Benson, Wilfrid, ‘Some International Features of African Labour Problems’, International Labour...

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i Africa n Laour Pro ems by Wilfrid Bmzsow International Labour Office TheAfricanlabourer isoftena migrant.Sometimeshemoves withinaterritoryor from oneterritory to another under an organised recruitingsystem; sometimeshemovesindependently, ignoring natural obstaclesand international boundaries, to theareasof employment. In thepresent article,theauthor, who isamember of theSection of theInternational Labour Ogjiceconcerned with indigenouslabour, surveystheextent and someof theproblems of inter-territorial labour migration in Africa, with the exception of thepredominantly Arab countries. AFRICA,oncein frequent movement through religious expansions,tribal wars, and slaveraids, remainsacon- tinent of migrations. T heprincipal causeis now, asin thecase of slaveraids, thedemand for labour.Therea reareasof labour supply servingareasof demand at distancesup to almost 1,000 miles.Individual Africansmaybefoundin employment at oneextremewhohave comefrom almost thcother extreme of BlackAfrica. Even wherethelocal demand and supply are equal it isnot infrequent to find local labour emigrating to distant employment, and local employmentsbeing filled by immigrants. Migration maybeenforced by economicconditions. It may beencouraged by economicopportunities.It isalso based on African traditions.

Transcript of Benson, Wilfrid, ‘Some International Features of African Labour Problems’, International Labour...

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Afri can Laour P ro emsbyWilfrid BmzsowInternational Labour OfficeTheAfricanlabourer isoftena migrant.Sometimeshemoveswithinaterritoryor from oneterritory to another under an organisedrecruitingsystem; sometimeshemovesindependently, ignoringnatural obstaclesand international boundaries, to theareasof employment. In thepresent article,theauthor, who isamemberof theSection of theInternational Labour Ogjiceconcerned withindigenouslabour, surveystheextent and someof theproblemsof inter-territorial labour migration in Africa, with the exceptionof thepredominantly Arab countries.AFRICA,oncein frequent movement through religiousexpansions,tribal wars, and slaveraids, remainsacon-tinent of migrations. Theprincipal causeis now, asin thecaseof slaveraids, thedemand for labour.Therea reareasof laboursupply servingareasof demand at distancesup to almost1,000 miles.Individual Africansmaybefoundin employmentat oneextremewhohave comefrom almost thcother extremeof BlackAfrica. Even wherethelocal demand and supply areequal it isnot infrequent to find local labour emigrating to distantemployment, and local employmentsbeing filled by immigrants.Migration maybeenforced by economicconditions. It maybeencouraged by economicopportunities.It isalso based onAfrican traditions.

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:·Tis migrationisnotemporary penomenon ie y to cease=f with 3, newand rapid distributionof thepopulation. Settlementmay bediscouraged or may beimpracticablenear theemploy-ment centres. Thevast majorityof themigrantsare males,_many of whom return homeafter periodsoften no longer thanoneor two years, so that theshortnessof thestay in employ-ment accentuatesthevolumeof movement. In thechangingAfrican scene, aperiod at alabour centreisoften themoderntest of African manhood.If Africacan still bepersonified by theprimitivepeasant working incommunal surroundings, not farin hisshadowisthestranger travellingf or days, weeks, ormonths,sometimesignoring territorial andnational frontiersinhismarchto employment and on hisway home.THE INTERNATIONAL CHAaAc·rr:n or rim LluzouaSUPPLYSuch statisticsasexist areinsuflicient for anestimateof theannual volumeof migrationacrossAfrican frontiersor of theaveragepopulationemployed outsidethehomelimitsof theirterritoriesof origin.AsSir Alan Pim states1, "political boun-dariesclearly mean very littletotheNative labourer ".Evenwhen emigrantsarerequired totakeout passes, largenumbersoftenappear toavoid theobligation,and when passesare neededin thecountry of immigrationtheoriginsof theNativetravellersoftenseem to bea matter of guesswork.Theroughest analysis, however,of thebalanceof homeandalienAfrican labour in someof theprincipal areasof employ-ment givesan indication of the international composition of a. normal Africanlabour force.Thelargest labour forcein Africais that employed on theRand minesin theUnion of South Africa. Itsnumbershaverecently been fluctuating just above300,000. Of these, nearly90,000 camefrom PortugueseEast Africa, some50,000 fromBasutoland, about 15,000 from other British South Africanterritories, and10,000 from tropical territoriesin NorthernRhodesiaand Nyasaland.Thus, lessthan half thetotal originatesin theUnion of South Africa.Alargeincrease in thelabourrequiredisanticipated,and thebalance ismainly being soughtin Northern Rhodesiaand Nyasaland.Other employmentsin`South ·Africaalso rely to an appreciableextent on alien labour.V* Gamer Bm·rAm: Report of theCommission Appointed to Enquireinto theFtnarunhl and EconomicPositibn of Northern Rhodesia, 1988. .

