourers. The lowest paid industrial workers are the labourers en- Zaged on manual work which does not require any substantial degree of intelligence or skill. These fall roughly into two classes. There are 2 number of labourers regularly employed on manual work in factories and other industrial establishments. In the majority of provinces few men in this class are able to earn more than Rs. 15 a month regularly ; the majority earn less and earnings are sometimes as low as Rs. 10. In the Punjab and Delhi the average would seem to be above Rs. 15, while in the Bombay Presidency and Burma it is nearer Rs. 20 and Rs. 25 respectively. The other class consists of the large volume of unskill- ed labour engaged in various miscellaneous occupations on daily rates finding employment in industry either casually or for limited spells. The wages paid to this class of worker are influenced to a large extent by the prevailing rates of wages for agricultural labour in the neighbour- hood and these vary from province to province and even from district bo district. While it can be stated with some confidence that this class of worker earns appreciably more than the agricultural labourer, his earnings are usually low. In centres of Burma and the Bombay Presidency the prevailing rate for men seems to be above 12 annas while in Delhi and the Punjab it is below that figure. In Bengal, Bihar and Orissa and parts of the Central Provinces, the daily rates are roughly 3 annas for men, 6 annas for women and 4 annas for children, but in Madras, the United Provinces and some parts of the Central Provinces the rates are lower and in some areas of these provinces are as low as 5 annas a dav for men. Wage Levels in Different Provinces. Some light is thrown on the variations between different provinces by certain statistics relating to cases under the Workmen's Compensation Act. These are prepared by provincial Governments and show the number of persons in each wage class to whom comperisa- tion was awarded in cases coming before Commissioners. They relate lazgely to fatal and serious accidents. The wage classes are arranged as In the schedule of assumed wages given in the Act, and these are determined by the average earnings of the worker prior to the accident. The statistics we give below relate to the five years 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928 and 1929, which constitute a period ‘during which wage levels generally were fairly steady.. The figures; ‘however; must be accepted with some caution. In the first place, it cannot be assumed

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