Subject NOT available

Digboi Oil fields and thts Numdong Toa Estates and bad talks with the repre- sentatives oi the management and worker* employed there. The material so collected and the knowledge thus obtained by personal contacts was of great use in baaing our conclusions.

16. Among the six colliory i-ompaniub in the Province of Assam, the AflsaM liailways and Trading Co., is the biggeat, having an output of nearly 90 p" uenfc. of total coal excavated from the Assam Collieries every year. It, there-. fore, employs the largest number of workers in this field. The mining condi. tions ubtaiuing in the collieries oi this Company are, however, different front those obtaining in the Bengal and Bihar or the Central Provinces Coalfields Here the underground workers are' divided among 5 categories instead oi 8 •* in the oollieriog in Bengal, fBilmr wnd in the Central Provinces and Berar.

These categories are: —

[\) Coal Cutters, (2) Bh&tskawallns or opening men or drillers,

1,3) Cool Pullors, (4) Loaders or tub fillurs, und

(5) Trammers.

IT. The functions of a coal cutkn in Assam is about ijh& btme t*fl in OJ*,, Bengal and Bihiu'. A coal cutter, cutting coal by hnnd in Assam baa to under- go a wvkim amount of strenuous jo)> as he ha* got to work in a Beam of Bmall thiefcue^. The height oi the gallery varies from 8 ft. in the Kha&ia JaintUk Hills to about 6 ft. in Bttrogoli Colliery. The work of coal cutting in t n eu mines is solely manuul while iu " oi the oulheries in Bengal and Bihar an* also m C P. \md JJoror Coalfields, it iy partly manual and partly mechanioai. Byplosivea are not ofton u&ed in Assam Coal Mines to drive coal galleries. Q* an average, n coal c.ytter outs up to 4x6x11 = 24 eft. of solid ooal per shift), and enrnw nbout MR. 1/5/- per foot of Bob'd nyul cut.

18 (i> fBiiragoli Colliery belonging to /YBBIUU Builways and Trading Co.,: 6itu;U.L>tl in iiftkuin Coalfields oi. Assam was inspeotod personally hy member" . of the Committee. A stone drift about a mile long has been driven into the Bide of the hijl to tap the coal seam about BV to 00' thick which is rather higMj inclined. The outcrop of this coal seam may be seen at different point at the summits, of the hills.

(ii) The Mine is split up into rooms and stalls at W apart. Two main and tail haulages working on the level on each Bide of the main cross coal serve as a feeder to the main haulage of tho stone drift which is also Mam and Tail The development of thi. mine is carried on by driving main gallen" of 5'x3' bv means of pick miners who, we are informed, - can drive in (MS average of "about l'-fl* per day. Tho main galleries later on are dressed jp ifche requisite sizes to serve as haulage ways.

Mitt The maioc part of the output • comes from depillaring area. After t h e($ l S \ T t e m l d, each pillar is reduced by driUing hole8 by hand an*

a softer job.

t] ri:teBdretrt h i ^ ss ^^biriftriJS ; l ^ i ^ i n ;r^ i ' r⁸; S o dy about L *^ * *" ™* ""* "** ** * o v .™ ie accationally present to supervise the procedure.

(v) After the area is made safe, the coal puller pulls the coal and drops it down the chute at a gradient of roughly 83° to 35° degreea. The coal-puller iB an unskilled worker but has to pub in a hard physical work at short interval*. (vi) Tba ooal going down the ohute is loaded at the bottom of the ohute or channel by loaders into tuba o( roughly 10 cwts. A single loader loads from 40 to 60 tuba in a shift of 8 hours. This is possible due to the fact that $Ee tuD is practically underneath the chute and the loader has only to use-hia shovel and there is no lead or lift. Occasionally these loaders have to tram the tube to the break or haulage way. The loader, Bhaskawalla, coal puller *re all paid by a contractor on daily rated basin.

