Vol. 10 · pages 341–345

324 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES published and then passed. We wish to exempt the rules that we propose to make under the provisions of this Bill from the provision of previous publication prescribed under Section 31. The reason for providing such exemption is that we are very anxious that this liability not only should be imposed, but should be earned out immediately, we wish to avoid delay. In fact, I might tell the House that the Government are so anxious to have this system of pit-head baths introduced in all coal mines immediately that Government themselves have made a provision by which they are prepared to offer ten per cent of the capital cost of the baths to colliery owners if they undertake to provide such baths within twelve months. In order that this may be done, we do not propose to have these rules subjected to the provision of Section 31. The Bill is so essential and so simple and so non-controversial, that the House will accept it without much ado—Sir, I move. Mr. Deputy President : Motion moved. “That the Bill further to amend the Indian Mines Act, 1923, be taken into consideration.” * * * The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : We want to hasten this thing and that is why we offer this kind of encouragement, that if a mine owner docs construct these baths within twelve months from a given date he will get this concession. Otherwise, he will not get it and he will have to do it at his own cost. Pandit Govind Malaviya : Will not that purpose be served if it were laid down that the mine owners shall get those baths ready within twelve months The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : We must give some time. * * * * The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, I did not think that my Honourable friend Mr. Siddiqui, would be so much perturbed,— he is not here in the House just now—by the shower baths. But I would like to tell the House that the question whether there should be shower baths or not is not an idiosyncracy on the part of the Government or their own innovation. There is, as I told the House, an Advisory Committee, representative of coal miners, coal owners, representative of the Bengal Government and Bihar Government, which advise Government in the matter of the administration of what is called the Coal Miners’ Welfare Fund. This question of the sort of baths that * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I-No. 13, 8th February 1946, pp. 719-20.

325 INDIAN MINES (AMENDMENT) BILL should be provided was put before the Committee and I would like to tell the House that in this Committee there arc not only representatives of trade unions, but there arc representatives actually of workmen and workwomen. There is one representative of actual coal miners and there is one representative of women miners and it is with their unanimous assent that Government decided to have shower baths. So far as I am able to see, I should have thought that a shower bath would be far more effective in the matter of cleaning the person of a worker in coal mines than immersion in water or holding oneself under a running tap. I may also further add that this decision of having shower baths was taken by Government as a result of the experience of Messrs. Tata Iron and Steel Co. Ltd., at their colliery in Digboi. These shower baths have been in existence for a considerable time there and to our great satisfaction we found mat the workers were making very good use of the shower baths and that they had no sort of objection at all. With regard to the question of soap, I can give the assurance to the House that we do intend to provide soap to every miner under certain regulations, and I think the House need have no anxiety on that account. I hope this will satisfy Honourable Members. An Honourable Member said that this is merely a declaration and that there is no penalty. If the Honourable Member concerned were to refer to section 39, he will find that that is a general penalty clause which imposes penalties. Prof. N. G. Ranga : There is only one little difficulty in regard to women. They do not want their hair also to be washed with mere water ; they may require oil or something. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: They may be provided with caps. Mr. Deputy President: The question is “That the Bill further to amend the Indian Mines Act 1923, be taken into consideration.” The motion was adopted. Clause 2 and 3 were added to the Bill. Clause 1 was added to the Bill. The Title and the Preamble were added to the Bill. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : Sir, I move. “That the Bill be passed.” The motion was adopted. zz

58 * Factories (Amendment) Bill The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Labour Member): Mr. President I move : “That the Bill further to amend the Factories Act, 1934, be taken into consideration”. The Bill has altogether seven clauses ; but of these seven clauses there are only two which are fundamental. They are clause 2 and clause 7 of the Bill. These two clauses deal with two separate questions. Clause 2 deals with the question of reduction in the hours of work and clause 7 deals with the rate of payment for overtime. Taking for consideration the first question, namely, the reduction in the hours of work. I would like to state to the House what the present position is. The present position is that under section 34 of the Factories Act, for perennial factories the maximum hours of work per week are fixed at 54, while for the non-perennial or seasonal factories the total is 60 hours a week. Clause 2 of the Bill proposes to make changes in the maximum hours of work fixed by section 34 for perennial factories the maximum is fixed at 48, while for the seasonal factories the maximum is fixed at 54. It might be desirable to mention to the House why Government has thought it necessary to bring this amending measure. As some members of the House will remember, this question regarding the hours of work in factories was considered for the first time in a convention which was held in Washington in the year 1919. The convention fixed 40 hours as the maximum for factory labour, but on account of the special conditions prevalent in India, the conference agreed to allow India to retain the maximum of 60 hours, which was then prevalent. Consequently, the Government of India allowed the 60 hours limit to continue. The matter was then examined by the Royal * Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I-No. 7, 21st February 1946, pp. 1304-6.

