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The Factories Act, 1948

Labour Laws in INDIA

(Latest Amendments included)

HRM linkage with Labour laws >>

 Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923

 The Factories Act, 1948
 The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972
 The Payment of Wages Act, 1936
 The Trade Union Act, 1926
 The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947

 The Employee State Insurance Act, [ESI] 1948

 The Payment of Bonus Act, 1965
 The Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952.
 The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986

Objective & Applicability

The Factories Act, 1948 has been enacted to consolidate and amend the law regulating the
workers working in the factories. It extends to whole of India and applies to every factory
wherein 20 or more workers are ordinary employed. Since the aim and object of the Act is to
safeguard the interest of workers and protect them from exploitation, the Act prescribes certain
standards with regard to safety, welfare and working hours of workers, apart from other
provisions.

Factory
Means any premises including the precincts thereof where ten or more persons are working in
any manufacturing process being carried on with aid of power and where twenty or more
workers are working without the aid of power.

Employee Health

 Every factory should be kept dean and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy or
other nuisance. {Section 11}

 Effective arrangements should be made in every factory for the treatment and effluents
due to the manufacturing process carried on therein, so as to render them innocuous, and
for their disposal. {Section12}

 Effective and suitable provisions should be made in every factory for securing and
maintaining in every workroom; adequate ventilation by the circulation of fresh air; and
such a temperatures will secure to workers therein reasonable conditions of comfort and
prevent injury to health. {Section 13}

 Effective measures should be taken to prevent inhalation of dust to prevent inhalation of

dust and fume that may produce in the course of manufacturing process. {Section 14}

 In any factory where the humidity of air is artificially increased, the State Government
may make rules prescribing standards of humidification; regulating the methods used for
artificially increasing humidity of the air; and directing prescribed test for determining
the humidity of the air to be correctly carried out and recorded; and prescribing methods
to be adopted for securing adequate ventilation and cooling of the air in the workrooms.
{Section 1S}

 No room in any factory should lie overcrowded to an extent injurious to the health of the
workers employed therein. {Section 16}

 In every part of a factory where workers are working or passing, there should be provided
and maintained sufficient and suitable lighting, natural or artificial, or both. {Section 17}

 In every factory effective arrangements should be made to provide and maintain at

suitable points conveniently' situated for all workers employed therein a sufficient supply
of wholesome drinking water. {Section 18}

 In every factory sufficient latrine and urinal accommodation of prescribed types should
be provided conveniently situated and accessible to workers, separately for male and
female workers, at all times while they are at the factory. {Section 19}

 In every factory there should be provided a sufficient number of spittoons in convenient

places and they shall be maintained in a clean and hygienic condition. {Section 20}
Employee Safety

 The machinery in every factory should be properly fenced. {Section 21}

 Only the trained adult male worker, wearing tight fitting clothing which should be
supplied by the Occupier, should be allowed to work near the machinery in motion.
{Section 22}
 No young person shall be employed on dangerous machinery, unless he is fully instructed
as to the danger arising in connection with the machine and the precautions to be
observed and he has received sufficient training in work at the machine. {Section 23}
 Suitable arrangements should be made to provide striking gear and devices for cutting off
power in case of emergencies. {Section 24}
 Sufficient precautions should be taken with regard to self-acting machines to avoid
accidents. {Section 25}
 To prevent danger, all machinery driven by power should be encased and effectively
guarded. {Section 26}
 Woman worker and children should not be employed in any part of the factory for
pressing cotton in which a cotton-opener is at work. {Section 27}
 Hoists and Lifts in a factory should be periodically inspected by the Competent Person.
{Section 28}
 Lifting Machines, Chains, Ropes and Lifting Tackles in a factory should be periodically
inspected by the Competent Person. {Section 29}
 Where process of grinding is carried on, a notice indicating the maximum safe working
peripheral speed of every grind-stone or abrasive wheel etc., should be fixed to the
revolving machinery.{Section 30}
 Where any plant or machinery or any part thereof is operated at a pressure above
atmospheric pressure, effective measures should be taken to ensure that the safe working
pressure of such plant of machinery or part is not exceeded.{Section 31}
 Floors, stairs and means of access should be soundly constructed and properly
maintained. {Section 32}
 Pits, sumps opening in floor etc., should be either securely covered or fenced. {Section
33}
 No workman shall be employed in any factory to lift, carry or move any load so heavy as
to be likely to cause him injury. {Section 34}
 Necessary protective equipment should be provided to protect the eyes of the workman,
where the working involves risk of injury to the eyes. {Section 35}

Facts [+]

More hours spent in front of computer screens is increasing incidents of eye stress and strain.
Suggestions for reducing eye strain include: reduce glare by positioning computer monitors away
from windows, position screens five to nine inches below line of sight, use drops for dry eyes or
contact lenses, take a 20-second break every 20 computer work minutes.

 Suitable precautionary arrangements should be taken against dangerous fumes, gases etc.
{Section 36}
 Every practicable measures should be taken to prevent any explosion where the
 manufacturing process produces dust, gas, fume or vapour etc. {Section 37}
 Every practicable measures should be taken to prevent the outbreak of fire and its spread,
both internally and externally. {Section 38}
 The Inspector of Factories can ask the Occupier or the Manager of the Factory to furnish
drawings, specification etc., of any building, machinery or a plant, in case he feels that
condition of such building, machinery or the plant may likely to cause danger to human
life. {Section 39}
 The Inspector of Factories can suggest suitable measures of steps to take by the Occupier
or Manager for implementation, when he feels the condition of any building, machinery
or a plant may likely to cause danger to human life. {Section 40}
 Wherein 1000 or more workmen are employed in a factory, the Occupier should appoint
a Safety Officer to look after the safety aspects of the factory. {Section 40-B}

