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 XXI. - Wages on planatations

Collection:: Economics Books

WAGES ‘ON PLANTATIONS. 387 Average Earnings. Piece work earnings are liable to considerable variations owing to the latitude which is allowed to the worker in the matter of attend- ance. Statistics of average monthly cash earnings are furnished in the annual reports on immigrant labour published by the Government of Assam. These averages are obtained by dividing the total monthly earnings by the average daily working strength in the months of March and September. The former is regarded as a slack and the latter as a busy month for the tea industry in Assam. This calculation does not purport to represent the average monthly earnings of a worker or the amount which he could reasonably be expected to earn; it represents the monthly earnings of an average worker if he did not absent himself on a single working day—a condition which is hardly ever fulfilled. The figures as published do, however, provide an index of variations in average earnings from year to year. On this calculation the figures in the report for 1929-30, give the average monthly earnings in the Assam Valley as Rs. 13-8-7 for men, Rs. 11-1-7 for women and Rs. 7-8-6 for children. For the Surma Valley the corresponding averages were Rs. 10-11-0, 8-6-1 and 5-6-2 respectively. Except in the case of children in the Assam Valley, the figures show a small decrease as compared with 1928-29. Even so, the average earnings are substantially higher than those of 1920-21 as given in the report of the Assam Labour Enquiry Committee of 1921-22. There has been a fall in the cost of living during the past decade, and-the economic position of the worker in the Assam plantations has undoubtedly improved considerably. Absenteeism. Absenteeism is an important factor, in the Assam plantations. The Enquiry Committee of 1921-22 worked out the percentage of the average daily working strength to the total number of labourers on the garden books for a number of years and came to the conclusion that the efficient working force for each of these years was about 75 % of the total. The Indian Tea Association stated in their evidence that absenteeism had increased in recent years, but this is not corroborated by the published figures for 1927-28, 1928-29 and 1929-30 of the average daily working strength and the total number of workers on the garden books. The percentage of the efficient working force during these years has remained remarkably consistent with the earlier figures in the report of the Enquiry Committee of 1921-22. The actual figures for 1929-30 were as follows.:— (7) Adult labourers (working and non-working) living in garden lines and on garden land .. 625,310 (17) Number of labourers on garden hooks in Sep- tember and March i i. .. 505,001 (11) Average daily working strength in these months .. . .. .. 376,850 (w) Percentage of (441) to (it) .. .. .n 746 The Assam Branch of the Association has pointed out that the months of September and March. on which both the figures given by the Enquiry 909

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