Bangladesh
THE FACTORIES ACT, 1965
(Act No. IV of 1965)
An Act to repeal and, with certain amendments, re-enact the Factories Act, 1934
(XXV of 1934)
WHEREAS it is expedient to repeal and, with certain amendments, re-enact the
Factories Act, 1934 for regulating working conditions in factories and for
matters connected therewith:
It is hereby enacted as follows:-
CHAPTER I: PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent
and commencement. -
(1) This Act maybe called the Factories Act, 1965.
(2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh.
(3) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions. - In this
Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, -
(a) 'adolescent' means a person who has completed sixteen
years but has not completed eighteen years of age;
(b) 'adult' means a person who has completed eighteen years
of age;
(c) 'child' means a person who has not completed sixteen
years of age;
(d) 'day' means a period of twenty-four hours beginning at
mid-night;
(e) 'explosive substance' includes any materials for making
any explosive substance;
(f) 'factory' means any premises including the precincts
thereof whereon ten or more workers are working or were
working on any day of the preceding twelve months and in
any part of which a manufacturing process is being
carried on with or without the aid of power, but does not
include a mine subject to the operation of the Mines Act,
1923 (IV of 1923).
Notes
The word "premises" ordinarily includes lands and
"precincts"
means the "limit, bound or exterior line encompassing a place."
In order to make it a factory, it is not necessary that the
workers should be continuously working in any premises. It would
be sufficient if on any one day of the preceding twelve months ten
workers are employed. Nevertheless, the premises will still
continue to be a factory for the next twelve months even if the
number of workers is subsequently reduced.
(g) 'machinery' includes prime movers, transmission
machinery and other appliances whereby power is
generated, transformed, transmitted or applied.
(h) 'manufacturing process' means any process -
(i) for making, altering, repairing, ornamenting,
painting and washing, finishing, or packing, or
otherwise treating any articles or substance with a
view to its use, sale, transport, delivery, display
or disposal, or
(ii) for pumping oil, gas, water, sewage or other fluids
or slurries, or
(iii) for generating, transforming or transmitting
power or gas, or
(iv) for constructing, reconstructing, repairing,
refitting, finishing or breaking up of ships or
vessels, or
(v) for printing by letter press, lithography,
photogravure or other similar work or book-binding
which is carried on by way of trade or for purposes
of gain or incidental to another business so
carried on;
(vi) 'occupier' in relation to a factory means the
person who has ultimate control over the affairs of
the factory:
Provided that where the affairs of a factory are entrusted to
a managing agent, such agent shall be deemed to be the occupier of
the factory.
Note
An occupier is one who has ultimate control over the affairs
of the factory. A person who controls the business side of the
factory is an occupier who may be an owner, a lessee or even a mere
licensee. He must, however, have the right to occupy the property
and dictate how it is to be managed although he may not be in
actual possession of the property.
(j) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made by the
Government under this Act;
(k) 'prime mover' means any engine, motor, or other appliance
which generates or otherwise provides power;
(l) 'relay' means where work of the same kind is carried out
by twe or more sets of workers working during different
periods of the day, each of such sets;
(m) 'shift' means, where work of the same kind is carried out
by two or more sets or workers working during different
periods of the day, each of such periods;
(n) 'transmission machinery' means any shaft, wheel, drum
pulley, system of pulleys couplings, clutch driving belt
or other appliance or device by which the motion of a
prime mover is transmitted to or received by any
machinery or plant;
(o) 'week' means a period of seven days beginning with the
preceding mid-night of the day specified as the weekly
holiday;
(p) 'worker' means a person employed directly or through any
agency, whether for wages or not, in any manufacturing
process, or in cleaning any part of the machinery or
premises used for a manufacturing process, or in any
other kind of work incidental to or connected with, the
manufacturing process or the subject of the manufacturing
process, but does not include any person solely employed
in a clerical capacity in any room or place where no
manufacturing process is carried on;
(q) 'young person' means a person who is either a child or an
adolescent;
(r) 'power' means electrical energy and any other form of
energy which is mechanically transmitted and is not
generated by human or animal agency; and
(s) 'wages' means wages as defined in the Payment of Wages
Act, 1936 (IV of 1936).
