§ Mr. LEWIS HASLAMasked the Secretary of State for India whether, according to law in India, women are still permitted to work sixty-six hours per week and children thirty-six hours per week in textile factories; is he aware that the hours of work in Great Britain and Ireland are about fifty-six per week for women; and will he take steps to ensure that in future the hours of work of women and children in textile factories in India shall not exceed those obtaining in Great Britain and Ireland?
§ Mr. FISHERThe Indian law limits the employment of women in a textile factory to eleven hours a day and of a child to six hours. The Factory Act fixing these hours was enacted in 1911 after prolonged inquiry into the conditions of factory work in India and in this and in other respects effected a considerable improvement on the previous law and practice. The Secretary of State is not aware that the length of these hours is the subject of complaint or agitation among the workers, and he has received no representation from any section of the Indian public. He does not consider the present moment opportune for inviting the Indian Government to undertake fresh factory legislation.