THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE FACTORY WORKER. 27 
present system. It would give the worker an increased sense of security 
and of attachment to a particular factory, and greater efficiency would 
follow. 
Holiday Allowances. 
At the same time we urge that, wherever possible, an allowance 
should be given to the worker who goes on leave after approved service. 
The value of holidays in maintaining and increasing efficiency is undoubt- 
ed ; and few workers need these holidays so much as those employed in 
Indian factories. The recognition of the claim of the worker to some 
allowance for a specified period while on recognised leave would have a 
distinct influence in converting the labour force of a factory from a con- 
stantly changing and unsettled mass to a regular and contented group of 
workers. The effects on discipline and efficiency would be marked, and 
sickness and absenteeism would be greatly reduced. Most Government 
factories give such allowances ; In some cases workers in such factories are 
eligible for leave with pay on a scale which must be superior to that en- 
joyed by any other industrial workers in the world, We do not suggest 
that private employers should or could attempt to emulate the practice. 
The scale of allowance is of less importance than the recognition of the 
leave of absence. TItis noteworthy that Government factories are gene- 
rally able to attract a settled labour force, even where leave allowances are 
far from liberal or virtually lacking ; the attraction is the greater security 
of tenure, and this is largely dependent on the fact that a Government 
factory worker can generally go on a period of absence, if he needs it, with 
a guarantee of re-employment on his return. 
Lack of Education. 
To some extent, the prevalence of bribery is attributable to 
lack of education among the workers; indeed many more, troubles 
arise from this cause. In India nearly the whole mass of industrial 
labour is illiterate, a state of affairs which Is unknown in any 
other country of industria] importance. It is almost impossible to over- 
estimate the consequences of this disability, which are obvious in wages, 
in health, in productivity, in organisation and in several other directions. 
Modern machine industry depends in a peculiar degree on education, 
and the attempt to build it up with an illiterate body of workers must 
be difficult and perilous. We would emphasise the fact that, precisely 
because of this. the education of industrial labour should receive special 
attention 
Education of Half-timers. 
Many employers have endeavoured to do something towards 
making good the deficiency by means of factory schools and a few of the 
schools we saw are admirable examples of their kind, and represent a big 
outlay in cost and thought. There is, however, a fairly general tendency 
to concentrate in such schools on the education of half-timers. We are 
anxious not to discourage any attempt to meet so obvious a need. 
But though useful work is done In some cases, the truth is that 
00 often the results are incommensurate with the effort. A child is 
seldom capable of putting in 5 or 6 hours’ work in a factory and learning