19. Wages.—Coal cutters or opening men, Bhaskawallas or Drillers, Aa stated beforo, the Assam Railways axid Trading Co, is the largest oolliery owner in Assam. The coal cutter's job in the mines belonging to thl" Company, ia solely for driving main galleries, dressing and making safe roof and sides, and hence frfeir number is comparatively smaller than that employed in'!trther mines. In the Cherrapunji Colliery, the miners or coal cutters out the ooal by pick and carry the same to the nearest rail point. They usually work in pairs and they are therefore mmer-p.um-carriers. The basis of pay- ment in this Mine is a tub rate of 23.^ eft. oapacifry. In Dilli colliery, the outtotB work in pair* but loading is not done by them. They are paid on footage* and get E". 2/8/- per liner foot of conl nut.

20. It will be seen that there is no uniformity in the working conditions or the basis of payment. However, on account of the low width of the seam in certain mines, the work of tho ooal cutter is rather exacting. In som" mines they are required to crawl a distance of ahout 500 feet to roach the coal faotta on the hill-sides. No coal cutting machine is in operation in Assam. Naturally the miners are required to put hi strenuous labour.

21. Lack of uniformity In the basis of payment was one of the greatest hurdles in the path of the Committee. From the data available lo the Com- mittee and from the discussions with the representatives of the Colliery owners and the workers, the Committee came to the conclusion that on account of the very strenuous conditions of working in Assam Mines, the coal-cutters, can on average cut 4x6x1 = 24 eft. of coal in solid per shift of 8 hours. This has been admitted by the Indian Mines Inspector und also by tho employers and the employees. On our personal inspection of the working conditions of the miners in these coalfields and on interrogation of tho coal-cutters working ou ]hho spot, wo have come to the conclusion that thitv figure may ba taken as an averago for tho fixation of the basic wage rate. The wage of a coal cutter in 1939 was Ite. -/12/- per day which was higher than the then prevailing rate in ithe Bengal and Bihar coalfields. The main reason for higher rate was to attract labour from far- off places in the absence of local labour and nlso to diesuo.de them from joining other local industries such as the Digboi Oil Fields, Tea Gardens, etc. The majority of mining labour in the Province of Assam con- sists of Pathnns, Nepaleos, Buipurisi and Rambalpuris. Circumstances do noti warrant any lowering down of this rate and the Committee has, thoreforo, accepted this figure of Eo. -/12/- per day for the conl cutter or coal getter or bhaskawalla, the opening man winning coal by hand, as his basic wage'iu 1989, which year has been taken by the Board of Conciliation for purposes of com- parison. As explained above, the nature of work of this category of workers i& strenuouB and fy therefore deserves special treatment. The Committee, there fore, recommends that in order to bring the rate of wugos of these entepories of workers on the samp levp] as before in comparison with thnt of Bengal and Bihar Colliery workers, an increase of 33.1/3 per cent, on the basic wa 942 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY, JULY 1, 1948

basic wage should be raised to Ee. 1/- per day. This increase will naturally allow the Assam Colliery workers to enjoy higher rates of wages as before, although his daily output for certain categories of labour will be le&s than that of the similar worker in the Bengal and Bihar collieries and in Central Pro"- .villOOS.

22. Ooal pullers.—This category of workers exists only in the ABaflpi Collieries. Ut> is an unskilled worker but his work being of strenuous nature, he WHS drawing a minimum basic wage of He. -/12/- per day in 1989, for pulling life to 30 tubs of ooal per shift. Considering the trying oiroumstanceB under which he has to work, the Committee feela that his case also merits preferential treatment and it therefore recommends that the coal puller should alao be • ^ ' i v en H II i n c r e a se of 3 3 . 1 /3 p er c e n t, o v er t he b a s ic w a ge a nd t h us h is m i n i m um • b a s ic w a ge s h o u ld be b r o u g ht to " R e. 1 /- p er d ay p er h e ad f or a m i n i m um of 1 2J

tons of coal pulled in 8 hours shift or 2fi tubs of 10 cwt. capacity each.

