WAGES ‘ON PLANTATIONS. 387 
Average Earnings. 
Piece work earnings are liable to considerable variations owing 
to the latitude which is allowed to the worker in the matter of attend- 
ance. Statistics of average monthly cash earnings are furnished in 
the annual reports on immigrant labour published by the Government 
of Assam. These averages are obtained by dividing the total monthly 
earnings by the average daily working strength in the months of March 
and September. The former is regarded as a slack and the latter as a 
busy month for the tea industry in Assam. This calculation does not 
purport to represent the average monthly earnings of a worker or the 
amount which he could reasonably be expected to earn; it represents 
the monthly earnings of an average worker if he did not absent himself on 
a single working day—a condition which is hardly ever fulfilled. The 
figures as published do, however, provide an index of variations in average 
earnings from year to year. On this calculation the figures in the report 
for 1929-30, give the average monthly earnings in the Assam Valley as 
Rs. 13-8-7 for men, Rs. 11-1-7 for women and Rs. 7-8-6 for children. For 
the Surma Valley the corresponding averages were Rs. 10-11-0, 8-6-1 and 
5-6-2 respectively. Except in the case of children in the Assam Valley, the 
figures show a small decrease as compared with 1928-29. Even so, the 
average earnings are substantially higher than those of 1920-21 as given 
in the report of the Assam Labour Enquiry Committee of 1921-22. There 
has been a fall in the cost of living during the past decade, and-the economic 
position of the worker in the Assam plantations has undoubtedly improved 
considerably. 
Absenteeism. 
Absenteeism is an important factor, in the Assam plantations. 
The Enquiry Committee of 1921-22 worked out the percentage of the 
average daily working strength to the total number of labourers on the 
garden books for a number of years and came to the conclusion that the 
efficient working force for each of these years was about 75 % of 
the total. The Indian Tea Association stated in their evidence that 
absenteeism had increased in recent years, but this is not corroborated 
by the published figures for 1927-28, 1928-29 and 1929-30 of the average 
daily working strength and the total number of workers on the garden 
books. The percentage of the efficient working force during these years 
has remained remarkably consistent with the earlier figures in the report 
of the Enquiry Committee of 1921-22. The actual figures for 1929-30 
were as follows.:— 
(7) Adult labourers (working and non-working) 
living in garden lines and on garden land .. 625,310 
(17) Number of labourers on garden hooks in Sep- 
tember and March i i. .. 505,001 
(11) Average daily working strength in these 
months .. . .. .. 376,850 
(w) Percentage of (441) to (it) .. .. .n 746 
The Assam Branch of the Association has pointed out that the months 
of September and March. on which both the figures given by the Enquiry 
909