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CHAPTER XXI.
Preliminary Investigation.

To sum up. The evidence before us discloses no practical difficulty
 that cannot be surmounted by a proper choice of the methods and
due care in their application. We do not, however, suggest that wagefixing
 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 information
 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 information
 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 wagefixing
 machinery best suited to the requirements of the industry, 7.e.,
whether there should be one Board with representative advisory committees
 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 necessary,
 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, Government
 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 undertaken
 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