Annual report on the Federation of Malaya.

Date:
[1956]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Federation of Malaya. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    60/536 (page 42)
    All women workers were eligible for maternity allowance. An average of approximately io| acres of land per ioo resident labourers were cultivated by the labourers for their own use. Table 6 CHINESE TIN MINES AVERAGE WAGE RATES, DAYS WORKED AND EARNINGS: JULY 1956 (i) Occupation Employed direct or through contractors Percentage paid daily or monthly rates Average rate of pay Average hours worked Average days worked Average monthly earnings (3) Daily Rates Monthly Rates Daily Rate Monthly Rate (2) Repalas ... D 2 98 $ c. * 8 c. 202 00 ___ 8 c. 217 00 Asst. Repalas ... D 12 88 * 141 00 — — 158 00 Clerks D — 100 — 140 00 — — 151 00 Cooks D - • 100 — 83 00 — — 90 00 Watchmen D — IOO — 77 00 — — 81 00 Engine Drivers: 1st class Cert. D — IOO — 162 00 8 30 179 00 C — IOO — 150 00 8 30i 161 00 2nd class Cert. D — IOO — 100 00 8 30 107 00 C — IOO — 99 00 7i 3o£ 105 00 Without Cert.... D — IOO — 77 00 8£ 29 81 00 C — IOO — 72 00 29 76 00 Chargemen: With Cert. ... D — IOO * 144 00 8 30 157 00 C — IOO — 162 00 6* 30 i 174 00 Without Cert. D — IOO — 66 00 8 3i 75 00 C 8 92 * 78 00 8 30 86 00 Excavator and Bulldozer Drivers D 3 97 * 125 00 8* 27 157 OO C — IOO — 133 00 6* 3i 135 00 l abourers (4): Pong Sau (5) ... D 98 2 I 80 * 10J 27 115 00 Chap Rung, Rongsi Rung (6). D 99 I I 70 * io£ 27i 98 00 Female Chinese D 98 2 1 6s * ioj 26b 77 00 Male Indian (7) D 95 5 2 00 * 8 26i 91 00 Pok Chau Workers (8): Males (Chinese) D 89 11 2 80 * io£ 27I 123 00 Females (Chinese) ... D 91 9 2 05 * 10J 28 72 00 Notes. — = Nil. * = Sample too small to obtain a reasonable average. $1 = 2s. 4d. 77% of the labour force receive free food which costs the employer an average of $37 per month per person. The estimated number of persons employed on 31st July, 1956 was 26,240. (1) In respect of workers who were employed twelve days or more during the month. Workers who were employed less than twelve days were excluded from the enquiry. (2) Average hours worked per day do not relate to July, 1956. Each mine included in the sample from which the above statistics were obtained was visited during the period August to October, 1956 by a Labour Department officer who obtained details of the hours worked by the labour force on the day preceding his visit. (3) In addition to overtime payments, includes a Tin Price Bonus which for July, 1956 was paid by the Malayan Mining Employers’ Association at 16% of the basic rate. Although many Chinese owned mines are not members of the MMEA, nearly all of them pay the bonus either as a separate payment or consolidated in the basic rate. (4) 51 % of the labour employed comes within this category. (5) These workers are more experienced in mining operations than the Chap Rung and Kongsi Rung labourers. Each mine usually has one or two Pong Sau labourers and they act as general all-round assistants adaptable to any manual mining operation required. They are usually classified as semi-skilled. (6) Chap Rung and Rongsi Rung labourers are unskilled. Chap Rung labourers usually perform the more permanent work, and Rongsi Rung labourers the miscellaneous jobs. The earnings of these workers include payments for special or emergency work done outside normal working hours for which high job rates are paid. (7) As a general rule non-Chinese workers and Pok Chau labourers do not receive free food. (8) The Pok Chau system of working a mine may be freely translated as “co-operative mine sharing”. A mine owner instead of employing labour directly allows a group of labourers to work his mine in exchange for an agreed percentage of the ore mined, the labourers sharing the balance amongst themselves.