THE FACTORIES (SECOND AMENDMENT) BILL 203
in the new section 49-B which the Bill proposes to add to the Factories Act. According to this section, the total holiday is to be on seven consecutive days for a worker who has put in a continuous service for one year. It might be asked as to why we have taken seven days and not more. The reply to that is that in fixing this period of seven days, we have followed the provisions contained in the Geneva convention of 1936 which laid down six days as the limit of the holiday. To that we have added a seventh day which is a compulsory weekly rest granted to a worker under section 35 of the Factories Act.
With regard to the question of qualifying conditions laying down as to when a worker will be entitled to claim a seven days holiday, the provisions contained in the Bill are as follows. As a matter of fact, there is really only one condition and that is that the worker must have put in a period of twelve months continuous service. There is no other condition. With regard to the question as to what is continuous service of twelve months, the bill provides for what are called interruptions and declares mat certain interruptions shall not invalidate the claim for holidays with pay. The interruptions which are mentioned in the Bill are interruptions arising out of sickness, accident, authorised leave, lock-out period and a strike period provided the strike is legal.
Involuntary Unemployment
There is also another provision in the bill which relates to the same subject and that is the question of involuntary unemployment caused by the desire of the factory owner to close the factory. We have limited that to a period of 30 days. If the involuntary unemployment caused by the factory manager does not extend beyond 30 days, then that would not invalidate the claim of the worker for his right to holidays with pay. It might be necessary perhaps to mention why we have prescribed only 30 days. The explanation is this. Holidays with pay must necessarily take into account the ability of the manager or the factory owner to pay and the view that is taken in the Bill is that if the manager or the factory owner is obliged to close his factory for more than 30 days, then I think it is legitimate to presume that he has really not been prospering as well as he ought to and that he is, therefore, not in a position to pay the cost for holidays with pay. But if the involuntary period does not exceed 30 days, then the presumption is that he is still