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i , i , ,t en em poye i n t eUni on} TeZuuan sugar est at esuseanumber of PortugueseEast Africans.Nativesfrom Basuto-land, Bechuanaland, and Nyasaland, arelargely employed onSouthAfrican farms. In1930 aGovernment Committeereportedthat theUnion normallyhaswithin itsborderssome225,000adult maleNativesfrom neighbouringterritories.2 Thisnumberhasprobably increased sincethen.Further north, in SouthernRhodesia, acensus wastakenin 1936 whichshowed252,000 Nativesin employment. Lessthan half (108,000) wereof SouthernRhodesian origin. Nyasa-land contributed70,000, Northern Rhodesia47,000, and Por-tugueseEast Africa25,000. Thecopper minesin theBelgianCongo for sometimelargelydependedon labour from NorthernRhodesia,and, although thissituationhasnow changed,theSenior Provincial Commissioner of Northern Rhodesiaestimatesthat in 1937some11,000 Northern Rhodesianswereemployedin theCongo. In theMandatedTerritoryof Tanganyikaimmi-grant labourersareestimatedto number 45,000, of whom80,000 arefrom theSouth and 15,000 from theCongo S. InWest Africa, thoughwith fewer Nativesemployed, thesamephenomenonisencountered.Of the18,000 workersemployedon plantationsintheCameroonsunder British Mandatein1936, over 5,000 camefrom areasunder French administration.TheSpanish island of FernandoPo islargely dependent onforeign labour; thequestionof thelabour supply from Liberiafigured largelyin aninternational enquiry of 1930; therehasalsobeen amovement of labou1·from theCameroonsunderFrench Mandate; in addition therehasbeen aclandestinelabour supply from Nigeria.OntheGold Coast mines, possiblyone-half of the50,000 Africansarefrom French territory.Thedistrictssofar mentionedarethose whereEuropeansettlement isappreciableor whereEuropean mining develop-ment isimportant. In other parts, however, which arelookedupon asareasof almost exclusivelyAfrican development, andin purely Africanemployments, labour migration maytalsoI Nv.4s.u.Arm : Report on NyamlandNativesin theUnion of South Afrikaandin Soullaevnlllnodesnkz,1987.* Umor: or SorrruAnica: Report of theInter-De partmental Committeeon theLabour Resourcesof theUnion, 1930.* Taxtoarrvixe. Tznnrronv: Report of the CommitteeAppointed toInd AdviseonQuestionsrelatingto theSupply and Welfareof NativeLabour antheTanganyikaTerritory,1988.

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, ieesswe es t a i se . It aseenes t i m at e t at t erei sanannual movement of 200,000 French West Africansto andfromtheBritishcolonyof the Gold Coast; some38,000 immigrantsweretreatedat one disinfectingstationin 1936. Many of theseimmigrantsgo to themines,but in aprosperousyear largethough unknownnumbersareemployed by theGoldCoastNativecocoagrowers. In thesmall British colony of theGambia,with apopulation of 200,000, it appearsthat normally about10,000 strangersfrom French West Africaarriveannually toworkon apart employment,part share—tenant, basis. Themigrationfrom theinterior of FrenchWest Africaisfrom60,000 to 70,000 annually,partly to Senegal a nd partly to theGambia.1 In thecotton-growingdistrictsof theAnglo-Egyp-tian Sudan anumber of theAfricanpeasantsemploy workersfrom Britishand FrenchWest Africa. InUganda, perhaps60,000 Nativeforeignersenter thecountry annually, mainlyfrom theMandatedTerritory of Ruandaand from theSudan.Socnu. Paommmsor MmmvrroxNo attempt canbemade hereto discusstheproblemsraisedby Africanlabour migrations.It may, however, beof valueto attempt to classify them.Threelmainclassespresent themselves: theproblemsof thevillage,thoseof thejourney,andthose of theplaceof employ-ment.In avillageof an areaof labour supply,where up to 75 percent. of theable-bodiedmenmay beawa yin distant employ-ment, absenteeism may leadto theneglect of villageproductionand consequently foodshortagesand thedeterioration of housing, to theimpositionof unduelabour on thewomen andchildren,to an attitudeof idlenesson thepart of themen, whofeel that they areon holidaywhenat home, to thedecay of villagetraditions, tothefailureof essays in agricultural andeducational reform, to thedisruptionof familiesand to thespread of diseaseand sterility.Theeconomicopportunitiesprovided by employment, thehealthy spirit of adventurewhichit may satisfy, and theeducational advantageswhich it mayoffer to themoreintelligent minorityof theworkers, havealso* Henri Lanouni-rr: "Leproblemedela main-d‘ueuvredansl‘Ouest-Africainfrancais", inPohliqueEtrangére,June 1080.

