The factories Act, 1948: Health, Welfare and working hours of adult’s.
Background
History of factory legislation:
The factory
legislation in India is established at a large scale of factory industry. In
India, the first Factories Act was passed in 1881 by which children were
allowed to work for 9 hours a day and from age of 8 onwards. With the growth of
the industrial sector, demand for growth of industries set up also increased.
This demand came out in the form of legislation i.e, the Factories Bill, was
introduced in 1948.
The
objective of the Factories Act, 1948
The main objective
of this act is to provide work to labour class for their livelihood. It
provides the employees to work in healthy and hygienic conditions. This act
also provides employees with various benefits for their safety.
In State vs.
Ardeshir Hormusji, it has been stated that ‘ the main objective of the
legislation is to regulate the labour and to pay adequate attention regarding health
and safety by the employer.[1]
Health
Section 11-20 of
the act states about health facilities provided to the employees by the
employer.
• Cleanliness: Every factory shall be
kept clean and must be away from any drain or other unhygienic place.
The Act also states that it is the right of
an employee to work in a healthy and hygienic area. The workroom shall be
cleaned at least once in every week by washing. There must be walls and
partition in the workroom.
• Disposal of wastes: The act states
that effective arrangements should be made by the employer in view of safety
purposes.
• Ventilation and temperature: Adequate
ventilation and fresh air service should be there. As the temperature of the
room should be adequate.
• Dust and fume: In every factory,
there is a work process for various hours. As due to this, dust and fume also
arise out. So it can be injurious to workers health and condition. In order to
protect this, there is a provision under this act that there should be proper
exhaust appliance to prevent inhalation of such dust and fume.
• Lighting: In every part of the
factory, where workers are working shall be provided suitable Lighting
facility. There should be proper windows and cleaning in every workroom.
• Drinking water: In every premises,
there should be a proper facility of safe and healthy drinking water for the
employees. The place of drinking of water shall be at a hygienic place of the
factory.
• Latrines and urinals: Sufficient
latrine and urinals facility should be available within the factory. There
should be a separate accommodation facility for women’s and men’s worker. It
should be properly neat and clean. Sweepers shall be employed for the cleaning.
• Spittoons: In every factory, there should be a
sufficient number of spittoons places and should be maintained in a clean
condition.
Welfare
Section 42-50
states the provisions related to the welfare of the employees under the
factories act, 1948.
• Washing facilities: In every factory,
there should be proper and suitable facilities for washing. A separate area
should be provided to male and female workers.
• Facility of sitting: In every factory
premises suitable place for keeping clothing not worn during working hours and
for the drying of wet clothing.
• First-aid appliances: Each and every
factory should provide a proper first-aid facility to the workers in order to
prevent any kind of serious harm during the working hours.
• Canteens: The state government also
make rules regarding the requiring of a canteen facility where workers are more
than two hundred and fifty.
• Crèches: In every factory where more
than thirty women workers are employed shall be provided suitable room for the
use of children, under the age of six years. Free milk or refreshment should be
provided by the employer.
Working
hours of Adults
Section 51-66
states about the provisions related to working hours of adults under the
factory act.
• Weekly hours: No worker shall be
required to work in a factory for more than forty-eight hours in any week.
• Daily hours: No worker shall be
required to work in the factory more than nine hours a day.
• Extra wages for overtime: Every
worker within the factory who works more than nine hours in a day or
forty-eight hours in a week, shall be entitled to get extra wages as the rate
of twice of ordinary wages. The registers shall be required to be maintained in
a factory for the purpose of security.
• Restriction on double employment: No
adult worker shall be allowed to work within the factory if he is working
already in another factory. Double employment under this act is prohibited by
the state government.
• Register of adult workers: The
manager of every factory shall register every worker for the purpose of
security and inspection issues.
• Name of each worker of the factory
• Nature of his work
• Place of residence
• Other particulars as may be
prescribed.
• Further restrictions on employment:
No exemption may be granted in respect of the women. The rule under this act
shall be applied equally to both men and women.
No women shall
be allowed to work in the factory except for the working hours of 6 a.m and 7
p.m.
There shall be
no shift of female worker expect weekly holiday[2]
Conclusion:
The factories
act has provided various facilities for the working class. It provided them
with respect to their work. The employer works as a backbone of the factory
which provides health, safety and welfare of the workers. At last, employees
also must get aware of their rights and duties in order for the protection of
infringement of their rights.
Reference:
[1] AIR 1956 Bom. 219.
[2] The factories (Amendment) Bill, 2016
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