23. Loaders.—In the Cherrapunji Colliery of M / B. Cherra Ghhntak S e a w ay Company, the loaders and trarnmei'H or trolloymen are working in conjunction. They can lond and tram between 4 to 6 tubs for whioh thoy receive a payment of He. -/14/- per tub of 22-5 eft. which holds roughly 11 owts. of coal and LherelorH each of them earns a minimum of Es. 1/12/- per day. In the collieries belonging to the Assam Bail ways and Trading Co. find the Nazira Coal Co. the loadeis load tho tubs and train them up to 1st break lmulngu way,, They "'Te ihc employees' of the contractors. From the statements submitted in us mid from Ihe ','vidonee given before us, we have come to the. conclusion /-hiit rlie miniiniiru basic earnings of a londor during the year 10,'il) were lie. -/12/" ;jrir clay for loading a minimum of 25 tubs of 10 cwt. capacity of coal m Assam 'HaiJwtiyfl and Trading Company. We, therefore, recommend that they should •be ^ivon an increase of 33 •& per cent, ovor the 1939 basic wage and thus their minimum basic wage should be made Ho. 1/- per day for loading 25 luba of 10 cwt. capacity of each tub per shift, where Bhaska coal is available and f> tubs in Collieries situated in Khasia and Jaintia Hills.

24 Trammers or Trolleymen.—The work of the trammers or trolleyme.n in the Assam Coalfieds is comparatively of easier nature as they are not required to cover a long distance as- in the Bengal and Bihar coalfields und m the capacity of the tub is only If/ cwt. the sizo being 24 eft. whereas m Bengal and Umar in ' is generally 30 eft. Trammers are time rated workers and their basic wage u? J939 was Ee -112/- per day. U m usually the practice in the coalfields of the A?'sam Enilwavs find Trading Co. to engage new entrants as trammer* and_to ^ive them an increase of Ee. - / I /- per year upto He. -JUj- since T.his ]ob is being ioonsideied as an easy one. Although the nature of work of this worker is not no arduous and therefore may seem not to deserve preferential treatment, still the Committee is of the opinion that if this class of workers is domed an increase in the basic wage, which IJHS been recommended for the other categories of •mdijrground workers, it is bound to create unpleasantness among these workers vvhioh mny result in distmrbing the industrial peac--. Moreover, he is an untler- s/vuund worker and according to the recommendation of the Board of Concilia- tion the underground workers deserve preferential treatment. We, ^therefore, recommend that the trammers or trolleymen may also be given fin incrrenso o 33i rf ir "on*- ⁰ V Gr t n e ir b a s ic w a ce of ^{1 9 39} a i ld t h us t h e ir mie s b o u ld I ie r a i s e cl *o Tie. 1/- j>er day for tramming.

'>f, The increase in the basic wa-es of the underground workers as rccom-, mended' above would mainiain the difference in w o ^s in favour^of ARFUI.. work- ers. Under these recommendations, the daily wages of the different categoric of underground, workers will be as follows:

(aj Ooal cutters or Coal-getters, Opening men or BhasItawalias or Unllert.

Bengal and Bihar

Atecfm

B a s ic r",to for 2 o. ft. of s o l id c o al

Loading 1 tub of 36-00 o. ft. flapwlty

c ut in 1 0 3 0*

p ^

AH.

P8.

JHa.

Basic waft" 00 % inorofts© .

Baflio w a ge . . . .. 3 3 - 1 / 3% i a o r ^ a so . . ..

12 4

0 0

0 0

g 4

0 0

Bfl. 0 0

ft

¹ New baBio wage

N ew b a s ic w a ge

0 0

12

0 4 0 p or d a y.

Diffe^enc/f K B,

*(To warn this new basin wage we recommended that the BhaflkuwuHus nhonld win at

least 25 tubs of JOOKH ooal por shift.)

(b) Similarly the earnings of a loader and coal -puller would be:

Bengal and Bitor

Assam Ji'ur loading or pulling per day por shift* L o a d i ng 1 t ub of SU'OO c. f t. c a p a c i ty

IB.

A3.