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i . , , i ,an , w et er sove or unsove,t reat en t o ri ng t o an entheold Africansociety, largelyself-sufficient and communalin itseconomics, conservativein itseconomicand social stan-dards,and staticin itsidealsof humanr elationships. 1Thesecond set of problemsariseswith thejourney. Thevil-lagesen routemay beaffected,as for exampleby thedrain ontheir foodsupplies,thespreadof disease, thebreakdown of traditionsof hospitalityor isolation. For theworker, thedim-cultiesmay bethoseof “ foot-slogging"or of modern transport.Alargenumber of themigrants,probably thc majority, stillwalks. Manymay bemonthson theroad. "If thelossin timeand energy ", thethen Governor of Northern Rhodesiastatedin 1928, "occasionedby thelabourer having to walk hundredsof milesto hisplaceof employment could besaved, thepotentialvalueof thelabour supply would, it may behazarded,beincreased bysomethinglikefifty per cent . . . It takeshim (theNativeof theTanganyikaPlateau) threeweeksormoreto completehisjourneyand, with asca nt and uncertainsupply of food on theway,he not seldom arrivesand engagesupon labour to whichheisutterly unaccustohied in ahalf-starved and emaciated condition."Similarly in theGold Coast,wheretwenty-ninedeathsfrom starvationon theroad werereportedin 1936, themedical authoritiesreported that thenewly-arrivedimmigrant isusually inafilthy, under-nourishedand often diseasedcondition.With modernformsof transport,thereare other problems.Without strict control theindependent traveller may beHeecedby_ disreputabletransporters. The1935 Nyasaland EmigrantLabour Committeespeaksof " thecheating of passengersbydemanding,when thejourneyisonly half over, additionalfares. If thesearerefused thepassengersmay bedumped atisolated spots,"Passengersalsowere induced to pay theirfaresand thenkept waitingfor daysor weeks. When engagedunder contract and conveyedby areputablerecruiting organisa-tion, thcworker isfreedfrom thesedifliculties. Thec ost of thejourney,however, ishigh.In theUnionof SouthAfrica, where‘ "Agood villagelswhere theheadman and eldersarerespected by all ; andwherethey too haveregard for all,even for thechildren. It isa good villagewheretheyoungrespect parentsand whereno onetries to harm another. lf thereisevenonepersonwho bellttlesanother person or worksharm, then thevillageis sp01lt."(Rev. T.CullenYouuc, in Afrika, Jan. 1934, giving thejudgment of "an oldgreybaard., almost entirelynaked and clearly scnile".)

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itheworker himself reimbursesthecost, it may amount to from15 to20 per cent. 0f cashwages. In theBelgian Katanga, wheretheemployerspay, theaveragec ost is1,300 francsand isineasesashigh as3,000 francs.Whether thee mployer or theworker isresponsiblefor thecost of transport, thehigh ratioof thecost to theworker’searningcapac ity appreciably lessenstheeconomicvalueof labour migrationsto theworkerscon-cerned and tothehomecommunities.Theproblemswhicharise inthearea of employment, apartfrom theusual labour problemswhichaffect both migrant andnon-migrant workers, result from theimmensegulf for Nativementality intime,distance,and circumstances, between em-ployment and home. Thehabituationof theworker to anewclimateand anewform of work canappare ntly nowusually be.achieved,at least when theemployersare organised in groupswith adequatefinancial resourcesand medical experience. Themoral and medical problemsarisingin communitiescomposedpredominantly of men may perhapsby careful labour manage-ment belimitedto,and partlysolvedas, problemsof theorgan-isation of leisure. Therewill long remain, however, in thecaseof migrant labour theproblem of maintaining connectionbetween theworker and hisfamily,hisvillage, and histribe.Hinged onthisaremany of thedetailedpointsconnected withtheemployment of African labour: thelength of contracts,repatriation, leave, deferredpayand remittances, and theregulationof themanner of paying wages.In respect of all theseproblems,thefact that afrontier hasbeen crossedmay beof minor significance. Migration may belonger in timeand distanceandmore disruptiveof homebondswithinasingleterritorial unit than when inter-territorial orinternational. Afrontier,however,plays two parts. It mayafford an opportunityfor control of labour movementsand forlabour protectionbyco-operationbetween theadministrationsconcerned. It may, on theother hand,mean thepracticalcessationof theformsof control andprotection exercised in theterritory of origin of theworker. Examplesof both casesa restill to befoundin Africa.LAnoUn AGREEMENTS BETWEENTHE ADMINISTRATIONS` Theregulation of thelabour supplyhasin somecases beeni thesubject of formal agreementsbetween thea dministrations.

