Page 66 - DCOM207_LABOUR_LAWS

Unit 4: Factories Act, 1948

Self Assessment Notes

Fill in the blanks:
10. .................. of the Factories Act, 1948 provides for general cleanliness of the factory.

11. To eliminate .................., the Factories Act, 1948 prescribes that no room of any factory shall
be overcrowded to the extent it is injurious to the health of the workers.
12. .................. provides that in every factory there shall be provided and’ maintained, separate
arrangement for toilets for male and female workers at convenient places.

4.5 Provisions regarding Employment of Adults, Women and
Children in Factories

Following are the provisions regarding Provisions regarding Employment of Adults, Women
and Children in factories are as follows:
4.5.1 Working Hours of Adult Workers

(i) Weekly and Daily Working Hours: Sections 51 and 54 contain general provisions regarding
weekly and daily working hours. According to Section 51 no adult worker shall be required
or allowed to work in a factory for more than 48 hours in a week. As regards daily working
hours under Section 54, no adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a factory
for more than 9 hours in a day. But with the previous approval of the Chief Inspector the
daily maximum hours may be exceeded in order to facilitate and adjust the change of
shifts. The above restriction is applicable to `workers’ only as defined in the Act.

(ii) Weekly and Substituted Holidays: Section 52 speaks of weekly holiday to the workers of a
factory. Accordingly an adult worker shall not be allowed or required to work in a factory
on the first day of the week, i.e. Sunday. But if it becomes necessary to make Sunday a
working day, a substituted holiday is made compulsory.
(iii) Compensatory Holidays: Such worker who has been deprived of weekly holiday should be
allowed compensatory holidays of equal number to the holidays so lost within the month
in which the holidays were due to him or within a months immediately following that
month.
(iv) Intervals for Rest, Spread Over, Night Shifts and Double Employment: Every adult worker
working in a factory is to be allowed rest during working hours of at least half an hour.
This interval is to be so placed as to break the working hours for a maximum of 5 hours at
a stretch. This period of 5 hours work can be extended to six hours by the permission of the
State Government or subject to the control of State Government by the Chief Inspector on
sufficient grounds to be recorded in the permission order. (Sections 55, 56, 57, 58).
(v) Extra Wages for Overtime: A worker of a factory required to work in excess of the maximum
hours of work prescribed under Section 51 and Section 54 is to be paid extra wages for
overtime work done by him. Therefore a worker required working for more than 9 hours
in any day or 48 hours in any week shall be paid at twice the ordinary rate of wages for
the extra hours of work done by him. Ordinary rate of wages for this purpose shall be the
basic wages plus such allowances including the cash equivalent or the advantage accruing
through the concessional sale of food grains and other articles made available to workers
excluding bonus. Further, where any worker in a factory is employed on a piece rate basis
the time rate wages admissible to worker in. such jobs shall be deemed to be equivalent to
daily average wages for the piece rated worker.

LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY 61