Vol. 10 · pages 206–210

189 PLENARY SESSION OF TRIPARTITE LABOUR CONFERENCE emotions. I do not know what is the best pattern for an opening address by a Chairman to the Labour Conference. For the purposes of this session I propose to get over the difficulty by using this opportunity of addressing you on matters of practical importance. I feel sure that you will not regard it as inappropriate. “There were two matters in particular which I wanted to cover which must be of interest to members of the Conference. Firstly, to give you a survey of the action taken by the Government on various questions which have been discussed by the Conference and the Standing Labour Committee and secondly, to refer to the defects in the constitution and procedure of the Tripartite Organisation. “The first subject proved too large for this address. It would have taken a good lot of your time which having regard to your Agenda, you could ill-afford to give. I therefore thought of presenting you a separate Memorandum (Printed with this speech) on the subject. You are already in possession of that memorandum. It may be taken as part of my address. Tripartite Organisation “There remains the other subject for me to deal with, namely, the question regarding the organisation and procedure of this Conference. We have had two years’ experience of the working of the Plenary Conference and the Standing Labour Committee. That experience cannot be called long. But short as it is, it has revealed some weaknesses in the organisation we have set up. The following appear to me rather serious :— (1) There is no clear cut division of functions between the Conference and the Standing Labour Committee. It is not that one is a deliberative body and the other is an executive body. Both are deliberative. (2) There is overlaping in the work they do. The subjects discussed by both are of the same nature. (3) There being no clear cut distinction between general questions and concrete problems, the discussions in the Conference as well as in the Committee become too general to be of much use, even concrete problems are treated as though they were general.

190 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES (4) There is no machinery to undertake the task of examining special problems and reporting upon them. It is an important function and there must be some machinery charged with such a function. (5) There is no machinery to study and advise on problems of labour welfare, industry by industry. Separate Secretariat “A second weakness in the organisation has also been pointed out by some members of the Conference. It relates to the nonexistence of a separate Secretariat for the Labour Conference. It is suggested that there should be a separate Secretariat to take over the following functions namely:— (a) Preparation for meetings (i.e., circulation of papers, informing members of the dates fixed, agenda, etc.); (b) Preparation of records of the proceedings ; (c) Propaganda by issue of leaflets and tours ; (d) Financial administration such as payment to staff and T.A. bills of non-Government members attending the Conference ; (e) Research and collection of information to serve as a basis of discussion and recommendation ; and (f) Check-up of the action taken by Government. “There are two other matters which have given ground for complaint. One of these relates to the preparation of the Agenda of the Labour Conference and the Standing Labour Committee. The existing procedure in the matter of the Agenda is said to be defective in two respects. First, members of the Conference and the Committee are not entitled to have matters in which they are interested placed on the Agenda at their will. The second defect is that the memoranda which accompany the Agenda reach members so late that they have no time to study and be prepared to make their contribution to the discussion of the subject. “Another matter which has given rise to complaint relates to the representation of the different parties on the Conference and on the Standing Labour Committee. The employers have stated that it is objectionable on the part of Government to reserve three seats for employers to be nominated by Government. It is their contention that

191 PLENARY SESSION OF TRIPARTITE LABOUR CONFERENCE the Employers’ Federation of India and the All-India Organisation of Industrial Employers are fully representative of the employer class in India and that therefore the provision for appointing more employers’ representatives by nomination is unnecessary. The method of representation of labour is also said to suffer from one defect, namely, that among those who represent labour there is none who belongs actually to the labouring classes. “You would naturally want me to tell you what action Government is prepared to take in this connection. I am anxious on my part to do whatever is possible to see that the Labour Conference functions properly and does not suffer in its working by reason of any serious fault in its mechanism. You will, however, realise that these are matters which require exploration and examination before any definite conclusion can be arrived at. Of these weaknesses some have been examined by Government and decisions have been arrived at. There are some which have not been examined as yet. I will first refer to those about which Government have after consideration come to a decision. They include the question of separate Secretariat, Agenda and Representation. Only An Advisory Body “The demand for a separate Secretariat for the Labour Conference is, I think, based on the analogy of the I.L.O. Government think that there is a fundamental difference between the I.L.O. and our Tripartite Organisation. It lies in the fact that the I.L.O. is an idependent organisation created by the Peace Treaty of Versailles. Its conventions and recommendations place definite obligations on all State-Members and failure to fulfill those obligations involves certain definite international liabilities. It is regulated by its own constitution and if is not subject to any outside authority. In addition to this the I.L.O. has its own finances and is not dependent upon any other state or Department for meeting its liabilities when it chooses to undertake any new function. “Our Tripartite Organisation is not independent in the same sense as the I.L.O. is. It has no independent finances and it cannot have any. It is only an advisory body which is constituted to advise the Government of India on such matters as are referred to it for advice. It cannot take decision. To allow it to do so would be to permit it to