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i igo ac t o t e eginning of t ecentury. Te present Mozam-biqueConventionconsistsof arevision of 1934 and an amend-ment of 1936. It governstherecruitingof labour for e mploymenton theRand mines,laysdown rulesconcerning thecontractsand control of Nativelabourers,and at thesametimegrantscertain commercial privilegestoMozambique. BetweenMozam-biqueandSouthern Rhodesiaan agreement isin force, thepresent versionof which datesfrom 1934, concerning therecruitingand employment of PortugueseEast Africansforservicein Southern Rhodesia.BetweenSouthern Rhodesia,which isself-governing, and theBritish dependenciesof NorthernRhodesiaand Nyasalanda1936 agreement providesfor thecontrol and protection of migrant labour. In the PortugueseEmpireamodusvivendi of 1926 regulateslabour between Angolaand San Toméand Principe.In viewof thevolumeof migrationtheexistenceof suchagreementsistobe expected; it isindeed surprising that they-arecomparativelyinfrequent. In several caseswheremigrantlabour isan important factor in economicand social life, thecollaboration between theofficersof the different administrationsconcerned appearslimitedto individual casesof interest to thepolice.At thefrontierstheremay befiscal and perhapsmedicalcontrol imposed bytheadministrationsseparately. Themigrantworker may beliabletoa special tax in thecountry of employ-ment or on hisreturn home. During theordinary courseof emigration, employment,andreturn, however, theorigin anddestination of theworker appear to betreated as of no partic-ular concern totheseparateadministrations,and still lesstotheadministrationsjointly. It hasevenhappened that thet_erritory of labour supply prohibitsor restrictse migration,whiletheterritory of labour demand facilitatesthepassageto employment of workerswho haveevaded therestrictions.Thesesituationsarenot likelytopersist. Thecolonialareasof Africahave passed beyond thestageat which govern-ment can belimitedtothcmaintenanceof publicorder and thecollection of taxes. Industrial and plantation undertakingsinAfricarequiresome guaranteesasto their labour supply. Areasof peasant development requirelimitationof thedrain on theirman-power or substantial compensationfor thelossof man-power.Theworker’s familyin thevillagecannot beleft inde-finitely supported bythetribal communal system, particularly

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as t ea sent worer as t em porari y j oi ne an ai en anmdividuahstl economy. Theworker himself, even thoughabroad,retainscertain claimson hishomeadministration, andhiswelfarein employment remainsof concern to thecountryfrom which hehascomeand to whichhe will return.THE NATURE or LABOURAGREEMENTSIf it isprobablethat eo—0perationbetweenadministrationsin thesematterswill increase,it will beof valueto examinetheinternational and intcr—territorial agreementswhich alreadycover migrant labour, in order to discover thepointsto whichimportancehasbeena ttached.It wouldseem that, in concluding theagreements, chief attention hasbeen directedtothequestion of theamount of labour which mayberecruitedor employed. In thecase of theMozambiqueConventionbetweenPortugal and theUnion of SouthAfrica, it wasagreed in 1934» that thenumber of Nativeswho might berecruited for theminesshould not exceed 80,000annually. Provisionwasmadefor modificationsin thisnumber,and in1936 themaximum figurewasraised to 90,000. Intheagreement between SouthernRhodesiaand Mozambiqueit waslaid downthat therecuitingof workersfor employment inSouthernRhodesiashould not result inan averagemonthlyemployment figureof morethan15,000 Nativesfrom theTetedistrict. In afurther case,that of theagreement betweenNorthernRhodesia, Nyasaland, andSouthern Rhodesia, whileno figureisfixed, theprincipleof restriction isaccepted.It istobenotedthat emphasisis laidon restriction of thesupply and not onaguaranteeof employment. Thelatter isii suggestedonly inthe Convention between Portugal and SouthAfrica, whichprovidesfor aminimum employment figureof 05,000.Asa general ruleeachterritory wishestoretain itsiiilabour for local undertakingsor Nativedevelopment. Wherethisappearsimpossibletheobject is at least to set alimit tol-I theextent of labour migration.Secondly,it seemsfrom theexisting agreementsthat terri-§ Q§>0l'ieS of labour supply seek morethan amererestriction of thelabour demand. Theemigrationof labour may bean ec onomicigllossto theterritory of supply; theimmigration of labour isinPHYCasean economicgain to theterritory of demand. Some§_jJPl'0ViSi0nisthereforemadefor financial c0mpenSatiOD; l1Ild€l'