327 FACTORIES (AMENDMENT) BILL Commission on Labour, and Royal Commission on Labour recommended that although the international convention did not put any obligation upon the Government of India to bring the Factory Law in consonance with the convention established in Washington, they recommended that nonetheless it was necessary that the hours of labour in India should be fixed at 54. That recommendation was accepted by the Government of India and an amending Bill was brought in the year 1934, underwhich the present maximum which is fixed by section 34 was brought into operation. The Government of India now think that time and circumstances have arisen whereby it is necessary that the Indian factory workers should be allowed the benefit of the maximum hours of labour that were fixed by the Washington Convention ; and that is the reason why this Bill has been brought forward. I need not eleborate the reasons why Government regards this matter as somewhat emergent. But I might mention briefly the considerations that have moved the Government of India to bring forward this measure. I think it will be agreed that apart from other considerations, if one were to take into account only the climatic conditions that prevail in this country, it would be agreed that for that, if for no other reason, the hours of work in a country like India ought to be much less than the hours of work that arc prevalent in other countries. There is also the other reason, namely, that during the war, under section 8 of the Ordinance, we had permitted the Provincial Governments to allow many exemptions from the provisions of the Factories Act which had the effect of increasing the hours of work for factory labour and the Government thinks that the strain arising from the extension of the hours of work during the period of the war was so great that it is necessary in the interests of the health of the workers that they ought to be now granted a substantial relief. I might also mention to the House that the Government also thinks that this measure will have some salutary effect in the matter of relieving unemployment which is likely to arise as a result of retrenchment. If 48 hours and 54 hours which have been fixed by the present Bill...... Sjt. N. V. Gadgil (Bombay Central Division: Non-Muhammdan Rural): Make it 40. The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : ………… were to be of universal operation, it is, I think, logical that more people would be

328 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES employed than are employed now and that to some extent it would be a relief in our post-war difficulties. Some members are probably thinking that this might be a very radical measure. I would like to disabuse them of any such notion. The Bill does not make any radical change in the practice which exists at present and I would like to give the house some figures in order to show to what extent 48 hours in perennial factories and 54 hours in seasonal factories have become the order of the day. In the year 1939, there were altogether—I am giving figures of perennial factories—8,644 factories. Of them 2,315 were working at the rate of 48 hours a week which gives a percentage of 27 per cent. In 1940, the total number of factories was 8,115 and those that worked on 48 hours were 2,525 which gives 28 per cent of the total. In 1941, the total was 10,261. Those that worked on 48 hours were 2,921 which was 29 per cent. In 1942, the total was 10,483. Those that worked on 48 hours was 2,687 which gives a total of 26 per cent. In 1943, the total was 11,239. Those that worked on 48 was 2,761, which gives a total of 25 per cent. In 1944, that total was 11,835. Those that worked on 48 hours was 3,191 which gives a total of 27 per cent. The same facts with regard to seasonal factories are as follows. In 1939, there were 6,252 factories. Of them 2,409 worked on a basis of 54 hours which gives 39 per cent. In 1940, the total was 6,239. Of them 2,440 worked on the basis of 54 hours, which is again a total of 39. In 1941, the total was 6,265. Of them 2,439 worked on 54 hours which again is a percentage of 39. In 1942, the total was 5,925. Those that worked 54 was 2,358 which gives 40 as the percentage. In 1943, the total was 6,255. Of them 2,398 worked on a basis of 54 which gives a percentage of 40. In 1944, the total was 5,950 and of them 2,368 worked at the rate of 54. That gives 40. (An Honourable Member : “The rest is more than 54 hours” ) Not beyond the maximum but above the figures now fixed in the Bill. Shri Sri Prakasa (Benares and Gorakhpur Divisions: NonMuhammdan Rural) What is the number of men employed ? The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : I am coming to that. Looking at the matter from the point of view of the hands, we unfortunately have not got very complete data but from the reports of the Fact Finding Committee which the Government of India appointed recently, the figures collected stand as follows. The total factory hands