§ 10. Mr. CLARKEasked the Under-Secretary of State for India if, in view of the satisfaction expressed by the people of Bombay with the action of the Secretary of State regarding the payment of wages fortnightly, he is prepared to make it compulsory on employers to pay maternity allowance to women workers, and also to make compulsory the closing of all liquor shops on paydays and holidays; and if he will inquire if it is the intention of the government of Bombay to amend the Factory Act in the direction indicated.
§ Mr. RICHARDSMy Noble Friend cannot make maternity benefits or the closing of liquor shops on pay days and holidays compulsory, since legislation in India, as indicated in the last part of my hon. Friend's question, would be required. As regards maternity benefits, the Government of India, not long ago, considered the question of taking action on the lines of the Washington Convention concerning the employment of women before and after childbirth, but decided that, in the circumstances existing in India, this was not feasible. The regulation of liquor shops being a "transferred subject," is not a matter in which my Noble Friend can interfere.