AS. PH.

Us.

0

0

0 0

0

12 4 0 B a s ic w a go . . .. 5 0% i n o t e n se . . ..

0 0

8 4

Baaio.rate of J93H 33-1/3% iaoreaSe

0

0

0

12

o :

N ^ sw b a s iu w f t go

B e n g al a nd B i h ar

AS.

Pfl.

A3,

Pa.

Ra.

12 4

0 0

0 0

P:>esoii.t bu.sk¹ i.i? in 1930 33-1/3% iiicrenwo

0 0

0 0

8 4

B a a io w a ge In 1 0 39 5 0% i n o i e a so . . ..

.1

1 0

New basic waKO

0

12

0

N ew b a s in w a ge . . ..

26. Adult MaJo Time-ratea woriterB—unaergrouna.—AS regaras ouaor uuuer- {jround workers WJJO fire not covered l>y our propown.le and who are eit-lirr em- ployed by the, contractor or the company on time-rated basis, the Committee holds tbut in ordor to keep all tlio underground workorpi contented ond happy, they should be giveri mi increnBo of 12-\ ppr cent, over theiv 1939 baRic wage^ The ("!omniit

27. Adult Male Time-rated Workers—surface.—Considering the difficult poal- tioii of labour supply in tho provifier of Assam in genoml und in cotdfielda in particular, tho abnormal rise in the prices of articles of daily necessaries of life and the gradual improvement in the standard of living of nil the workers In general, the Committee hns come to the conclusion that the- surface workers should also be given some increase over their basic wage. It is, therefore, recommended that all the surface workers should receive an increase of 12$ por cent, over their basic wage of IO;"!9 if they wero getting Us. ,'H)/- or le^s per month.

28. Basic Wage.—It is the common experience in nil industries that major disputes arise out of wage questions. The principle of "Living Wage-' there- fore, must receive our attention for all types of workers in the industry. An average worker should be able to satisfy his normal needs if he has to maintain

his existence in a civilised community. We, therefore, suggest that the recom* mendationa of tie Board of Conciliation, in this behalf may be accepted and all male workers surface may be given a minimum wage of Re. 9-8-0 per &u% and where not existing, it should be brought up to thia standard.

29. Female Labour,—The minimum basic wage o£ the female labour IK 1989'was AH. -/"/- pw day, and (his may remain aa the basic, WRJJO of fecaal* worker in Ansam. In order, however, that thin may compare favourably witi£ the proposed rates of other categories of workers, we suggest that th" basin wage of a female worker should be As. ~/7/- and a ferualo worker who has put in a minimum of 12 months' service, should be given tin increase of 13J per cent over her basic wage of 1989. The Committee's recommendation* re- garding deafness allowance and. foodgrain concessions are applicable to Hieie workers also.

80. Dearneaa Allowance.—AVhile considering the question of dearneaa allow-

ance the Committee bad to bear- in mind th" fact that the proposed ratea, of jvages for th" Assam Colliery workers are higher than those received by the Bengal and Bihar Colliery workers. The Government of Assam are not main- taining separate coat of living index figures either for the whole province or for the colliery area. The Assam Railways and Trading Company supplied a* with th<' cost of living index figum which was compiled by the Company, in the absence of official figures in this respect. This Index figures showed that the cost of living hi the Colliery area in Assam bad risen by 200 points approximately over the 100 buae ct' 1939. The Committee deputed its investigator to collect the relu-vant data required for the compilation of the cost of living; indox fifrur*.: Our investigator personally visited tho shops in the Murgherita Market and supplied us wilh the present market tm well ".s the Colliery Grainshop rates of foodstuffs from which it WRH ascertained thab ttin 1939 mid 1947 figures supplied by the colliery Company were approximately correct. Comparing the presenfl cost of living index figure in the Assam Colliwi'y area with that of Jharia, the Committee ha" arrived at the conclusion that it would not be justifiable to give dearness allowance at the rate of 150 per cent, aa given in the Bengal and Bihar Collieries. To compensate for the rise of nearly 200 per cent, in the cost of living in the oolliery area in AsBam, the Committee recommends that 112J per cent, dearnuflj allowance on the new basio wage- should bo given to the under- ground colliery workers in Assam. This increase in the dearness allowance wilj entitle tht> cool cutters, Bhaakawallas, drillers, coal pullers, loaders, trammer* or trolleynien to receive Rs, 1-2-0 as dearness allowance. The following oomV parative table shows the average emoluments oi a coal cutter in the Bengal and Bihar Collieries and the Assam Collieries:—

