Labour Measures of Congress Ministries

The formation of Congress provincial governments in July 1937 under the Government of India Act 1935 marked a new phase in British India’s industrial relations. Guided by the Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights (1931) and the election manifesto of 1936, the provincial administrations sought to reconcile worker demands with industrial stability. Facing economic distress, wage cuts, and labor unrest in industrial hubs like Bombay, Kanpur, and Ahmedabad, the ministries implemented factory safety regulations, wage committees, and dispute resolution mechanisms. However, the requirement to maintain public order while balancing the interests of factory owners and trade unions created political friction with left-wing labor organizations.

Context and Labor Policy Framework

Economic Background and Industrial Restlessness

• The post-Great Depression period saw widespread wage reductions, retrenchments, and work intensification across textile mills, railways, and steel factories.
• Industrial centers like Kanpur, Bombay, Ahmedabad, and Jamshedpur experienced frequent strikes organized by communist and socialist trade union leaders.
• The Congress election manifesto promised factory workers a decent standard of living, fixed working hours, healthy working conditions, paid leave, and protection against arbitrary dismissals.

The Role of the Congress Parliamentary Sub-Committee

• Policy across all eight Congress-ruled provinces was overseen by the Congress Parliamentary Sub-Committee, chaired by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel along with Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
• The committee instructed provincial ministries to adopt arbitration and peaceful negotiation over direct strikes to maintain industrial production.

Major Provincial Labor Reforms and Inquiries

The Bombay Industrial Disputes Act (1938)

• Passed under Premier B.G. Kher, the Bombay Industrial Disputes Act (BIDA) made conciliation and arbitration mandatory before declaring strikes or lockouts.
• The law classified trade unions into representative, qualified, and primary categories to standardize collective bargaining processes.
• It made illegal any strike or lockout declared without giving prior notice or completing formal conciliation proceedings.
• Left-wing labor leaders, the Communist Party of India (CPI), and B.R. Ambedkar’s Independent Labour Party (ILP) opposed the bill, calling it a restriction on the fundamental right to strike.
• A massive one-day strike was organized in Bombay on November 7, 1938, by the ILP and communists to protest against the Act.

Kanpur Labour Inquiry Committee (1937)

• Severe industrial friction between textile mill owners and workers in Kanpur led the United Provinces ministry under Premier Govind Ballabh Pant to appoint an inquiry committee in November 1937.
• Rajendra Prasad was appointed Chairman of the Kanpur Labour Inquiry Committee to investigate working conditions, wage structures, and housing.
• The committee recommended a general wage increase ranging from 8 to 21 percent, the establishment of a Labor Office, standard wage rates, and official recognition of the Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha.
• Mill owners initially refused to implement the recommendations, leading to a general strike by 40,000 workers in Kanpur in May 1938 before the ministry enforced compliance.

Reforms in Bihar, Madras, and Assam

• The Bihar ministry under Sri Krishna Sinha set up the Bihar Labour Enquiry Committee in 1938, chaired by Rajendra Prasad, to assess worker conditions in Jamshedpur steel plants and Chota Nagpur coalfields.
• In Madras Presidency, Premier C. Rajagopalachari advocated compulsory arbitration in industrial disputes, utilizing state machinery to settle strikes in Coimbatore textile mills.
• The Assam ministry led by Gopinath Bordoloi supported the rights of tea plantation workers in the Assam Valley during the Digboi oil refinery strike of 1939.

Legislative Measures and Worker Welfare Initiatives

Safety, Sanitation, and Compensation

• Provincial administrations expanded factory inspection units to enforce compliance with the Indian Factories Act of 1934.
• Regulations mandated improvements in factory ventilation, drinking water availability, sanitation, and safety gear around heavy machinery.
• Maternity benefit acts were expanded or newly introduced in several provinces, securing paid leave for women industrial workers.

Wage Fixation and Employment Conditions

• Ministries established minimum wage boards in specific manufacturing sectors, including textiles and sugar refining.
• Provisions were introduced requiring employers to issue formal appointment letters and service books to curb arbitrary retrenchments.
• State funds were allocated to build worker housing colonies, launch adult literacy programs in industrial neighborhoods, and expand municipal health clinics.

Labor Reforms and Machinery Across Provinces

Friction with Trade Unions and Left-Wing Factions

Industrial Strikes and State Action

• Radical labor groups criticized Congress ministries for favoring industrial capitalists over the working class.
• In Bombay, police used force and invoked Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure during textile strikes in 1938, leading to casualties and arrests of strike leaders.
• In Madras, the ministry prosecuted socialist labor activist S.S. Batliwala under sedition provisions for speeches delivered to industrial workers, creating widespread debate within the party.

Opposition from the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC)

• The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) rejected the compulsory conciliation clauses of the Bombay Industrial Disputes Act.
• AITUC leaders argued that mandatory waiting periods before strikes favored employers by giving them time to recruit replacement labor.
• Despite ideological differences, the Congress ministries maintained operational contact with moderate trade unionists affiliated with the National Trades Union Federation (NTUF).

Key Facts for Quick Revision

• The Karachi Resolution on Fundamental Rights (1931), drafted with input from Jawaharlal Nehru, provided the basic blueprint for Congress labor policies.
• Rajendra Prasad served as Chairman for both the Kanpur Labour Inquiry Committee (1937) and the Bihar Labour Enquiry Committee (1938).
• The Bombay Industrial Disputes Act was passed in 1938 during B.G. Kher’s tenure as Premier of Bombay Presidency.
• B.R. Ambedkar and his Independent Labour Party (ILP) opposed the 1938 Bombay Bill, organizing a protest rally alongside communist labor unions on November 7, 1938.
• The Kanpur Mazdoor Sabha was recognized as the official representative union of textile workers in Kanpur following the Rajendra Prasad committee recommendations.
• Gulzarilal Nanda served as the Parliamentary Secretary for Labour in the Bombay Congress ministry and played a central role in drafting the Bombay Industrial Disputes Act.
• The Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association (Majiur Mahajan), founded under Mahatma Gandhi’s guidance in 1920, served as the model for class-collaborationist arbitration favored by Congress.
• All Congress provincial ministries resigned in October and November 1939 in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow declaring India a party to World War II without consulting elected governments.