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

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Chapter IV. - Hours in factories

Collection:: Economics Books

1/ CHAPTER IV. with a reduction of hours, it would be possible and, if there were co- operation between employers and employed, easy not merely to maintain but to increase the average production per operative employed. Nor is the operative the only party who can increase his efficiency. Actual machine efficiency is now generally high, but some mills work with ob- solete plant, and in several directions improvements in organisation are possible. Finally, a reduction in the hours of the individual operative need not mean a reduction in the hours worked by the industry. One difficulty in the way of reducing hours is that in some departments, not- ably spinning, production is now mainly dependent on the machine rather than the man. But a wider adoption of shifts would enable the industry to maintain production, even if the average output per operative fell, and to increase it greatly when market conditions justified such a course. It would also afford possibilities of reducing the incidence of overhead costs. A recommendation, which we make later in respect of women’s work, is designed to facilitate the working of two short shifts. We recognise that in some centres the extension of shifts will add to the difficulties of the authorities in respect of housing. But we believe that, if Indian industry is to expand profitably in competition with other countries, it will be advisable to make more use of the machinery and plant. The growth of shift systems is a probable development, whether hours are reduced or not. Other Industries. What we have stated does not apply with the same force to the large number of seasonal factories which work the operatives for as long as the law permits. Here conditions are essentially different, and we discuss these in another chapter. So far as the remaining classes of factories are concerned, we can find no circumstances which would jus- tify the continuance of a 60 hour week. Certain work may be de- scribed as essentially intermittent, and where this is so, latitude can be allowed by special exemptions ; but in some factories of this class, such as flour mills, a reduction of the hours of their workers is required. A 54 Hour Week. With the exception of Sir Victor Sassoon, we are agreed that a reduction in the statutory week is practicable and desirable. On the question of the extent of the reduction, namely, whether it should be to 54 or to 48 hours, we have to submit diverging views. The majority of us recommend a reduction to 54 hours a week for the following reasons. We are satisfied that in large sections of industry this limit will cause no ap- preciable inconvenience, and in the others the workers have a reasonable claim that the necessary adjustments shall be made. On the other hand, the introduction of the lower limit would involve a change of hours in the great majority of the perennial factories, and it would mean a very heavy reduction in the factories now working 60 hours. Many operatives would have to face large reductions in their earnings and, while we do not doubt that part of this loss would be made good before long, we are not convinced that the operatives as a whole are in a position *°

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation