Paper Presented at Girmit Conference Wages and Working

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Paper Presented at Girmit Conference Wages and Working Condition during the Indenture System in

Paper Presented at Girmit Conference Wages and Working Condition during the Indenture System in Fiji: 1879 -1925 Dr Anand Chand Associate Professor School of Management & Public Administration University of the South Pacific chand_a@usp. ac. fj

Outline of Presentation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Aim

Outline of Presentation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Aim of the research. Marxist theoretical framework ( Marx, Baldamus, and Gouldner theories) Research Finding: Wages/Deductions Working Hours Work Targets/Task Close Supervision/Physical Assault of labourers Poor Housing & Living Conditions Food & Medical Facilities Deaths Due to Disease/Suicide Conclusion

Aim of the Paper Background: It is now 137 yrs since the arrive of

Aim of the Paper Background: It is now 137 yrs since the arrive of Indian indentured labour in Fiji in 15 May 1879. Leonidas was the first boat which brought 464 labourers from India. Aim and Scope of the Paper 1. The main aim of this paper is to examine the issues of wages and working conditions- hours of work in farms, targets per day, close supervision, working conditions, physical assault, housing conditions and living conditions, food, deaths, suicide faced by indentured workers in Fiji.

Marxist theoretical framework/ Labour Process theory 1. This paper argues that the discussion of

Marxist theoretical framework/ Labour Process theory 1. This paper argues that the discussion of the types of wage payments system needs to be reframed in terms of a deeper understanding of the peculiar nature of the labour process under capitalism. 2. Hence this paper utilises Marxist conceptual framework to analyse in depth the wage payment system in the Fiji garment industry. The paper uses the analytical tools of Marx (1830 s), Baldamus (1961) and Gouldner (1969).

Labour Process theory 1. Marx (1976) argued that employers use the potential ‘capacity to

Labour Process theory 1. Marx (1976) argued that employers use the potential ‘capacity to labour’ in order to create as much surplus value with less wage payment to workers (i. e) amount of labour employers can squeeze out of the worker. Baldamus (1961) developed the concept of 'the intensity of effort' from the viewpoint of 'the worker' and I quote: "The entire system of industrial production…is a system of administration control that regulates the quantity, quality, and use of human effort for the benefit of the employer and not workers" (Baldamus, my 1961: 9, emphasis). 2. 3. Gouldner (1969) argued: "In capitalist society, it is not the man that is wanted. It is, rather, the function he performs. If a man's skill is not needed, the man is not needed. If a man's function can be performed more economically by a machine, the man is replaced". (Gouldner, 1969: 348).

Wages/ Deductions 1. Poor wages – 1 shilling (12 pennies) a day for 9

Wages/ Deductions 1. Poor wages – 1 shilling (12 pennies) a day for 9 hours of work (ie 1. 3 pennies an hour). 2. Cost of food per day-4 pennies were deducted for rations given by employer (i. e. 12 - 4 = 8 pennies a day) 3. Payment at Risk- note 1 shilling was only paid if the target/task was completed by a labourer. Hence this means that some labourers had to work more than 9 per days to get 1 shilling. 4. There were deductions from wages (eg a labourer got sick, attending a court case, etc. ).

Long Working Hours 1. Long working hours- normal weekday (Mon-Fri) = 9 hours work

Long Working Hours 1. Long working hours- normal weekday (Mon-Fri) = 9 hours work per day and Saturday = 5 hrs (ie. Total of 50 hrs per week). 2. As mentioned before, if the set target/task was completed by a labourer, he/she would had to work more than 9 hours per days to get paid. 3. A day started at 4 am and ended at 7 pm. Details - 4 am labourers were woken up to (preparing breakfast & lunch) and taken to farm by a sardar at 5 am, average 2 miles walk to the farm and work started at 6 am.

Excessive Work: Tasks/Targets 1. Work was not based on time (‘hourly rate’), but ‘piece

Excessive Work: Tasks/Targets 1. Work was not based on time (‘hourly rate’), but ‘piece rate’ (i. e. tasks/target) were set by the sardars (eg plough by hand shovel – 2 chains x 4 yards). 2. These work/tasks/targets were excessive for a able bodies man to perform. This is similar to Taylor’s Scientific Management which was used in USA factories in the early 1990. 3. This is cruel way of payment of wages and even though it is not practiced in most workplace in Fiji- it is still present in garment industry in a hidden form.

Close Supervision/Physical Assault/Atrocities/ 1. ‘Close Supervision’ were evident as Sardars were constantly watching the

Close Supervision/Physical Assault/Atrocities/ 1. ‘Close Supervision’ were evident as Sardars were constantly watching the labourers that all labourers are busy working. 2. There were many cases of physical assault/atrocities by overseers (white men) and Sardars (semi-elite Indians). At times the labourers retaliated and labourers were taken to police and court. 3. Penal punishment were given to workers (imprisonment) 4. Research by Foster (1990) found the British magistrates were also in favour of the overseers, sardars, and owner of the plantation (Reported in Gillion, 1962).

Poor Housing & Living Conditions 1. Gillion (1962) reports that the indentured labourer living

Poor Housing & Living Conditions 1. Gillion (1962) reports that the indentured labourer living is poor housing & living conditions. E. g 4 labourers livered in a tiny room (6 ft by 10 ft). The houses were called ‘lines’ (concept similar to ‘assembly lines’ in factories in US & Europe). 2. They had to cook, eat and sleep in the small room. 3. There was sanitary problem & disease spread to other labourers in the room & the line. Gillion reports that a substantial number of labourers died of poor living conditions & disease.

Poor food & Poor Medical Facilities 1. Poor quality food (little protein)- e. g.

Poor food & Poor Medical Facilities 1. Poor quality food (little protein)- e. g. rice and dhal. This diet had little protein and was not adequate for ‘reproduction of labour’ for hard physical work in hot climate. 2. Poor medical facilities with no qualified doctors, subqualified nurses, and not adequate medicine.

Suicide 1. Suicide rates were high. It is 10 x more when compared to

Suicide 1. Suicide rates were high. It is 10 x more when compared to other colonies which had Indian indentured labour. 2. The main reasons were alienation (Marx), anomie (Durkheim) & Depression due to hard labour, poor working conditions, housing, regret of coming to Fiji, etc.

Theoretical Analysis To fully understand what was going on in Fiji during the indenture

Theoretical Analysis To fully understand what was going on in Fiji during the indenture time, we cannot look at the case of Fiji in isolation to what was going on in the international picture, plantation labour in other places where Indian labourers went to and factory labour internationally. From the lenses of Marxist theoretical framework, the following are evident: 1. Collusion between (1) colonial state, (2) CSR company (MNC), (3) Planters Association, (4) individual plantation owners (capitalists), and colonial administrators and magistrates. 2. 3. ‘Punitive working Conditions’, ‘Work intensification’, ‘degradation’ of work, ‘exploitation’, ‘Close Supervision’, ‘unfree labour’, etc (Marx, 1830; Braverman, 1973). Suicide – captured by concepts of ‘alienation’ (Marx) and ‘anomie’ (Durkheim).

Conclusion 1. 2. l l This paper has used a Marxist theoretical frame work

Conclusion 1. 2. l l This paper has used a Marxist theoretical frame work (‘labour process’) to unravel the poor wages and punitive working conditions practice used by CSR (MNC) & supported by British colonial state. The research findings show that the Colonial Sugar Refining company had exploited workers in number ways: deliberately kept the wages below the living wage; by using a ‘piece rate’ system (not hourly rate) to reduce wage cost; setting ‘work targets’ (tasks) that were difficult to achieve in a day (i. e work intensification) encouraging workers to supplement poor wages via vegetable gardening. 3. In addition, this poor wages with poor working conditions were: long hours of work (9 hrs per day), hard physical labour in hot sun, l ‘close supervision’ of oversees & sardars. 4. More research is needed to have an in-depth critical analysis of indentured labour globally. l

Thank You. Any Questions/Comments?

Thank You. Any Questions/Comments?