Costing and Estimation ofWorks - Afforestation, Reforestation and Forest Restoration in Arid and Semi-arid Tropics - page 161

Table 7.2 Categories of workers by skill level (example)
Sr. No. Category Worker/tradesman

1 Unskilled Coolie, watchman, cattle watcher, cleaner, sweeper, despatch rider,

pump-attendant

2 Semi-skilled (a) Mate to oversee unskilled workers, helper to tradesmen shown in

3 (a) hereunder, driver of tractor, truck, or jeep, etc.
(b) Store-clerk, timekeeper, typist, gauge reader
(c) Whitewasher, water carrier with water bag on buffalo, boatman
with licence, miller with a bullock
(d) Earth dresser, rock blaster, professional hoister of heavy items,
gardener, stone breaker, stone dresser

3 Skilled (a) Mason, carpenter, blacksmith, painter, tailor, electrician, plumber,

fitter
(b) Surveyor/engineer, research assistant, construction
supervisor/engineer, draughtsman
(c) Machine man/operator of machinery like compressors, vibrators,
mixers, drilling rigs, earthmovers, etc.
(d) Ploughman with a pair of bullocks and plough, donekyman with
six donkeys and accessories, bullock driver with a bullock cart and
a pair of bullocks, camel cart driver with a camel cart and a camel

at site of work by the employer, and these tools will be maintained at cost of the
employer. For example, an electrician will carry his own tool kit, and a mason will
carry his own trowel. The excavators, on the other hand, should be provided with
pickaxes, spades, and pans by the employer. However, expensive equipment will
also be provided by the project authorities. For example, a person conducting survey
will not carry his own compass, he will be provided one by the employer.
In all labour employment, basic amenities like drinking water, shade, and medical
first-aid will be provided by the employer, without charging any fee for these. The
rates of payment implicit in the basic schedule of labour rates (BSR) are to be
calculated purely on the net amount of work (meeting the given specifications). It
must be noted that adverse working conditions can reduce productivity of labour. It
has been observed, for example, that extreme heat and humidity can lead to as much
as 60 % fall in output of workers engaged in earthwork.
Since labour rates vary greatly between rural and urban areas, it is worthwhile to
clarify that all labour rates used in this topic relate to rural areas, where employment
is always in demand and often is protected by the minimum wage law.
A major part of work in plantations involves soil-working. Excavation requires
widely varying levels of effort in different kinds of soils. This BSR (basic schedule
of rates) classifies soils into seven different soil-hardness classes which have been
explained in Table 7.3 . It will be seen that the categories of hardness, being descriptive
only, are rather arbitrary. It is possible to experimentally determine hardness of
different soils quantitatively with the help of a soil penetrometer, and then define
hardness classes with better accuracy.