Vol. 10 · pages 91–95

74 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES know the points which are troubling his mind. With regard to the other question which he raised, namely, that in his mind there appeared a certain discrimination between the rates we were paying under the War Injuries Ordinance and the rates we proposed to pay under the present measure, I fear he is labouring under a misapprehension because, as I tried to make out, the object of this measure is really to equalise the position of those who are covered by the War Injuries Ordinance and of those who are going to be covered by the present measure. As I pointed out, on examination of the rates we offered to the war injuries victims, we found that those who drew Rs. 24 and above only got relief and those who drew Rs. 24 and below got compensation. And what we propose to do now by this measure is to give compensation to those who stand above Rs. 24. Therefore, my Honourable friend will see that far from creating a position which will be called discriminatory, we are really equalising the position of all workmen to which both these measures are going to apply. I quite appreciate the point that my Honourable friend, Mr. Miller, made, namely, that this measure is restricted to a certain type of workmen or certain classes of workmen who are defined in clause 5. That is quite obvious from the provisions of the Bill itself. But, as I pointed out, having regard to two circumstances, firstly, that it is not possible for Government to undertake the liability of paying compensation to all workmen and, secondly, having regard to the fact that any scheme of insurance which Government can put forth must be administratively workable, it follows that Government cannot spread itself out to cover all sorts of workmen because, as I said, it would be too much of liability for Government to take and the scheme will become administratively unworkable. In order that we may run the insurance scheme, it is quite obvious that we must be able to locate an employer on whom we can definitely place the liability and from whom we can recover the premium. In the case of general population it is not possible to locate someone on whom this liability could be imposed and from whom the premium could be demanded. That is certainly the reason why we have been required to limit the scheme to certain classes of workmen who have been defined in clause 5. My Honourable friend, Mr. Miller, said that we have given no justification for confining our scheme to the classes of workmen who have been defined in clause 5. Some of the answers which I could

75 THE WAR INJURIES (COMPENSATION INSURANCE) BILL have given to him have already been given by my Honourable friend, Mr. Joshi, and I do not propose to repeat them. The answer really is to be found in the Statement of Objects and Reasons itself. The Statement of Objects and Reasons (paragraph 2) makes it clear that they are exposed to danger in factories and other industrial concerns. That, I submit, is as good a reason as any could be given for confining this measure to the classes of workmen who are defined therein. It cannot be denied that factories and industries are easy targets for enemy attack and the people working there are, therefore, more exposed to danger than the general population. With regard to the question raised by the Honourable friend, Mr. Joshi, that this Bill does not apply to all workmen and he pointed out two particular cases in which he desired that the provisions of this Bill should be extended, namely, to the labourers working in Assam on tea plantations and seamen, are, no doubt, cases which require some particular answer. Now, Sir, my general answer to the criticism of Mr. Joshi, with regard to these two particular points is this, that Government is quite aware of what he has said and that is the reason why Government has introduced sub-clause (c) in clause 5, whereby Government has reserved to itself the power of extending the provisions of the Bill to other workmen employed in any employment. Government does not regard that the categories of workers defined are the final and that no occasion may arise to include others. Dr. P.N. Banerjea : It is not exhaustive. The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : It is not exhaustive and, therefore, if a situation arises when it becomes clear to Government that the provisions of this Bill should be extended to workmen employed in other employments, Government will undoubtedly consider the matter. With regard to the question of Assam, the only point I would like to make is this that, as I said, we are confining the measure to workmen who are living in what might be called exposed centres. To my mind and according to the information we have at present, it cannot be said that the tea plantations are exposed centres. If at any time the plantations do become exposed centres and subject to risk, there is no doubt about it that either Mr. Joshi may move in the matter or

