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 XX. - Recruitment for Assam

Collection:: Economics Books

374 CHAPTER XX, With free recruitment, this stage will lose much of its importance, and we believe that the responsibility can be adequately discharged by district officials. Attention will have to be directed mainly to the second and third stages, namely, during the journey and after the emigrant’s arrival on the garden. From the point of view of recruiting, the third stage is the most important one, for irregularities generally come to light after the emigrant has left the recruiting area and it becomes necessary to trace him in Assam. By this time he has passed beyond the reach alike of the Government of the recruiting province, its district staff and the Assam Labour Board ; and the only authorities to whom recourse can be had are the administrative authorities in Assam. These are burdened with other duties and have inadequate powers, and in practice the attempt to deal with a recruiting offence after the recruit has left his province is attended by delay and is not always successful. - The second stage is also important, for it is advisable to exercise some closer supervision over the transit of the emigrant in order to prevent the regular emigrant being sent otherwise than by the licensed depéts. Protector of Immigrants. What is wanted is an effective authority working mainly in Assam and definitely charged with responsibility for the emigrant during his journey and after his arrival, and entrusted with adequate powers to protect his interests. In other words, we desire to see not two authorities covering much the same ground, but two comple- mentary authorities, securing the protection of the emigrant in different areas. We recommend the appointment by the Government of India of an officer in Assam who will look after the interests of emigrants who have not yet decided to make Assam their permanent home. He would be required to keep in touch with the recruiting provinces and would have the right at all reasonable times, with or without notice, to enter any garden in order to inspect the condition of the workers from other pro- vinces, and of their housing accommodation, ete. He should also have the right to talk to them either in public or in private, and any person hinderipg or molesting him in the discharge of his duties should be liable to be dealt with as for a summary offence. It would be the duty of the Protector to bring cases of wrongful recruitment to the notice of the provincial Government concerned and to advise on all matters con- nected with the migration of labour to Assam. The Protector should also be entrusted with responsibility for the emigrant during the journey and should be in a position to take up the prosecution of persons for- warding emigrants otherwise than in accordance with the Act and of ensuring that the emigrant is cognisant of his rights under the law before he reaches the garden. The statute regulating recruitment should give the Government of India power to make rules for the protection of the emigrant during transit, and the Protector would be responsible for the administration of these rules and for advising the Government of India on matters arising out of their operation. We would add here that what. we saw of the arrangements for the emigrant on the journey reflects credit on the Association principally responsible for them.

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