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 V. - Working conditions in factories

Collection:: Economics Books

WORKING CONDITIONS IN FACTORIES. A3 (by With a view to health and comfort, So far as health and comfort are concerned, we see no objection in principle to local Governments having power to prevent the starting of factory work in buildings which are defective in design from this point of view, e.g., buildings provided with inadequate means of ventila- tion, or insufficient protection against excessive heat. Employers, how- ever, are paying much more attention than formerly to sound principles of factory construction. Further, the submission of complete plans to local Governments and their examination by experts in respect of ventilation, comfort, etc., would ordinarily give rise to serious delay, and in some cases it would be difficult, even for experts, to say from plans whether a particular building would, in actual working, be detrimental to the health and comfort of the operatives employed in it. We think that, if an endeavour is made to bring the requirements of the Act to the notice of intending factory owners and to warn them that these will be enforced, this should ordinarily be sufficient for the purpose. We suggest, however, that where an employer is willing to submit his plans for examination from the point of view of health and comfort, the autho- tities concerned should be prepared to give advice and to accord approval where this is justified. III. WELFARE. Need for Greater Uniformity. In the course of our tours, we endeavoured to visit as many factories as possible, and we were impressed by the great contrasts which they presented. There are factories which would compare favourably in lay-out, cleanliness, atmosphere and general well-being with any factories in the world ; there are others in which the welfare of the workers is almost entirely neglected. Even within the same industry in a single centre, there are often marked contrasts; and the example shown by some émployers seems to have little effect on others. Fortunately for the majority of the operatives, the larger factories are, on the whole, better than the smaller ones, and there has been a marked general advance in recent years. This has been due, partly to a growing realisation by owners and managers of the importance of promoting the health and com- fort of their operatives, and partly to an increasing unwillingness on the part of the operatives to tolerate unpleasant conditions. Both these influences are bound to gain in strength, and it is want of knowledge rather than unwillingness which prevents some factory owners from introducing further improvements. What is now required is some method by which the more backward employer may be brought at least up to the general level which has already been surpassed by the more enlightened and progressive employers. We do not here contemplate the Inaugu- ration of any new principle but rather the consolidation and extension of the principle already underlying those clauses of the Factories Act which deal with the general health, safety and welfare of the operatives. Circumstances necessarily vary in different centres and different in- dustries, and it is expedient that. rather than overload an Act which is

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