3. Power to apply the
provisions of this Act to certain places. -
(1) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette,
declare that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall apply
to any place wherein a manufacturing process is being carried on or
is ordinarily carried on whether with or without the use of power
whenever five or more workers are working therein or have worked
therein on any day of the twelve months immediately preceding.
(2) A notification under sub-section (1) may be made in
respect of any one such place or in respect of any class of such
places or generally in respect of all such places.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (f) of
Section 2, a place to which all or any of the provisions of this
Act are, for the time being, applicable in pursuance of a
declaration under sub-section (l), shall, to the extent to which
such provisions are so made applicable but not otherwise, be deemed
to be a factory.
4. Power to declare
departments to be separate factories. -
The Government may, by order in writing, direct that the different
departments or branches of a specified factory be treated as
separate factories for all or any of the purposes of this Act.
5. Power to exempt. - The
Government may, by notification in
the official Gazette, exempt any factory or any class or
description of factories from all or any of the provisions of this
Act for such period as it may think fit in the public interest:
Provided that no such exemption shall be made for a period
exceeding six months at a time.
6. Notice to Inspector
before commencement of work.
(1) The occupier shall, at least fifteen days before he
begins
to occupy or use any premises as a factory send to the
Chief
Inspector a written notice containing -
(a) the name and situation of the factory;
(b) the name and address of the occupier;
(c) the address to which communications relating to the
factory may be sent;
(d) the nature of the manufacturing process -
(i) carried on in the factory during the last
twelve months in the case of factories in
existence on the date of the commencement of
this Act;
(ii) to be carried on in the factory during the
next twelve months in the case of all
factories;
(e) the nature and quantity of power to be used; the
name of the Manager of the factory for the purposes
of this Act;
(f) the number of workers likely to be employed in the
factory;
(g) the average number of workers per day employed
during the last twelve months in the case of a
factory in existence on the date of the
commencement of this Act; and
(h) such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) In respect of all factories which come within the scope
of this
Act for the first time, the occupier shall send a written
notice
to the Chief Inspector containing particulars specified in
sub-section (1) within thirty days from the date of the
commencement of this Act..
(3) Before a factory engaged in a manufacturing process,
which
is ordinarily carried on for less than one hundred and eighty
working
days in the year, resumes working, the occupier shall send
a
written notice to the Chief Inspector containing the particulars
specified in sub-section (1) within thirty days before the date of
the
commencement of work.
(4) Whenever another person is appointed as Manager, the
occupier shall send to the Chief Inspector a written notice of the
change,
within seven days from the date on which such person
assumes
charge.
(5) During any period for which no person has been designated
as
Manager of the factory or during which the person so designated
does
not manage the factory, any person found acting as Manager or
if no
such person is found, the occupier himself shall be deemed to
be the
Manager of the factory for the purposes of this Act.
7. Seasonal Factory. - The
Government may, by notification
in the
official Gazette, declare any factory in which
manufacturing processes are ordinarily carried on for not more
than
one hundred and eighty working days in the year and
cannot
be carried on except during particular seasons or at
times
dependent on the irregular action of natural forces, to
be a
seasonal factory for the purposes of this Act.
8. Approval of plans and
fees for licensing and
registration.
(1) The Government may -
(a) require that previous permission in writing be
obtained in the prescribed manner from the Chief
Inspector for the construction or extension of any
factory or class or description of factories;
(b) require registration and licensing of factories or
any class or description of factories and payment
of fees for such registration and licensing or for
the renewal of licences, in the prescribed manner.
(2) If, in accordance with the
provisions of sub-section (1)
an application for permission accompanied by the
plans and
specifications is sent to the Chief Inspector and
no order is
communicated to the applicant within two months
from the date of
its receipt by the Chief Inspector, the
permission applied for in
the said application shall be deemed to have been
granted.
(3) Where the Chief Inspector
refuses to grant permission to
the said construction or extension of a factory
or to registration
and licensing of a factory the applicant may,
within sixty days of
the date of such refusal, appeal to the
Government.
Explanation - A factory shall not be deemed to be
extended
within the meaning of this section by reason only
of the
replacement of any plant or machinery or, within
such limits as may
be prescribed, of the addition of any plant or
machinery.
