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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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XIV. - Health and welfare of the industrial worker

Collection:: Economics Books

CHAPTER XIV, - however, can be applied to the miners employed in Giridih. The health snd physique of the population in this area is obviously of a low stand- ard and presents a contrast to the miners in neighbouring colliery districts. Among the beldars employed on surface work the physique is also of a much lower grade. The satisfactory physique of the Santals is attributed to a better dietary and to the fact that they return regularly, often every week-end, to their village homes. Other groups who live more permanently in the mining areas present a much less healthy appearance and a distinctly lower grade of physique. Railway Employees. Railway employees generally undergo a medical examination prior to engagement, but whilst most of the railway managements report that the general physique of their workers is satisfactory, there is consi- derable evidence to show that on certain systems this is not the case. On sections of the Eastern Bengal, Assam Bengal and Bombay Baroda and Central India Railways in particular, the problems associated with health are especially difficult, whilst differences in dietary produce the same variations already noted among other classes of industrial labour. In the railway workshops, as might be expected, the standard is gener- ally higher, although no common level obtains. Dock Labourers. Of all industrial workers, dock labourers probably present the highest grade of physique. On such work, indeed, the necessity for physical fitness acts as an important selective factor, which prohibits the recruitment of any but the strongest men. Moreover, the nature of their work compels them to spend more on food and to adopt a generous diet, whilst most of their working hours are spent in the open air. In Bombay it appears that the average duration of service among dock labourers is not more than 10 years, age or failure of strength enforcing retirement and replacement by younger and fitter men. Seasonal Factory Workers, Workers employed in the seasonal factories are, for the most part, drawn from the neighbouring agricultural villages. Although part of their working time is spent indoors and often in a dusty atmosphere, there is not the same necessity for the concentration essential in many of the large industrial concerns. Moreover the work is of a temporary nature and demands little change in the habits of those employed in it. The physique of these workers, therefore, shows little difference from that of the agricultural classes from which they are drawn. This brief review of the health conditions of the chief groups of Indian industrial workers reveals the difficulties of making any general summary of the position as regards standards of physique and general health. Impaired physique and defective diet are, however, features common to many and the severe handicaps to industrial development which these factors represent demand attention from all concerned.

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