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 XIV. - Health and welfare of the industrial worker

Collection:: Economics Books

266 CHAPTER XIV. in existing conditions. But, after observing that they were “in entire sympathy with the-ideals ” underlying sickness insurance legislation, they added “They are satisfied that the need of Indian workers for some provision is in no way less than the need of workers in other countries, and the problem, as it presents itself to them, is one of determining the extent to which the serious practical difficulties that must attend the introduction of any scheme can be overcome”. The letter containing these views was addressed to local Governments, who were asked to investigate the question, the suggestion being made that the examination might be entrusted to small informal committees of em- ployers and employees. The results of the investigation which have been supplied to us show that five committees were appointed. The Madras committee was unable to suggest any satisfactory scheme and favoured actual experiments. The United Provinces committee favour- ed a scheme for a general provident fund to provide not merely for sick- ness insurance but for unemployment, old age, marriages, funerals, religious rites, festivities and other “ social events ”. The Punjab committee recom- mended the application of a scheme of sickness insurance, but did not enter into details. The majority of the Central Provinces committee were emphatically of opinion that any scheme of compulsory insurance was unworkable in practice. A conference held in Burma came to the con- clusion that the immediate introduction of even a limited scheme was impracticable. In replying to the Government of India, the Governments of the provinces in which these investigations were held all stressed the financial burdens involved in State assistance to any scheme. This was also emphasised by the Governments of the other major provinces except the Government of Bengal, who took no action in view of the impending appointment of this Commission. Neither this consideration of the question nor the further evidence supplied to us canbe said to have brought a solution much nearer. There has been a tendency on the one hand to overlook the difficulties and on the other to be content with stressing them. That the difficulties in the way are formidable must be recognised. The main difficulties include following the workers bo their villages, arranging for proper medical treatment there, and providing for medical certification, in order to enable workers to obtain extended benefits should sickness continue. The lack of faith in modern medical methods is still an important factor, and the admin- istrative expenses likely to be incurred in working on a national Or even a provincial scale a system of insurance based on Western lines would probably be extremely heavy. But none of these arguments diminish the need of the worker for provision during sickness. Statistics of Sickness Incidence. Unfortunately, the examination hitherto given to the subject has not provided what must be regarded as an essential preliminary to the framing of a satisfactory scheme. What is required is an estimate of the incidence of sickness among workers whom the scheme is designed to cover. Without this it is impossible even to guess at the cost of any benefits which it is desired to provide or, conversely, the benefits which

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