Vol. 10 · pages 281–285

45 * The Mines Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Bill The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Labour Member): Mr. Deputy President, I move : “That the Bill further to amend the Mines Maternity— Benefit Act 1941, be referred to a select Committee consisting of Mr. M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, Prof. N. G. Ranga, Shri K.B. Jinaraja Ilegde, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Sir Syed Raza Ali, Mr. Amarcndra Nath Chattopadhyaya, Mr. N. M. Joshi, Rao Bahadur N. Siva Raj, Mr. II. G. Stokes, Mr. S. C. Joshi and the Mover with instructions to report on Monday, the 2nd April, 1945, and that the number of members whose presence shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the Committee shall be five.” Mr. Badri Dutt Pande (Rohilkhand and Kumaon Divisions : Non-Muhammadan Rural): Why is not there a lady Member ? Mr. T. S. Avinashilingam Chettiar (Salem and Coimbatore cum North Arcot Non-Muhammadan Rural): I suggest Mrs. Subbarayan. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : My Honourable friend might move an amendment at a later stage and I will deal with it. As the House is aware, we have already got the Miners Maternity Benefit Act, which was passed in the year 1941. This Bill seeks to amend that Act and the reasons why this amendment has become necessary can be very briefly stated. When the Act of 1941 was passed it was intended to cover cases of maternity benefit for women working on surface. We had no such case as we have now of women working underground. Unfortunately, for the reasons which I have explained to the House on more than one occasion ; we had to permit women to work underground in coal mines. As I have stated that provision is of a temporary character and I hope and trust that Government will be able to rcimpose the ban very soon. But notwithstanding the fact that the lifting of the ban is of a temporary character, it is felt that in view of the criticisms made in this house as well as outside, it is necessary to amend the Act in order to provide * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. Ill, 29th March 1945, pp. 2265-66.

265 THE MINES MATERNITY BENEFIT (AMENDMENT) BILL for cases of pregnant women working underground. It is to give some benefit to the women working underground that this amendment is intended. The provisions of this Bill are mainly two. As it is, there is already in the Act a provision which prohibits women working after delivery for four weeks. We now propose to add a provision prohibiting women working underground before confinement. That period will be a period often weeks, so that under the present Bill no woman would be allowed to work underground for ten weeks before her confinement. Similarly there is a provision for the benefit to be given to her. That benefit will be at the rate of twelve annas per day for fourteen weeks in all-ten weeks before confinement and four weeks after confinement. The qualifying condition for enabling her to earn the benefit is 90 days work underground withnin a period of six months. These are mainly the provisions of this Bill. Sir, I have noticed that there arc cerrtain amendments which have been tabled and I might tell the House that I have also thought of certain amendments which I want to move on behalf of the Government. But as the time is very short and as the matter is urgent, I think the interest of everybody concerned would be served, if the Bill were forthwith sent to the Select Committee. So that the amendments that I have in mind and the amendments that have been tabled could be considered round the table with mutual give and take. It is because of this proposal, viz., to refer the Bill to the select Committee (which was not my original intention) that I do not propose to dilate at any length on this Bill. With these observations I move. * * * * The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, I do not think I need say much in reply to what has been said by the Honourable Members who have taken part in this discussion. One thing however I would like to say, namely, that I appreciate very much the spirit of the speakers which shows that the two questions, namely, the question of the women working underground and the questions arising out of this Bill should be separated and I am glad to say that they have been separated by the speakers who spoke on the Bill. They have expressed their opinion * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. III, 29th March, 1945, p. 2270.

266 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES on the question of the merits of allowing women to work underground. The views of the Government have already been expressed and I have no quarrel with those who differ from Government but I am glad to say that all those who have spoken have realised the necessity of the Bill I have brought forward and I hope I shall continue to have the co-operation which they have exhibited in this house now. Mr. Deputy President (Mr. Akhil Chandra Datta) : The question is: “ That the Bill further to amend the Mines Maternity Benefit Act, 1941, be referred to a Select Committee consisting of Mr. M. An anthasayanam Ayyangar, Prof. N. G. Ranga, Shri K. B. Jinaraja Hegde, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Sir Sycd Raza Ali, Mr. Amarendra Nath Chattopadhyaya, Mr. N. M. Joshi, Rao Bahadur N. Siva Raj, Mr. H. G. Stokes, Mr. S. C. Joshi and the Mover with instructions to report on Monday, the 2nd April, 1945, and that the number of members whose presence shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the Committee shall be five.” The motion was adopted. zz

46 * The Factories (Second Amendment) Bill The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Labour Member): Sir, I move : “That the Bill further to amend the Factories Act, 1934, as reported by the Select Committee, be taken into consideration”. Sir, the report of the Select Committee has been before the House for quite a long time. I have no doubt that Honourable Members who take interest in this subject have read and digested what the Select Committee has to say. I will therefore do no more than to draw attention of the House to some of the fundamental changes which the Select Committee has made in the Bill as introduced by me. Sir, the select Committee has altogether made five important and fundamental changes. The first change that the Select Committee has made is to save the rights to any holidays with pay that might accrue to a workman, otherwise than under the Act, such as holidays that may be permissible under other enactments or holidays that may be permissible under an award or an agreement or a contract of service. That provision did not exist in the original Bill. But it has now been introduced by the addition of sub-clause (2) to section 49-A. The second change which the select committee has made is to extend the benefit of the holidays with pay to children which again was not found in the original Bill as it was introduced to this House. Not only the Select Committee has extended the provisions of the Bill to a child but the holidays themselves have been extended in number. For a workman the holidays are only seven days. But to a child, the holidays shall be 14 days. Honourable members will find that in the new amendment to section 49-B. Then, Sir, the House will remember that when the Bill was introduced it did not contain any provisions to cover cases of workman who was discharged * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. III, 29th March 1945, pp. 2270-71.

268 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES before he had earned his holiday or had resigned his post and therefore did not get his holiday. I said that that was a matter which might be left to be subsequently decided in such a manner as we thought best. The Select Committee thought that it was so important a case that provision ought to be introduced in the Bill and accordingly a new provision has been introduced. Another new principle which has been introduced in the Bill is the power given to the Inspector to act on behalf of a worker who has not been able to get his holidays or has not been able to get the pay which he is entitled to obtain as a result of the holiday. The Select Committee realised that it was no use leaving the worker to his resources in order to prosecute his employer either criminally or civilly in order to secuer the benefit which the Act gives him and which the employer has failed to give him. Therefore it was the duty of the State to take upon itself the responsibility of seeing that these benefits were secured to the workmen. This has now been done by the conferment of the power on the Inspector to act on behalf of a worker. Another important change which has been made by the select Committee is with regard to the making of the rules. Honourable members will recollect that in the original Bill, the power for making rules under the Act in order to give effect to the provisions was left to the provinces. Now, it was felt in the Select Committee that if the rule-making power was left to the provinces the different provinces might make different set of rules, and consequently there might be variety of provisions under the same Act. That undoubtedly would have very serious consequences on the different industries. One industry in one province may be subjected to one set of rules, a similar industry in another province may be subjected to a different set of rules and it would introduce a very undesirable clement in the competitive character of the industry taking India as a whole. The Select Committee therefore recommended that the Government of India should have the authority to give directions to the provinces in the matter of making rules so that the desire or the object of securing uniformity in these rules would be achieved. These are, Sir, some of the fundamental principles which have been incorporated in the Bill as a result of the deliberations in the Select Committee. The rest of the provisions are