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* Workmen’s Compensation (Amendment) Bill
The Honourable Dr. B. R. Ambedkar (Labour Member): Sir, I move.
“That the Bill further to amend the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, be taken into considertion.”
This is a very simple Bill and the purpose of the Bill is to rectify an injustice caused in the present circumstances to a workman who is drawing Rs. 300 as his wages. As Honourable Members are perhaps aware, under the definition of a “Workman” in the Workmen’s Compensation Act, the right to compensation is limited to those workmen who draw up to Rs. 300 as their wages. Before the war it was possible for every workman who drew Rs. 300 as his wages to get the benefit of this Act. Since the introduction of War allowances and other measures such as the grant of dearness allowance, bonuses, good conduct pay and other payments which have been granted to the workmen what has happened is that a workman who formerly got compensation is now deprived of that compensation because his wages come to more than Rs. 300. This is due to the reason that under the definition of the term “wages” as given in the Workmen’s Compensation Act all that extra remuneration which the workman gets other than wages is regarded as part of his wages for the purpose of computing his compensation. The result is that a workman who formerly was to get compensation now docs not get it. The Bill seeks to protect such a workman by increasing the maximum monthly wages from Rs. 300 to Rs. 400. The Bill therefore has two provisions in it, one is to amend the definition of the workmen so that instead of limiting the wages to 300 it raises to 400, and secondly, to amend schedule IV to the Act which prescribes the compensation which a workman is
- Legislative Assembly Debates (Central), Vol. I-No. 12, 8th February 1946, p. 714.