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. 393 at which a child should be deemed to be an adult for the purpose of the basic rate. The “ Hazjra ” and Unit Systems. Rates of the kind suggested would make payment depend upon attendance and would, therefore, allow automatically for the part-time worker. Moreover, they could be applied either to the unit system or to the old hazira system. We would observe, however, that it has not vet been demonstrated that the unit system is in the best interests of employer and worker. The old hazira system is yet to be found on many gardens and, indeed, would appear to predominate still in certain dis- tricts ‘and to be deeply ingrained in the minds of the workers. The hazire is the standard daily task which the worker should be able to complete in the morning, thus leaving the afternoon for ticca or addi- tional tasks at overtime rates, should he desire to augment his “ daily ” earnings. The irregularity of the garden worker is chiefly in respect of the ticca or the afternoon work and we believe that no hardship would be caused if, on those days on which he presents himself for employment, he were required to attend for the half day, which corresponds roughly to the old hazira. We therefore suggest that the wage-fixing body should explore the possibility of fixing rates, whether time or task, on the basis of a half day’s work, or a hazira, and, if necessary, of prescribing addi- tional rates for ticca. This would ensure a reasonable minimum payment for each working day and would also simplify the task of time-keeping and of checking the adequacy of the rates paid. The machinery is, however, equally adaptable to payment on the unit ’ system in the case of those employers who consider this svstem preferable to the old hazire basis. - The Basic Rate and the Present System. The essential is that the piece rate fixed by the employer for a particular job shall be such as to yield the worker of ordinary capa- city and diligence the statutory amount for a given unit of time. Itisa significant fact that this is what employers have been doing under their present system since, no matter whether the task was hoeing, pruning or plucking, every planter was able to say what an ““ average ” worker could earn per hour or per day on the rate fixed for the task, irrespective of whether it was based on the kazira or the unit system. Under such a condition the fast worker will naturally earn more and the slow worker less than the prescribed rate and there will be no question of the employer being required to make good the earnings of the latter. Thereby neither the employer nor the fast worker is penalised, and the worker who fails to exercise due diligence suffers the penalty of his slackness. In the case of the time-worker, all that is required is that he should be paid a minimum amount for work done during a given unit of time, unless a special exemption has been obtained by the employer from the proper authority to pay at an agreed lower rate on grounds of old age, ill health or other incapacity. The system of wage payment whether by time, piece or task, customary in Assam gardens could thus continue subject only to these requirements.

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