22 SOCIAL SCIENTIST refused to agree to.9 At the same time, the men working in the rowing, drawing and winding department were asking for an increase of 25 percent in payment as they claimed they had effected an equivalent increase in production during the last days of 1928.10 A meeting of the mill workers was held on March 20, 1929. B Shiva Rao, president of the Madras Labour Union, said that the men were entitled to an increase in wages in proportion to the increased turnout, and the management's interpretation of the privilege leave announcement was deceitful and unfair. If no satisfactory reply was received by the evening of Monday, March 25, the workers would stop work from the morning of March 26.11 Negotiations were held on March 24, between the president of the Union and the management.12 In spite of the intervention of the Labour Commissioner, the situation remained unsettled.13 The Commissioner of Labour stated the following in his report dated March 28, 1929: "After considerable delay the management have put forward a scale of increased rates applicable to about 3/5ths of the men included in the demand. The management's proposals are not accepted by the Union, and to some extent the Union's attitude is, in my opinion, justifiable. The situation is further aggravated by a most iniquitous decision of the Bombay directors that the privilege leave concession granted last year, which allows 15 days' leave on half pay after 5 years' service does not come into effect until 1934; that is they interpret the date 1st January which was embodied in the concession as signifying the starting point from which eligibility for the concession is to be calculated."14 Further discussions were held on March 28. The management was willing to increase the wages of workers in the spinning, carding and blow room departments by not more than seven percent.15 A notice to that effect was put up at the mills the same day. Dissatisfied with this the mill workers arranged a deputation of five men from each department to wait on the management on March 29 in order to make further representations.16 This led to nothing for the local management had no authority to go beyond the orders of the Bombay directors.17 At a meeting held on March 29 the workers decided to go on a strike from next morning.18 Accordingly, the strike was launched on March 30. A noticeable feature of these events was the continuous interest shown by the government. The Labour Commissioner was in communication with the directors in Bombay as well as with the local management.19 The strikers were interviewed by hhn on March 30 for about three hours along with the representatives of