Employee Welfare

 Adequate and suitable 'washing facilities' should be provided in every factory. {Section
42}
 Provision should be made to provide suitable places for keeping clothing not worn during
working hours and for the drying of wet clothing.{Section 43}
 In every factory, suitable arrangements for sitting should be provided and maintained for
all workers obliged to work in a standing position, in order that they may take advantage
of any opportunities for rest which may occur in the course of their work.{Section 44}
 First-Aid Boxes with the prescribed contents should be provided and maintained so as to
be readily accessible during all working hours at the rate of at least one Box for every
150 workmen. {Section 45}
 In every factory wherein more than 500 workers are employed there should be provided
and maintained an Ambulance containing the prescribed equipment and in the charge of
such medical and nursing staff. {Section 45(4)}
 The Occupier should provide a canteen for the use of workers in every factory, where the
number of workmen employed is more than 250.{Section 46}
 In every factory wherein more than 150 workers are employed adequate and suitable
shelters or rest rooms and a suitable lunch room, with provision for drinking water, where
workers can eat meals brought by them, should be provided and maintained for the use of
the workers. {Section 47}
 In every factory wherein more than 30 women workers are ordinarily employed there
should be provided and maintained a suitable room for the use of children under the age
of six years of such women. {Section 48}

Facts [+]

The employer trend of providing on-site childcare continues as more businesses discover the
positive impact child care has in attracting and retaining quality workers. Eighty-five percent of
employers report that providing child care services improved employee recruitment and almost
two-thirds of employers found that providing child care services reduced turnover.
INDIA, 2012: 20-year-old woman had labour pain, she had to give birth to her daughter within a
rice mill in Alapakkam village in Madurantagam, 78 km south of Chennai state, where she was
working as a bonded worker for five years for a daily salary of Rs 8/- (0.15$) (as against the
norms of Rs 113.50 per day under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Under the bonded labour
System (Abolition) Act 1976,a labourer should have the freedom to work anywhere and there
should not be any advance payment that would hold him back.).

The owner of the mill did not provide medical help. Deterioration of their health without medical
care has forced them along with other 19 employees at the rice mill to revolt against the mill
owner. Based on a plea by one of the workers who escaped from the mill a few day's ago,
Kancheepuram collector sent a team of revenue officials and doctors to inspect the mill on
Thursday. The team rescued 21 people including 11 children.

 In every factory wherein more than 500 or more workers are employed, the Occupier
should employ in the factory such number of Welfare Officers as may be prescribed.
{Section 49}

Working Hours of Adult Workers

Ordinarily, a worker should not be allowed to work in a factory for more than 48 hours in any
week. {Section 51}
The workman should have one holiday for a whole day in a week. Where he was asked to work
on his scheduled weekly holiday, he should be given compensatory holiday within three days of
his scheduled weekly holiday. {Section 52}

Facts [+]

The Adamson Act was signed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. The law established for
railroad workers an eight-hour workday with additional pay for overtime work. This was the first
federal law that regulated the hours of workers in private companies in the U.S. The 1938 Fair
Labor Standards Act made the eight-hour work day a "legal work day" work throughout the
nation.

People work an average of 45 hours a week but consider about 17 of those hours to be
unproductive, according to an office productivity survey of more than 38,000 people in 200
countries conducted by Microsoft. The most common productivity barriers reported were unclear
objectives, lack of team communication and ineffective meetings, followed by unclear priorities
and procrastination.

 After obtaining approval from the Inspector of Factories, the workman shall be allowed
to avail the compensatory holidays unavailed by him, within that month during which the
compensatory holidays are due or within two months immediately following that month.
{Section 53}
  Subject to the provisions of Section 51 no worker should be allowed to work more than
nine hours in a day. {Section 54}
 The timings of work should be fixed in such a way that no worker should be required to
work continuously for more than five hours; and he should be allowed to avail an interval
for rest of at least half-an hour during his work in a day. {Section 55}
 The period of work of a workman should be so arranged that inclusive of his interval for
rest under Section 55 should not spread over more than ten and a half hours in any day.
{Section 56}.
 worker works in a factory for more than nine hours in any day or for more than forty-
eight hours in any week, he shall, in respect of overtime work, be entitled to wages at the
rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages.{section 59}

FURTHER RESTRICTIONS ON EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN. [section 66]

Women is not allowed to work during the night hours from between 10 P.M. and 5 A.M.
Factories act 1948, shall allow women to work in between the hours of 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. only.

General Duties of the Occupier

1. Every Occupier should ensure, so far is reasonably practicable the health, safety and
welfare of all workers while they are at work in the factory.
2. Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), the matters to
which such duty extends, include -
o the provisions and maintenance of plant and systems of work in the factory that
are safe and without risks to health; .
o the arrangements in the factory for ensuring safety and absence of risks to health
in connection with the use, handling, storage and transport of articles and
substance;
o the provision of such information, instruction, training and supervision as are
necessary to ensure .the health and safety of all workers at work;
o the maintenance of all places of work in the factory in a condition that is safe and
without risks to health and the provision and maintenance of such means of access
to, and egress from, such places as are safe and without such risks;
o the provision, maintenance or monitoring of such working environment in the
factory for the workers that is safe, without risks to health and adequate s regards
facilities and arrangements for their welfare at work.
3. Except in such cases as may be prescribed, every Occupier should prepare, and, so often
as may be appropriate, revise, a written statement of his general policy with respect to the
health and safety of the workers at work and the organization and arrangements for the
time being in force for carrying out that policy, and to bring the statement and any
revision thereof to the notice of all the workers in such manner as may be prescribed.
{Section 7-A}
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