INDUSTRIES

section iii- LABOUR ORGANISATION

The organised labour movements are of very recent origin in the district. This could be attributed to late start of industrialisation, absence of organised industries, lack of organised efforts on the part of labourers etc. The trade union movement took its roots first in the textile industry and then spread rapidly to the rest of the industries in recent years. In 1964, there were 21 trade unions registered under the Trade Union Act of 1926.

The following statement gives an idea about the number, membership, income, expenditure and assets of the different unions in the district.

Textile and municipal workers had the largest membership of 3247 and 753 respectively. Next come the unions of State Transport workers with a total membership of 544 and Hamal and Mapadi workers numbering about 423. The rest of the unions are either too small with very few members and with little or no organised activities.

The employees employed in the scheduled employments under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, were paid wages at the rate fixed under the Minimum Wages Act; for example, the workers of the cotton textile mill at Dhulia were paid a minimum wage of Rs. 34 pet-month inclusive of the wage increase granted as per the recommendations of the Central Wage Board for Textile Industry. In addition, they were paid dearness allowance based on the consumer price index number plus 10 per cent point above 100.

The Minimum Wages Act has been extended to many industries. The following statement shows some of the important industries and the minimum wages fixed for them:―

Industrial Disputes.

Industrial progress depends a good deal upon the mutual relations between the employers and the employees. Without a contented labour force, industrial development hardly makes its headway. In the absence of industrial peace, the labourers resort to such weapons as strikes, slow-working, and work to rule which hampers the continuous and efficient production. The industrial relations assume overwhelming importance now a days in the context of planned industrial development which has synchronised with the general awakening among the labourers and the growth of trade unionism. The workers are seen resorting to strikes over the issues of wage rates, payment of bonus, working conditions and rationalization of machinery. etc.

The following statement gives the number of strikes that occurred in the district since 1950 to 1963 and the mandays lost.

STATEMENT SHOWING INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES AT SHIRPUR DURING THE PERIOD FROM 1954 TO 1963

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