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i i igqect i on an remi ss ion omeof t e i rect taxeswic t erican would havepaid if hehad not emigrated, or it maycompriseafar-reaching system of paymentsfor recruitinglicences,taxes, capitationfees, customsdues, ctc. Thesearrangementsmight seem,in somecases,to be open to thecriticism that labour issold bytheterritoriesof supply. Thecriticism would beunjust when themoneysreceived either fromtheemployer or from theworker are systematically pumpedback into theareasdeprivedof man-power by thefact of emi-gration.Moreimportant thanfinancial profit maybethereturn of man-power.Consequently, theagreementsoften specify notmerely that facilitiesfor repatriationshall begranted theworkerbut that heshall berequiredto avail himself of them. This isoneof_ thebasicprinciplesof theMozambique Convention, whichlimitsthemaximum durationof employment to atotal periodof `18months, providesfor therepatriation of time-expiredworkers,andspecifies that suchworkersshall beregarded asprohibited immigrantsunder thelawsof theUnion. Theagree-ment between SouthernRhodesiaandNorthern RhodesiaandNyasaland laysdown that it isdesirablethat emigrant Nativesin general shouldreturn to their homes“after working for aneconomicperiod which should not exceedtwo yearsand mightwell beless". After thetwo-yearly period it isagreed thatworkersshouldberepatriated unlessspecially excepted.Provisionmay alsobemadein thelabour agreementsfordeferred pay and asystem of remittances. Thesearemattersof bothfinancial and social importance,financial sincethey aremeanswhereby someof thewagesearnedin theterritory of employment aretransferred totheterr itory of labour supply,and social sincetheworker’sdependantsleft at homemaythereby besupported.Asin thecase of repatriation, twoquestionsarise: that of thefacilitiesprovided theworkers, andthat of thedegreeof compulsionimposed on theworkerstoavail themselvesof thesefacilities.In theagreements madebythePortugueseadministrationsdeferredpay iscompulsory.TheSouthern Rhodesiaagreement withNorthern Rhodesiaand Nyasaland, on theother hand,while recognising thenecessitythat afair proportionof themigrant labourer'swagesshould returnto hishome, for thepresent provides only for aremittancesystem on avoluntarybasis.

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. . . §i i . giZ Z. EFEF§i? f . §i LT. .§"’ V"*g°"°"? °€ S We »value.It doesnot seem that thgiimal necessity and éthical_ hedut fth Uecanever bcanydispute€0¤0;I`m¤gt l 0c territoryof labour demand to providefor t ecareof immigrant workersor of theduty of theterritoryof labour supply toseethat such careiseffectively provided.Theconclusionof an inter—territo1·ial labour agreement evenseemstoimply that theterritory of labour supply issatisfied thatadequateprecautionsaretakenin the territory of demand.Explicit referenceto this questionmay,however, also bemade.In theagreementswiththeUnion of South Africaand SouthernRhodesiathePortugueseauthoritiesreservetheright to pro-hibit thedistributionof Mozambiquelabour to employerswho havefailed in somesubstantial respect or repeatedly afterwarning tocomplywith their obligations. In addition, these·agreementsprovidefor theappointment by theMozambique·Government of curatorsof PortugueseNatives, who aresta-tioned in theareasof employment and arevested with certainrightsanddutiesin regardto PortugueseNatives, includingcarefor their welfare. Under theagreement between NorthernRhodesia,Nyasaland andSouthern Rhodesiaprovision ismadefor theappointment of (1) labour inspectorsby theGovernment.of SouthernRhodesia; (2) labour commissionersof theothertwo territorieswho areto exercisegeneral supervisory functionsain Southern Rhodesia; and (8) a standing committeerepresen-tativeof the threeGovernments}Theexisting labour agreementsthustendto provideanimplicit guaranteeof thelabour supply, an explicit limitation=of thelabour demand, financial compensation to theterritoryof supply,therepatriation of time-expiredworkers, thepro-vision of deferredpay or the establishment of aremittancesystem, and collaboration betweentheadministrationson these. -matterswithaviewtothegeneral protection of labour.DECISIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOURCONFERENCETheConventionsand Recommendationsconcerning indi-genouslabour already adoptedby theInternational Labour‘ Arrangementsof theabovenaturearenot necessarily dependent ODthe-oonclusion of formal labour agreements.An agent of theGovernment of Busuto-Y·land hasbeenappointed toJohannesburg, and in addition to his dutiesconnectedwith UICCOUCCIIODof taxesheactsag n kind of protector 0f Nativesfl'01Tl H10__ _Britlsh SouthAfricanterritories.Elsewhereconsular agentsmay perform similar. dutiesalthough their rangeof actionappearsto belimited.