192 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES usurp the functions of the Legislature. Having regard to these differences, it is obvious that an independent Secretariat for the Labour Conference will create friction between Government and the Conference. “It is true that the efficiency of the I.L.O. is derived largely from its Secretariat and its capacity to turn out good material. Nonetheless the Government of India feel that all the functions of that Secretariat with the exception of “Research and Information” are such as can be discharged efficiently by the Labour Secretariat of the Government of India. As regards ‘Research and Information” the Labour Department have certain proposals under consideration for reorganizing its activities which inter alia will set up necessary machinery for research and collection of information on labour and allied questions. For those reasons the Government of India do not at present favour the idea of a separate Secretariat for the Tripartite Organisation. Right To Fix Agenda “On the question of the Agenda, Government have considered the matter. The decision of the Government is that they cannot surrender the right to fix the Agenda of the Conference. The Conference is not a Legislature. It is an advisory body and Government must determine what are the matters on which they need advice. “There is another reason why Government cannot surrender the right to frame the Agenda for the Conference. It is not possible for Government to accept an obligation to place a subject on the Agenda unless Government are in a position to furnish the Conference factual statements which would help and guide members in their deliberations and have had time to examine the matter sufficiently enough to be able to express their own view. It is not possible for Government to be ready with such statements without sufficient notice. But, subject to their right to frame the Agenda, Government are prepared to revise the procedure. “According to present procedure the Labour Department invites suggestions from Governments, and Employers and Workers Associations after the conclusion of a meeting from which items are selected for an Agenda for the next meeting. There is no consultation between Government and the Conference or Committee before a decision is

193 PLENARY SESSION OF TRIPARTITE LABOUR CONFERENCE taken by Government in selecting items for the Agenda. Under the revised procedure Government will be ready to receive suggestions for the Agenda whenever Government, and Employers and Workers Associations may desire to send them in. In case they fail, Government will invite suggestions from delegates at each meeting. “The other change which Government are prepared to make is that while the final decision will be that of the Government, all suggestions received for the framing of the Agenda will be placed for discussion at each meeting. This will give Government the opportunity to consult the wishes of the members and the members will have the opportunity to express their preference. I am sure you will agree that this is a great improvement on the present position. “On the question of the composition of the Conference I admit that there is much force in the suggestions which have been made. If the two employers’ organisations are fully representative, as they claim to be, obviously there is no justification for nominating employers. In the same way, it is necessary to see that the working classes should have not only their problems of employment and welfare considered but that they should be trained to do their things for themselves. This can be done by allowing working men and working women to participate in all Labour Conferences. You must have been aware of the fact that recently when the Coalmines Welfare Committee was organised Government took the step of appointing one working man and one working woman in the coalmines to represent the working classes on the Committee. Constitution : Some Suggestions “Government are therefore not averse to making appropriate changes in the composition of the Conference. At the same time, Government feel that matters relating to changes in the composition of the Conference are not very urgent and we could well afford to postpone their consideration for a while. As I said in the course of the first Tripartite Conference, we must not keep on pulling out the plant every now and then to see whether it has taken any roots. This is a way to kill the plant. “I will now turn to the weaknesses in the constitution of the Conference. This is a weakness which Government admit is a serious