§ 2. Mr. BAKERasked the Under-Secretary of State for India what are the conditions of recruitment, rates of pay, hours of labour, and welfare conditions of the identured labourers employed in the tea plantations of Assam; whether it is the duty of any official of the Government to instruct the labourers as to the terms of their contract; and whether any steps are taken by the Government to see that the terms of the contract are kept by both employer and employed?
§ Mr. RICHARDSThe system of recruiting labourers under contract under the Assam Labour and Emigration Act has been discontinued for some time. It is not the duty of any Government official to instruct labourers as to the terms of any contract that they may wish to enter into, outside that Act. In the event of breaches of contract on either side, the ordinary remedy in the courts is available.