CHAPTER II: CHIEF INSPECTOR, INSPECTORS AND
CERTIFYING SURGEONS
9. Chief Inspector and
Inspectors. -
(1) The Government may, by
notification in the official
Gazette, appoint any person to be the Chief
Inspector, who shall,
in addition to the powers conferred on the Chief
Inspector under
this Act, have the powers of an Inspector
throughout the country
and shall also have powers of supervision and
control over the
Inspectors appointed under sub-section (2):
Provided that the Chief Inspector may authorise
any other
officer or officers under him to exercise all or
any of his powers
for such area or areas as may be specified by
him.
(2) The Government may, by
notification in the official
Gazette, appoint such persons as it thinks
fit, to be Inspectors
for the puposes of this Act within such local
limits as it may
assign to them respectively.
(3) The Government may also, by
notification as aforesaid,
appoint such public officers as it thinks fit to
be Inspectors for
all or any of the purposes of this Act, within
such local limits as
it may assign to them respectively.
(4) Every Deputy Commissioner
shall be an Inspector of his
district.
(5) No person shall be
appointed to be an Inspector under
sub-section (2) or, having been so appointed,
shall continue to
hold office, who is or becomes directly or
indirectly, interested
in a factory or in any process or business
carried on therein or
any patent or machinery connected therein.
(6) In any area where there are
more Inspectors than one, the
Government may, by notification as aforesaid,
declare the powers
which such Inspectors shall respectively
exercise, and the
Inspector to whom the prescribed notices are to
be sent.
(7) The Chief Inspector and
every Inspector shall be deemed
to be a public servant within the meaning of
section 21 of the
Penal Code, (Act XLV of 1860) [as adapted] and
the Inspectors
appointed under sub-section (3) shall be
officially subordinate to
such authority as the Government may specify on
this behalf.
10. Powers of Inspector.
-
(1) For carrying out the
purposes of this Act, an Inspector
may, within the local limits for which he is
appointed -
(a) enter with such assistants, being persons in the
service of Bangladesh or of any municipal or other
local authority, as he thinks fit, inspect and
examine any place which is, or which he has reason
to believe to be, used as a factory under the
provisions of section 3;
(b) require the production of the registers,
certificates, notices and documents kept in
pursuance of this Act, and inspect, examine and
copy any of them;
(c) make such examination and inquiry as may be
necessary to ascertain whether the provisions of
this Act and other laws for the time being in force
relating to health and hygiene, in respect of a
factory and any person employed in a factory are
complied with;
(d) require any person whom he finds in a factory to
give such information as it is in his knowledge
relating to the actual occupier of the factory;
(e) examine, in respect of matters pertaining to this
Act, every person whom he finds in a factory, or
whom he has reasonable cause to be or to have been
within the preceding two months, employed in a
factory;
Provided that no person shall be required
to answer any
questions or to give any evidence tending to
incriminate himself;
and
(f) require every person so examined to sign the record
of such examination by way of verification.
(2) The occupier of every
factory, his agents and servants,
shall furnish the means required by an Inspector
as necessary
for an entry, inspection, examination, enquiry,
the taking of
samples, or otherwise for the exercise of his
powers under
this Act, in relation to that factory.
(3) An Inspector may seize any
record, register or any other
documents of any factory, relevant to the
enforcement of the
provisions of this Act, as he may consider
necessary in the
prescribed manner for the purpose of carrying out
his functions
under this Act.
11. Certifying Surgeons. -
(1) The Government may appoint
such registered medical
practitioners as it deems fit to be Certifying
Surgeons, for
the purposes of this Act within such local limits
or for such
factory or class or description of factories as
may be
assigned to them respectively.
(2) No person shall be
appointed to be a Certifying Surgeon,
or having been so appointed, continue to exercise
such powers, who
is or becomes the occupier of a factory or is or
becomes directly
or indirectly interested therein or in any patent
or machinery
connected therewith or is otherwise in the
employment of the
factory.
(3) The Certifying Surgeon will
carry out such duties as may
be prescribed in connection with -
(a) examination and certification of young persons
under this Act;
(b) examination of persons engaged in factories in such
dangerous occupations or processes as may be
prescribed;
(c) such medical supervision as may be prescribed for
any factory or class or description of factory
where -
(i) cases of illness having occurred which it is
reasonable to believe are due to the nature of
the manufacturing process carried on or other
conditions of work prevailing therein;
(ii) by reason of any change in the manufacturing
process carried on or in the substance used
therein or by reason of the adoption of any
new manufacturing process or any new substance
for use in a manufacturing process, there is
likelihood of injury to the health of the
workers employed in that manufacturing
process; and
(iii) young persons are, or are about to be
employed in any work which is likely to
cause injury to their health.
