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 XXI. - Wages on planatations

Collection:: Economics Books

304 CHAPTER XXI. Preliminary Investigation. To sum up. The evidence before us discloses no practical diffi- culty that cannot be surmounted by a proper choice of the methods and due care in their application. We do not, however, suggest that wage- fixing machinery should be inaugurated without further enquiry and investigation, which may disclose other difficulties to be overcome. We would emphasise the importance of inviting the co-operation of the industry at this stage as their practical experience should minimise the difficulties and be of great assistance in the prosecution of the enquiry. In the present case, a substantial amount of the material necessary to reach a decision is already available, and the extent of the investigation necessary is eorrespondingly reduced. Inthe first place, adequate infor- mation is already at hand regarding the distribution of the industry, the extent of its organisation, the scale of the different establishments, the amount of combination among employers and workers and the extent of employment of men, women and children respectively. So far as wages are concerned, particulars are also available regarding the methods of remuneration, but there is not sufficient material regarding the actual rates paid, and particularly the variations in this respect between district and district and between garden and garden. The securing of this informa- tion is necessary not only as a basis for the ultimate rates, but in order to determine the precise form of the machinery which should be adopted. In particular, an analysis of the rates should indicate the form of wage- fixing machinery best suited to the requirements of the industry, 7.e., whether there should be one Board with representative advisory com- mittees in each district or whether there should be a number of separate Boards with a central co-ordinating link. Whichever course is ultimately adopted, there must be an assurance that the rates are everywhere fixed with close regard to local conditions. Collection of Returns. : The first necessity, the, is the securing of adequate material regarding the rates of remuneration. The existing wage statistics are inadequate for this purpose, owing chiefly to the lack of any correlation between the earnings of the worker and his hours of work. Some expert assistance will be essential, and, so far as we are aware, there are at present no specialists in the subject in Assam itself. It will be neces- sary, therefore, either to secure the services of some one with experience of the working of wage-fixing machinery, or to arrange for a selected officer in Assam to acquire the requisite experience. Thereafter, Gov- ernment should notify its intention to call for wage returns covering a period of at least twelve months, so as to include all classes of work under- taken in the different seasons. The form of the return to be submitted should be the same throughout Assam. To be of any value, the return must show the number of male, female and child workers employed each month, whether permanently or temporarily, the wages earned by each such group and as near an approximation as possible to the hours actually worked for those wages. It has been represented to us that a

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