Attain

Btnyal and Bihar

IjOndli-itf H tub of 30 -00 r. ft.

A.t the rato of cutting one tub of ooit of 24 o. ft. capacity on oithor loading drilling, pulling and tramming 28' tubB of the flame c&paolty per day per dbift.

PB.

is. :

AM.

8 4

0 0

la 4 Btisio wage 30 % Increase , • .

Rn. i . 0 . 0

Boalo wane of 1939 . 38-1/3% increase

RB. . . 0 . 0

*y 0 0

12 2

0 0

. 1 1

0 2

0 0 New basic wage 180% clearness allowitnoe .

. 0 . 1

New bauio -wage 112J% deafiiose allowinoo

3 0

2

Foodgrain concent*IonH

14 0

n 0

Foodgrain nonoeBBionft

1 . 0

6

0

(vide para. 32)

S 0

0

4

2

It will thus be seen that the proposed increase will maintain the difference in the oarnings of the underground workers in the Bengal and Jiihai with those in the Ate am coalfields,

81. AB regards dearnosfl allowance to other categories of workers, the Com- mitten recommends that it should bo granted at the following rates: —

Bato of dearntiSn

Minimum

allowance

H2i% 70% 0 0%

3 0%

B". a. p. 13 0 " 33 12 0 37 8 0 SO 0 0 (1J tTp to B". 30 (2) Between B". 31 and B". 30 . (3) Batweeu Ra, fll and Us. 100 .. (4) Between Bo. 101 and Be. 900 . .. 82. xoodstuflB.—Tiie Assam Eailways and Trading Company &nd the Nazjra Coal Company are the only two concerns which allow concessions in the prices of foodstuffs, etc., the former to the extent of As. -/8/G whilo tho latter to the extent of AB. -/5/li per heud pur day. The representatives of those two com- panies though favoured tho grunt of concessions in o""b instead of issuing food- grains at subsidised rutos however agreed with us that tho discontinuance of cheap graiuehopa would badly affect the workers as on account of tho acute scarcity of foodgrains it would be very difficult for tho workerw to secure the articles of daily necessaries of life elsewhere in tho market. We, therefore, recommend thai- sud) ooiio-ussion^ us am being granted by the Colliery owners at present to tho workers und which cost the former not loss than As. -/6/- per worker per day should continue as heretofore. Concessions amounting to less than an average of AH. -/fi/- per ^ orker per du.y should be brought up to As. -/G^- per day hereafter.

83. In the case of the collieries where no arrangements for the issue of grains have been made, we suggest that they should take immediate steps fo open r.hotip grain sh"jm and nllow the workers 'concessions to the. value of AB. -/6/- per day. However, till tho lime MIR grain shops come into operation, such colliory owners Hhould grant u grtuu coiiccssiou allowance of AH. -/ti/- to each ompJoyee per day for thu day worked.

34. Lead and Lift Rates.— The existing conditions in bigger collieries of Assam Coalfields, do not ne.c.t.'RBiUiU¹ the, loaders to gu beyond the requisite limit which entitles them to. enrn the lead and lift rates. However, in order to safeguard the interests of the loaders in nil th(i mines in Assam the Com- mittee recommends dhnt the j'l'oposnla of tho Board of Conciliation in rejgard to lead and lift rates may be enforced in the. Assam Collieries whenever cirouru- stnncus warrniit.

