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* 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.