WAGES ON PLANTATIONS, 401 
Nilgiris and in Coorg a bonus of 4 annas is paid to the worker for 
six days’ work in the week. The labourers are employed in gangs 
ander their matstry who is generally paid a small monthly wage; but 
his main source of remuneration is a commission on the total earnings 
of the men employed under him. The commission is usually equal to 
10%, of the worker’s earnings, but in Coorg this is raised to 159%, in 
the case of those workers who have not received an advance from the 
sstate. As we have shown earlier, the final settlement of wages is 
not made till the end of the contract period, which is usually from 
the 1st of June till the 31st of March. The weekly payments made 
for the workers’ subsistence are Re. 1 to Re. 1-4 for men and 12 annas 
to Re. 1 for women. These are not always paid in cash, and in the 
Nilgiris and the Anamalais the estates issue rice at concession rates 
to men and women and make a petty cash payment of 4 annas a 
week to each adult worker. The bonus, where paid, is included in the 
weekly disbursement, and on most estates the worker, if he so desires, may 
draw weekly the amount which he has earned above the daily rate. At 
the time of the final settlement the worker usually has a credit balance 
which he can take to his home. The amount naturally varies with each 
worker, but from the evidence which we received, the average would 
appear to be between Rs. 30 and Rs. 40. In some cases workers have 
been known to return with as much as Rs. 100. Sometimes, if it is be- 
lieved that the worker will return to the estate for the next season’s 
work, this amount is supplemented by a fresh advance and by the expenses 
of the journey. 
Concessions. 
Unlike the important planting areas of North India there is 
little private cultivation, as the workers return annually to their village, 
but small plots are often allotted for the growing of vegetable crops for 
private consumption, and free firewood is available to all. Free housing, 
medical facilities of varying standards and, in many cases, maternity 
benefits of differing amounts are also provided by the employer. 
Defects of System of Wage Payment. 
The system of wage payment in South India has one advantage 
in that it enables many workers to return to their homes with what must 
oe to them a fairly substantial sum of money. It involves a saving of 
all surplus earnings, and it is no little credit to the planter that the worker 
places such complete confidence in him. On the other hand, the disadvan- 
bages in our view outweigh the advantages. It tends both to tie the worker 
to a particular estate, and to put an unnatural brake on that gradual ad- 
justment of the plantation worker to a higher standard of living which the 
industry itself realises to be one of its greatest needs. Not only are the 
weekly payments small, but evidence was not lacking to show that in some 
cases the workers were compelled to take further advances from their 
maistry for wants which could not be met out of the weekly advance. 
Moreover, we believe that the system of payment of wages in full to the 
worker at regular intervals, a system in force in all other plantation 
on