;),r), Standardisation of tubs.—The standard size of the tubs in usu at tho collieries belonging (•.*.> the- Assam KnilwayB find Trading Company is 4 feet by three feet by two feet, and they hold a standard half ton of coal. Taking into consideration the height of the seam in the Assam Collieries the Committes has formed tho opinion that tubs of the nbovo size will be quite suitable in thi" uroa. We, therefore, ru-ooTiiirie.nile

36. Explosives, Shovels, Pickaxes, Crowbars, Baskets (Thapas), Kerosene Oil, etc. —It vwiri brought io the noiii":e nf the, (.lonnnittee. that in some of tha mine=; the eo.st of f,hp nbovo ai'ticles is deducted from the wage of the c-gal cutters und loaders. No argument in necessary to "prove thai) 'tho cost of the articles which niv nfoeRSfiry for production should not be borne by tlm workers. Tt should be the liability of tho employers alone to provido thfi nmplo.VfeB with the neeeswiry equipment required for the work.

We, therefore, recommend that no deductions should, be made on this score.. However, as regards the iyauu ot explosives, wo consider that though they should bo issued free of coat still the maximum quantify to be issued should be fixed in uonaultation with the inspector of Minus.

;J>7. Provident Fund.—Wo recommend that one anna per rupee be deducted from the vviigus of a, worker to which tin equivalent amount be added by the em- ployer in acoordance with the Board oii Conciliation's recommendations on the subject.

88. Bonuses,—At present the Assam .Railways and Trading Company an,d tii'.- N;i;-.ira Coal Company grant tin attendance bonus of As. -/'I/- per day for '; or moiv, days' attendance uiu] As. -/^/- per day for A days' ti(.tendance per week to the underground worker arid As. -/J/- per day for 0 days attendance and As. -i'lj- per diiy for 5 days' attendance jier week to the surfaeo wnrkei'. In these collieries lie average weekly attendance is more than 5 day* in v week whereas that in Bengal and Bihar and 0. 1\ Berar it is 4'7 days per week., Th:"p in due l<> the 1'a.ct that the majority of l.be cullirrv labour here being of immigrant type, they havo to remain on the colliery promises and to work. The bonus is paid weekly n'ong with the wages. The representatives of the owners contended that this system of paying the amount of bonus weekly on attendance was working very satisfactorily and it should therefore be continued. Jx) their opinion the payment of bonus every week was an inducement whicli fimde "(he workers feel that lhijy ure hcing amply rewarded fur regular attend- ance.. Taking into consideration 1 lie migratory failure of lftbour employed here, Wf feel that the present system of paying the bonus on attondanco alone, limy eontiriue. In order that, the bonus earned may amount to 1 mouths' pay per year, we recommend that the rates should l.)e raised by 40 per cent, and thus fc>ii-> existing rates of As. -/4/- a.nd Ae. - / 2 /- may be raised to As. -/Pi/- and As. - / 8 /- respectively. Tliis bonus should, however, be. restricted to einplnyees drawftig up to Es. 300 per month B.nd n HCflle equivalent to four monthFt' pay lie drawn up for the. monthly-rated staff.

39. The Gwners have, however, nil along emphasized the fact that the f.iVllieries will riot be able to bear the mirden of the extra .expenditure involved :inlrws a, corresponding increa&n in selling priee of eoal wns sanctioned by the Government.