76 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES Government will take notice and see that the provisions of this Bill are extended to the labourers in Assam. With regard to the seamen, I think the matter was brought forward by the Commerce Department and I understand that there is a measure already in existence whereby a provision, if not of the same force, at any rate, analogous to the scheme that we are having, is already in existence. If my Honourable friend, Mr. Joshi, thinks that it is desirable that the Select Committee should examine and make some provision, if that provision is not incongruous with the main features of the Bill, I certainly will raise no objection for his considering the matter in the Select Committee. My Honourable friend, Mr. Miller, referred to one or two clauses in the Bill. The first was sub-clause 5(3). To that I have given my reply that Government has deliberately introduced that sub-clause by way of caution because Government thinks that the expedience may arise whereby the provisions of this Bill may have to be extended. The other section to which he referred was section 10 of sub-clause (3). His point of criticism was that by this provision Government proposes that if any balance is left out of the fund the excess will be paid into the general revenues. I understood Mr. Miller to say that this policy of the Government of India was not justified by the circumstances of the case. But if Mr. Miller will bear in mind the fact to which I have already referred, namely, that a good part of the money which will be paid as premia by the employers to this fund will come out of the E.P.T., then it is only proper that Government should be the residuary legatee of such balance. Sir, I have nothing more to say. Mr. E.L.C. Gwilt (Bombay: European): May I ask a question from Honourable Member ? He said in his opening speech that it is the Millowners’ Association that initiated the scheme. The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : They made a suggestion. Mr. E.L.C. Gwilt: Did not they also make a suggestion that any money left in the fund after the compensation is completely paid should be devoted to industrial research and if so, will my Honourable friend give consideration to that suggestion ? The Honourable Dr. B.R. Ambedkar : I have no memory, but I will look into the matter.

77 THE WAR INJURIES (COMPENSATION INSURANCE) BILL Mr. Chairman (Syed Ghulam Bhik Nairang): The question is : “That the Bill to impose on employers a liability to pay compensation to workmen sustaining war injuries and to provide for the insurance of employers against such liability be referred to a Select Committee consisting of Sir Vithal N. Chandavarkar, Mr. N. M. Joshi, Mr. Jamnadas M. Mehta, Mr. D.S. Joshi, Mr. Hooseinbhoy A. Lalljee, Khan Bahadur Mian Ghulam Kadir Muhammad Shahban, Mr. C. C. Miller, Mr. E.I.C. Gwilt, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Mr. Yusuf Abdoola Haroon, Hajee Chowdhury Muhammad Ismail Khan, Mr. H.A. Sathar H. Essak Sait, Mr. Amarendra Nath Chattopadhyaya, Mr. R.R. Gupta and the Mover, that the number of Members whose presence shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the Committee shall be live and that the Committee be authorised to meet at Simla.” The motion was adopted. zz

14 * Employment Exchanges for Skilled and Semi-Skilled Personnel Standing Labour Committee Discussions Questions relating to labour welfare, war production, the employment of skilled and semi-skilled personnel, industrial disputes and the collection of statistical information on labour problems were discussed at the third meeting of the Standing Labour Committee, in Bombay on May 7 and 8. The Hon’ble Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Labour Member, presided. Opinion, in general, favoured the scheme for establishing employment exchanges for skilled and semi-skilled personnel, the scheme being conducted on a voluntary basis. The suggestion that there should be representatives of Provincial Governments on the advisory committees attached to Employment Exchanges was also adopted. The Conference discussed the insertion of a Fair Wage Clause in Government Contracts. There were suggestions that contracts other than those of the public Works Department should also be covered. Labour Legislation The plan for labour legislation and labour welfare during wartime covered aspects like social security, wages and welfare ; and the question whether Wage Boards were desirable in India also came within the scope of discussion. The delegates were assured that the Government of India were anxious to use the machinery of the Tripartite Conference as an advisory body to help them in achieving further progress in respect of labour welfare measures. It was generally agreed that it was advisable that Labour Officers should be appointed in industrial undertakings, to maintain close touch with labour, hear its grievances and secure redress as expeditiously as *Indian Information, June 1, 1943, p. 431