Page 276 - DCOM404_CORPORATE_LEGAL_FRAMEWORK

Unit 12: The Factories Act, 1948

(C) Canteen, Rest Room and Lunch Rooms Facilities: Where 250 workers or more are ordinarily
employed, canteen facilities are required to be provided. In every factory where more
than 150 workers are employed, adequate and suitable shifters or rest rooms or lunch
rooms with provision for drinking water where workers can eat meals should be provided
and maintained for the use of workers. These rooms should be well ventilated, sufficiently
lighted and maintained in cool and clean condition.
(D) Crèches Facility: In every factory where more than thirty women workers are employed,
rooms of adequate size, well lighted and ventilated, maintained in clean and sanitary
condition are to be provided for the use of children below 6 years of age of women
workers.
(E) Appointment of Welfare Officers: The main duty to look after the welfare of the workers
lies on the welfare officer of a factory. Therefore, in every factory where more than 500
workers are ordinarily employed, the occupier of a factory is required to appoint such
number of welfare officers as may be prescribed by the State Government in this respect.
(F) Working Hours of Adult Workers
1. Section 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.
2. Section 52 speaks of weekly holiday to the workers of a factory. 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.
3. Compensatory Holidays to be allowed for the worker who has been deprived of
weekly holidays with equal number so lost within the month in which the holidays
were due to him or within a month immediately following that month.
4. Every adult worker working in a factory are 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.
5. 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.
(G) Restrictions on Employment of Women: No exemption from the provisions of Sec. 54
relative to daily hours of work may be granted in respect of any woman. No woman shall
be required or allowed to work in any factory, except between the hours of 6 am and 7 pm.
However, there is absolute prohibition on employment of woman between the hours of
10 pm and 5 am.

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