o^tr^V

iCi. Contract Labour.—Before c-uneiuding' this reporl,, {]\Q CoiriTniiii'ieo would like to bring to the notice of the OiO-vernmerit of India the critioism and dia- cnfiisfaction thnt has been Travelled ugainst the nnntnujtrirs of Assam Cnalfiolds by the workers and their representatives. We had not sufficient time at our disposal to go into the matter fully but from the evidence placed before us and r>n our personal experience we feel that majority of the men working under fl c.ontrnctor wore not conversant witli the wages (,hnt thev were earning. Proper nnd adequate payments for work done during the week were in some instances, riri-f-, paid. Money either deducted or Vi'Ut Tmek with a view to paving the. men in the occasion of their gointr bn'plc In their villages, were not paid to them at all. In some eases, specialh- when the worker did not belong to the eornmunity of the contractor, the labourer was not paid his dues find very often thrm not, he l':nd to Vnve the "job under pressure, if he complained. "Wo were tol-,'1 "Ihaij r?i'fn(lv tlie payment of their wntres in being made in the office of the contractor to 1.V presence of the rr-urt-KMnfiiiiv'' of the cftiherv manageTnent. But we are cf the opinion that inspite of this, Ibc minor is in the dark n.H to l>ow rnu'-.h ho has earned during the week, noi- wnw the f-nmpanv's representative in a posi- tion to know and check about the correct earnings of the contract labourer. "No (ra.de union representative can filter into Hie colony of the contractor'^ labour nor can that, labour be th"e members of the Union. We were told Hy, +Ti^ employer^ that contractors wc>vi reHponsilile for the increased production

ol Goal. Jt HS true taut contractors with stnot supervision and control do exact more from the labour and thus help increasing the production. But we are Of the opinion that taking the changing times and improved civilised trend of the society into consideration security of labour should rest more on manage- ment than on the middleman and tiit> management should have full control over the recruitment, hours of a, work and payment of their workers, We, there- fore, recommend the liquidation of this system at an early dote. Till that time, however, the owners sjiould be a •iked to see that the monetary benefits and other concessions which are given to the Company's labour are also extended to the labour employed by the contractor by introducing the system of paying the man direct by tie Company, and should issue pay slips.

41. General,—We are grateful to the Government of Assam for the assist- ance and co-operation extender] by them to the Committee and particularly to Mr, K. C Barua, Commissioner of Labour, Assam, who in spile of the heavy duties of his office, managed to accompany us throughout the tour and there acted as interpreter to the Committed, He also helped tap Committee in chalking out its day to day itinei-ary.

Our thanks ;ure also duo both to colliery management and the organised labour who represented their respective oases very ably before the Committee. The accommodating spirit shoved by the management in adjusting and accept- ing the suggestions made to them by the Committee from time to time was really very good.

We would also like to record our appreciation of services rendered to us by our staff and the Secretary, Mr. K. B. Ohitnis, who in spite of all the incon venimices caused to them owing to the, travel difficulties, were able to give us fullest service that was possible "for them. We also thank Mr. A. C. Boy, Senior Inspector in charge, Regional Coal Controller, Margarita, for the assistance hfi rendered to the Committee.

D. G, JADHAV,

A. B. GUHA. Members of the Fact Finding Committee

for Asiam Coalfields.

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

DEPAKTMESTT OF LABOUR

EEGIONAL LAKOTTR COMMISSIONER (CENTRAL), SOUTHHfiN 20NE No. PPC/6/ Bombay, the August, 1947

To

(1) Nazira Coal Co. Ltd., Calcutta. (2) R. D. Lohia, Tinsukia, Assam. (8) D. C. Barooah, Assam. (i) The- Assam Ely. & Trading Co., Ltd., Assam. (5) The Assam Mining and Trading Co., Ltd., Shillong. (6) Cherra Chatak Bopeway Co. Ltd., Calcutta,

S IR

TV Government of India iu the Department of Labour have appointed P FQI:V Finding Committee for Collieries in Assam to hear and collect the views* of thf ( o'licry owners and workvrs on matters relating to the existing rates of hasr; wac- , lift and lead rates, clearness allowance, supply of foodgrains and doth, ;>n! Jbe erant of other concensioiw if any and recommend similar eaneeewioiift to .-cHiorv workers in Assam. The Committee which consists of ixryseM and Mr A. B. Gnha, Controller of Collieries. BaHorpor, would like to ascertain

from all concerned what monetary benefits should be granted so as to give the •colliery wotkers in Assam concessions equivalent to those given to similar cate- gories of workers in the Bengal and Bihar coalfields by the finding of the Board of Conciliation appointed for that area in the year 1947.

