L. A. DEBATES (CENTRAL) QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1031
(c) Here again the matter is for local authorities, and Provincial Government.
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*** Grievances of Workers in Mica Mines at** Hazaribagh
- Sjt. Seth Damodar Swroop : Will the Honourable the Labour Member please state whether Government are aware that the money paid by the Joint Mica Mission was never distributed amongst the workers in the Mica Mines at Hazaribagh ?
(b) Are Government aware that the factory rules and regulations are mostly disregarded by the Mica Mines Companies and that the highly objectionable and illegal practice of deducting one anna per rupee from the workers’ wages in the name of Dastoori is openly prevalent there ?
(c) Are Government aware that because of the grievances referred to above the Mica Mazdoor Sangh has been forced to give a clear notice of strike ; if so, what steps Government are intending to take to satisfy the workers’ demands and avert the danger of a strike ?
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar : (a) It is not clear what the Honourable Member is referring to. If the reference is to the additional cost allowance on the price which the Joint Mica Mission was paying to the suppliers; I may inform the Honourable Member that the distribution of the allowance was purely a matter between the employers and the workers.
(b) The Factories Act and the Payment of Wages Act do not apply to Mica Factories. The prevalence of the illegal practice referred to by the Honourable Member has been brought to Government’s notice. The practice will, I think disappear if the Government’s proposal to bring mica under Central Control materialises and the Mica Enquiry Committee’s recommendations in this respect are implemented.
(c) Yes. The matter is under investigation.
- Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. IV of 1946, 29th March 1946, p. 3157.