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, · i ,t e aour s i t uat i on i n Afri ca.l TheForcedLabour Convention (1930), however, isnotdirectly relevant tothequestion of migrant labour. Thecir-cumstanceswith which it dealsarein their main aspectssocontraryto moderneconomicand social colonial policy that theyareleast likely to persist in areasof development—that is,areasof labour demand.Thereappears,therefore, to havebeenno need for theadministrationsof theterritories of supply tolay down conditionswith theobject of protecting their emigrantworkersfrom forcedlabour demands.On theother hand, part of theRecommendation concerningindirect compulsion tolabour (1930) embodiesaprinciplewhich hassomeimportancein referenceto labour migration.It recommendsto theconsiderationof StatesMembersthedesirability of avoiding any such restrictionson the voluntaryflowof labour from oneemployment toanother, or from onedistrict to another, asmight havetheindirect effect of c ompellingworkersto takeemployment in particular industriesor districts,except wheresuch restrictionsareconsidered necessary in theinterest of thepopulationor theworkersconcerned. While,assuggestedinthe last words, themigration of Africanstoterritoriesof employment may berestricted in their own interestsor inthoseof their communities,it shouldnot berestricted incircumstanceswhich might involveindirect compulsion tolabour under lessadvantageousconditions.Thesecond Convention adoptedby theInternationalLabour Conferenceon thesubject of indigenouslabour isof greater significancein connectionwith themattersunderreview.TheRecruitingof IndigenousWorkersConvention,1936, in layingdown rulesbasedon colonial lawand practicefor thelicensingof recruitersand for theprotection of recruitedworkers,aimsat establishingthestandardprovisionsof pro-tection to beappliedby territoriesseeking immigrant Africanlabour.Even beforetheConvention wasadopted, theproposalson which it wasbased—preparedby theCommitteeof Expertson NativeLabour---wereacceptedby theNyasaland EmigrantLabour Committeeasthebasisfor the system of emigrationwhich it wasproposed should beestablished.Avery largenumber of Africanworkers, however, isnotrecruited in thesenseof thisConvention, and it would seemnecessarytoconsider whether even afullyspontaneouslabour

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i iuner agreement set weent eGovernm ent sconcerne. Insuchcases, aswell asin thecase of recruited labour, aCon-vention concerning writtencontractsof employment such asthat whichwill beproposed for adoptionby theConferencein1939, shouldserveasa minimum standard. Similarly, it wouldfacilitatenegotiationsbetween Governmentsif standardsinregardto other important questionsof African labour welfare(housing,feeding, medical attention,and payment of wages)wereestablishedbyinternational agreement.In all thesematters,inter-territorial or international co-operation in control may well beregarded asof the first impor-tance. Wherelabour movementsareextensiveit may taketheform alreadymentioned of theappointment, by theterritoriesof supply,of labour oliicersfor servicein theterritoriesof demand,withperhapsthe addition of theRhodesian provisionfor ajoint bodyto examinemajor questions. Whether provisionfor therecognitionof anyof thesespecificformsof co-operationshould or shouldnot bemadethroughaninternational labourConvention, it would appear that themutual interchangeof information convenientlyprovided in theannual reportsonratified Conventionswould help co-operation of thisnatureandserveto ensurethat labour migrationshall not bethecauseof social injusticeor economicloss.I UnivcrsitétsbihliuthnkIElchstatt (05)