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 IV. - Hours in factories

Collection:: Economics Books

Engineering and Metal Works. 39 In the engineering trades, a short normal sweek is practically universal. In general engineering shops, the normal week is not above 50 hours, and some have an even shorter week. The hours, especially in Bengal, are frequently arranged so as to give a half holiday on the last day of the week. In railway workshops, the common week is one of six days of 8 hours, and in some it is slightly shorter. Hours are similar in those metal working factories in which a 7 day week is not required. Of the engineering and metal works, a considerable proportion are owned by Government, but there is no noticeable variation in respect of hours between State factories of this type and those which are privately owned. Overtime working is not infrequent in engineering shops, but even with overtime, the average week would appear to be substantially below the legal maximum. Factories Running Continuously. The factories we have been considering work oh not more than 6 days of the week. There is, however, a considerable number of factories in which, on account of the necessity of working the processes continuously, permission is granted to work on every day of the week. In most cases this permission is accompanied by a condition that the workers should receive a holiday once a fortnight. The great majority of these factories work on a system of 8 hour shifts, three shifts of workers being employed. This is true of a large number of workers employed in iron and steel works, in the larger sugar factories, in coke factories, and in some less important classes. Similar hours are also worked in a number of factories which meet the essential daily needs of the public, such as electric generating stations, water works and gas works, With a fortnightly holiday, the hours of workers employed on the 8 hour shifts come to 56 and 48 in alternate weeks, giving an average of 52 hours. Thus in the iron and steel works at Jamshedpur, some workers have a 48 hour week and the actual average number of hours, including overtime, is reported as about 51 or 52. In some other continuous process factories, the average is probably nearer 56. Ag a rule, flour mills work continuously throughout the week, but in this industry there are generally only two shifts of 12 hours each, the workers, in theory or in fact, receiving intervals amounting to 2 hours throughout the shift. Minor Industries. In the minor industries hours naturally vary greatly. Generally speaking, the hours in perennial factories in Bengal are substantially shorter than the legal maximum, while in the less industrialised provinces and especially in the smaller centres a 60 hour week is frequent. In the printing trades a short nominal week is fairly general, but a substantial amount of overtime ig common. As a rule the tobacco factories do not work for more than 54 hours a week. Those rice mills and oil mills which are perennial generally work for the full maximum week. Woollen and silk factories also normally work for 60 hours. Where this is the case. the week is usualy divided into 6 davs of 10 hours each

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