48 SOCIAL SCIENTIST 5. For an exposition of the efficiency wage hypothesis, see H. Leibenstein, Economic Backwardness and Economic Growth: Studies in the Theory of Economic Development, Wiley, New York, 1957; D. Mazumdar, The Marginal Productivity Theory of Wages and Disguised Unemployment', Review of Economic Studies (June), Vol. 26; J.E. Stiglitz, 'The Efficiency Wage Hypotheses, Surplus Labour, and the Distribution of Income in LDCs', Oxford Economic Papers (July), Vol. 28. For the empirical context relating to Indian agriculture, see P.K. Bardhan, Land, Labour and Rural Poverty; Essays in Development Economics, Oxford University Press, 1984. 6. B.R. Seth, Labour in the Indian Coal Industry. 7. During the Question Hour at Rajya Sabha on 13 March 1981, the then Energy Minister, Sri Vikram Mahajan, had informed the house that about 19 per cent of the total mine workers in the country were suffering from pneumoconiosis. According to a former president of the Indian Medical Association the only way that this disease can be curbed is through the exerdse of careful control over the dust level in the mfne to improve ventilation. As is seen from the Statistics of Mines in India, Vol. I (Coal), Director-General of Mines Safety, the number of mines using mechanical ventilators had been declining steadily between 1970 and 1977, from 528 to 599. - 8. Director General of Mines Safety, Statistics of Mines in India, Vol. I (Coal), 1984. 9. Directorate of Labour Bureau, Pocket Book of Labour Statistics, 1984,1985. 10. In reply to a question in Parliament, the Minister of Energy, P. Shiv Shankar admitted in March 1983, referring to the last agreement: 'As regards the welfare measures like housing, water supply, medical facility, there has been some delay mainly due to constraints of availability of land, steel, cement, etc. The Standardization Committee has met and taken a number of decisions and some of them which could not be implemented are being considered by the Joint Bipartite Committee for Coal Industry (JBCCI)-III.' But the picture did not improve as is evident from the BCCL management's own document of May 1984. The position with regard to demand, allocation and actual expenditure of funds for hbusing during 1981 and 1982 was as follows: (in Rs. Lakh) 1981i982 Demand 1092 1934 Provided by Government 534 1104 Expenditure 576 1161 Shortfall 558 829 Taking the whole period of NCWA-II, while the demand was Rs. 3,926 lakhs, there was a shortfall of Rs. 1644 lakhs. The position with regard to the percentage of satisfaction in BCCL is as follows: At the time ofAfter NCWA-IINCWA-II Nationalisation Total employment 133,773 158,619 160,448 No. of houses available 37,383 47,413 , 57,057 Per cent satisfaction 27.9 29.9 34.0 At this rate it would take a hundred years to reach the optimum satisfaction level of 65 per cent. A.K. Roy, 'Cleaning the Coalfields: Limitations of the Gujral Way'/ Economic and Political Weekly, 29 September 1984. 11. Of late, the 'striker began to be punished with a fine of 8 days' wages. Action like gherao or even merely talking back to the bureaucrats were met with suspension and dismissal.' 'Disciplining the Coal Miners', Economic and Political Weekly, 14 July 1984, by a Special Correspondent. Further, 'The recent promulgation of the Essential Service Maintenance Act... is bound to aggravate the situation. ESMA weakens the Labour Ministry, supersedes the Industrial Disputes Act and dihites the " accountability of the Personnel Department. ESMA prohibits strikes, but provides no relief for the workers' greivances. It would thus further choke all avenues of venting grievances....' A.K. Roy, op. dt.