2. You are therefore requested to submit to the Committee so as to readh it not later than the 5th September 1947, a brief memorandum covering the following points:—

I. System of payment—'time or piece rates. *_'. Rates of overtime payment.. 3. Foodstuffs & Cloth; extent of concessions; number. 4. Capacity of tubs.

5. Rates of payment per tub. 6. Production figures per month before the supply of foodgrains etc,.. WHS rationed.

7. Production figures per month for a period of six months imtnecl/ately after the supply of ioodgrains, etc., was rationed and distributed by the colliery at concessional rates.

H. Coat price of the commodities in the open market.

3. Family budget of five members. 10. Details required in form " A" attached. II. Details as above for underground workers.

12. Comparative statement of wages and other allowance as per form "li" attached.

Liie C'/rmi'iioU'.- i-vi;u.i t, the evidence of your i-epressent- atives on any of tLe above points. The exact dates of taking the evidence will trc co'^.j/uuLiit.'M'Lot! to you later.

The lvqu're'J infannalJon may kindly hi> sout in duplicate one copy addres- sed to ti;J C

1 have the honour to be.

Sir,

Your most obedient servant.

D. G-. JADHAV.

•• AM

Total basic paid

Output for the month ResRorkx

Porcentage of attention

Average att"n- d"n(e p"r person per week

Total labour •ngnged onder each head

H, B,—T4*" *b<2V" I) formaUons ara rsq"jrT>d in detalU fur oufl particular month.

" BJJ

O&mparatI'W statement of wagea and othef ALlouxmois

T H E

j

1B47

1939

—

BoQQB Remarks AH categories of labour

Qre" vsge~-

Dmiuo- 'illow.tni'e or tioua j special *

Set earnings

Baste rata

Barto rate

Dednc tions

Dearncsa allowance or Bperial

Net earnings

Gross wag-in ea rm >d jier shift

1 ajluwanne

enrned peraWlt

G A Z E T T E

if rf.iiy

O P \

I

N D

I

A

I

E X T R A O R D

I

•

1

N A B Y

,

J

1

U L Y

1

, i

1 9 4 8

K. N. SUBKAMANIAN. Joint Secy .

9 4 0

MINTSTEY OF rNDTTSTBY JUSTD SUPPLY

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi, tht 1st July 1948

Wo, 208.—In L'Xfiraee oi the powers conferred by clause 4 of the Oollierj Control Ordc-r, 1945, as continued in force by Section 17 of the Essential Supplies (Temporary Powers) Act, 1946 (XXIV of 1946), the Central Govern- ment IR pleased to direct that the following further amendments shall b" made In the ^Notification of the Government of India in the late Department at Industries and Supplies No. 19, dated the 9th January 1946, namely:—

In the said notification, the table set forth under item "V. Collieries in Assam", Bhall be deleted aud the following table substituted in its place, namely:—

Or ado of ooal or ooke Price per ton ^ftme of Colliery

A.

Bs, P.

Bun-of-mino .

28 0

8

Dust Coal

S3 8 0

The Austin Railways aud Trading Co. Ltd.'* '

Marq-horiici Colliories.

|

Hand picked ooal .

0

30 0

Hard Coke .

0

75 0

I

Run-of-rnlne

Nftnitu. Coal Co. Ltd.'tf Borgon Colliory.

32 0

8

Do.

Dilll Colliery Ompany'e Dilli Colliery.

27 S 0

Cherrft-Ch&tUok Eopeway CO.'B Cherapunji

Do.

Oolliwrj . . . ' .

0

23 0

Mo"nra. A. K. Bhattaohariy" & Md. Haniff

Do.

Ltd.¹* Dogring Colliery (Garo Hills)

23 0

8

MBBHTW. A(Mi

OeAkarj . . . .

Do.

27 0

8

P. 11. NAYAK Dy. Sec,

PUWJSHFD DY T-kUl M/UJAOHU. Qg PUBLICATIONS, DELHI, I (TOLA,

FlWfNTB" BY TTIH MAMAOEB, QOV^NKKNT OF JllDIA PaiSH, NtW DKLJO, ImkliL