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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Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter XV. - Housing of the industrial worker

Collection:: Economics Books

HOUSING OF THE INDUSTRIAL WORKER. 287 forces, through an increased efficiency and consequently a greater capacity for output. It is obvious, however, that so far only the fringe of the problem has been touched. With the best intentions industrial concerns have been unable to provide for more than 10 to 409} of their smployees, and it is unlikely that even the most prosperous industries could house all their workers without the active assistance, both financial and otherwise, of Government and municipal authorities. It must also be remembered that the accommodation provided by employers is in most cases given rent free and, even where rent is charged, a direct economic return is seldom obtained on the capital outlay. Co-operation. Important causes contributing to the present situation are the lack of co-ordination between the parties concerned and the apparent doubt as to where the responsibility should lie. The efforts made by some employers seem to have encouraged a tendency to leave the whole problem to them, whilst some municipalities tend to look to Government to raise, from the people as a whole, funds which should be found locally. The position demands immediate attention, not only from Governments and local authorities, but also from organised industry and the public, since all are deeply concerned. We consider that, in the first place, every provincial Government should take the initiative by mak- ing a survey of its urban and industrial areas in order to be possessed of exact information as to their most urgent needs. Fach Government should then arrange for conferences with all the interested parties in order that decisions could be taken in regard to practicable schemes and the methods by which their cost could be shared. We support the re- commendation made by the Indian Industrial Commission that local authorities should be responsible for the proper development and lay- out of industrial areas and for the provision and maintenance of proper sanitary conditions. We believe that many industrial concerns would be prepared to co-operate with the authorities in schemes in which the financial burden was shared. Where suitable Government land is avail- able, we think that Governments should be prepared to sell or lease it to those who agree to build houses within a specified period. The fact that many employers have already spent large sums in providing decent houses for their own workers suggests that this method would succeed, for it need not be anticipated that in the future employers will prove less public-spirited than in the past. In order to encourage their activi- ties in this direction and to relieve them of at least part of the burden they have assumed, we consider that Governments should announce their willingness to subsidise, in this or in other ways, housing schemes ad- vanced by employers after these have received their approval. Such action neither removes responsibility from the Government or from public authorities nor prevents them from taking independent action. At the same time it would ease the burden, particularly in the smaller industrial areas, and would promote that combination of public and private effort without, which it will be impossible to make progress. The whole

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