 bill  no 54 of  2018 the working women (basic facilities and welfare) bill,  2018 by dr udit raj,  mp a billto provide for the protection of women from discrimination, and for the basic facilities like creche, recreational facilities, maternity benefits, hostel and transport facilities, and for the welfare measures to be taken by the employers and the state for the women employees working in government establishments; public sector enterprises including banks and ports, educational institutions including universities, colleges and schools; factories, mines, plantations, agricultural fields, orchards and such other places and for matters connected therewith and incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the working women (basic facilities and welfare) act, 2018short title, extent and commencement (2) it extends to the whole of indiadefinition2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) "appropriate government" means in the case of a state, the government of that state and in other cases, the central government;(b) "child" includes a still born child;5(c) "employer" means,—(i) in relation to an establishment which is under the control of an appropriate government, the person or authority appointed by the appropriate government for the supervision and control of the employees or where no person or authority is so appointed, the head of the establishment;10(ii) in relation to an establishment under any local self-government or authority, the person appointed by such authority or local self-government for the supervision and control of the employees or where no person is so appointed the chief executive officer by whatever name called of the local self-government or the authority, as the case may be;15(iii) in other cases, the person who or the authority which has the ultimate control over the affairs of the establishment;20(d) "establishment" include an office of the appropriate government, quasi government or department including telegraph office, post office, telephone exchange, a mine, a plantation, an agricultural field, a hospital or nursing home, a shop or any business establishment, a brick kiln, construction site, any banking establishment, any private office or house, any school, college university or like institution, establishment for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic and other performances and any other such place where a woman is employed for any work whatsoever;(e) "factory" means a factory as defined in the factories act, 1948; (f) "industry" means an industry as defined in the industrial disputes act, 1947;25(g) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act; and (h) "working woman" means a woman who is employed whether directly or indirectly through any agency or contractor, as the case may be, for wages in any establishment, factory or industry303 it shall be the duty of the appropriate government to ensure that no discrimination is done by any establishment on gender basis with its women employees particularly in the matter of payment of wages which are paid to her male counterpart in such establishmentappropriate government to ensure nondiscrimination and equal wages for working women354 (1) notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, every employer shall provide basic childcare facilities such as milk, tiffin, clothes, toys, trained ayahs and other essential facilities for the children of women working in the establishmentemployer to have childcare facilities for working women(2) the appropriate government shall ensure that every employer of an agricultural field provide mobile childcare facilities for the working women in his establishment:40provided that two or more such employers may provide common childcare facilities for their establishments(3) the appropriate government shall open such number of creches at such places as it may deem necessary for carrying out the purposes of this actrecreational facilities5 the appropriate government shall ensure that every employer provides retiringrooms with facilities like bathroom, latrine, drinking water at the workplace or worksite of the working women and recreational facilities like radio and television for working women and their children5security arrangements6 the appropriate government along with the employer shall provide adequate andproper security measures for the safety of working women in the establishment, factory or industry, as the case may be, well as to and from their places of residencematernity facilities107 it shall be the duty of the appropriate government to ensure reservation of beds andproper and adequate maternity facilities for the working women in the hospitals and dispensaries having indoor patient facilities thereinhostel and transportfacilities8 the appropriate government as well as an employer shall provide hostel andresidential facilities both for married and unmarried working women nearest to their place of work and cheap, safe and quick transport facilities for such working women15protection from health hazards9 the appropriate government shall ensure protection from health hazardsparticularly for the women working in factories or industries like beedi, tobacco, stone mines, cashew, fish processing, salt, silk construction projects and such other establishment as may be prescribed10 (1) the appropriate government shall maintain a register of working women insuch manner and at such place as may be prescribed;register of women working20(2) the appropriate government may require an employer to furnish for the purposesof this act, such statistical and other information, in such form and within such period as may be prescribedoverriding effect of the act2511 the provisions of this act and the rules made thereunder shall have effectnotwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force, but save as aforesaid the provisions of this act shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other law for the time being applicable to the working womenpower to make rules12 (1) the central and state governments may, by notification in the official gazette,make rules for carrying out the purposes of this act30 35(2) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made,before each house of parliament or the legislative assembly and the legislative council, as the case may be, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprisedin one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both house agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule statement of objects and reasonsdespite the unabated female foeticides and dwindling population of girls in the country and the conservative attitude of the society towards women, more and more women are venturing out of their houses to work to support their families as a result, the number of working women in government services, factories, industries, commercial establishments, agriculture, mines, fish processing sector, silk industry and so on so forth is increasing day by day, but their conditions of employment need amelioration various basic and essential facilities which are supposed to be made available to the working women by the government and private employers are either absent or not adequate and satisfactory unfortunately, in most of the private sector including agricultural sector, the facilities are rather minimal or negligible and the working women are an exploited lot there the existing labour laws also do not provide for proper medical, educational, recreational and other facilities for the working women and their children as regards, other social security measures like security, transport, accommodation have also not been made so far in many establishments they are not given equal pay for work this discrimination has to be stoppedhence it has become necessary to provide adequate welfare measures for the working womenhence this billnew delhi:udit rajjanuary 28, 2018 financial memorandumclause 4 of the bill provides for certain childcare facilities of the working womenclause 5 provides for recreational facilities for working women and their children, clause 6 provides that the appropriate government to provide adequate and proper security measures for the safety of working women clause 7 provides for maternity facilities clause 8 provides for hostel and transport facilities for the working women clause 9 provides for appropriate government shall ensure protection from health hazards of the working women the expenditure relating to states shall be borne out of the consolidated fund of the state government concerned however, the expenditure in relation to union territories shall be borne out of the consolidated fund of india the bill, if enacted, will involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a sum of rupees two thousand crore may involve as recurring expenditure per annuma non-recurring expenditure of rupees five thousand crore is also likely to involve memorandum regarding delegated legislationclause 12 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the rules will related to matters of details only, the delegation of legislative power is of a normal character———— a billto provide for the protection of women from discrimination, and for the basic facilities like creche, recreational facilities, maternity benefits, hostel and transport facilities, and for the welfare measures to be taken by the employers and the state for the women employees working in government establishments; public sector enterprises including banks and ports, educational institutions including universities, colleges and schools; factories, mines, plantations, agricultural fields, orchards and such other places and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto————(dr udit raj, mp)