CHAPTER III: HEALTH AND HYGIENE
12. Cleanliness. -
(1) Every factory shall be kept clean and free from
effluvia arising from any drain privy or other nuisance, and in
particular, -
(a) accummulation of dirt and refuge shall be
moved daily by sweeping or by any other
effective method from the floors and benches
of workrooms and from staircases and passages
and disposed of in a suitable manner;
(b) the floor of every workroom shall be cleaned
at least once in every week by washing, using
disinfectant where necessary or by some other
effective method;
(c) where the floor is liable to become wet in the
course of any manufacturing process to such
extent as is capable of being drained,
effective means of drainage shall be provided
and maintained;
(d) all inside walls and partitions, all ceilings
or tops of rooms and walls, sides and tops of
passages and staircases shall-
(i) where they are painted or varnished, be
repainted or revarnished at least once in
every five years;
(ii) where they are painted or varnished and
have smooth impervious surfaces, be
cleaned at least once in every fourteenth
month, by such methods as may be
prescribed;
(iii) in any other case, be kept
white-
washed or colour-washed and the
white-washing or colour-washing
shall be carried out at least once
in every fourteen months; and
(e) the dates on which the processes required by
clause (d) are carried out shall be entered in
the prescribed register.
(2) If, in view of the nature
of the operations carried on in
a factory it is not possible for the occupier to comply with all or
any of the provisions of sub-section (1), the Government may, by an
order, exempt such factory or class or description of factories
from any of the provisions of that sub-section and specify
alternative methods for keeping the factory in a clean state.
13. Disposal of wastes and
effluents. -
(1) Effective arrangements
shall be made in every factory for
the disposal of wastes and effluents due to the manufacturing
process carried on therein.
(2) The Government may make
rules prescribing the
arrangements to be made in accordance with sub-section (1) or
requiring that the arrangement made in accordance with sub-section
(1) shall be approved by such authority as may be prescribed.
14. Ventilation and temperature. -
(1) Effective and suitable
provisions shall be made in every
factory for securing and maintaining in every work-room -
(a) adequate ventilation by the circulation of fresh
air; and
(b) such temperatures as will secure to workers therein
reasonable conditions of comfort and which will
prevent injury to health, and in particular, -
(i) the walls and roof shall be of such material
and so designed that such temperature shall
not be exceeded but be kept as low as
practicable;
(ii) where the nature of the work carried on in the
factory involves, or is likely to involve, the
production of excessively high temperature,
such adequate measures as are practicable,
shall be taken to protect the workers
therefrom by separating the process which
produces such temperature from the work-room
by insulating the hot parts or by other
effective means.
(2) The Government may
prescribe a standard of adequate
ventilation and reasonable temperature for any factory or class or
description of factories or parts thereof and direct that a
thermometer shall be provided and maintained in such place and
position as may be specified.
(3) If it appears to the
Government that in any factory or
class or description of factories excessively high temperature can
be reduced by such methods as white-washing, spraying or insulating
and screening outside walls or roofs or windows or by raising the
level of the roof, or by insulating the roof either by an air space
and double roof or by the use of insulating roofing materials, or
by other methods, it may prescribe such of those or other methods
to be adopted in the factory.
15. Dust and fume. -
(1) In every factory in which,
by reason of the manufacturing
process carried on, there is given off any dust or fumes or other
impurity of such a nature and to such an extent as is likely to be
injurious or offensive to the workers employed therein, effective
measures shall be taken to prevent its accummulation in any work-
room and its inhalation by workers, and if any exhaust appliance is
necessary for this purpose, it shall be applied as near as possible
to the point of origin of the dust, fumes or other impurity, and
such point shall be enclosed so far as is possible.
(2) In any factory no
stationary internal combustion engine
shall be operated unless the exhaust is conducted into open air,
and no internal combustion engine shall be operated in any room
unless effective measures have been taken to prevent such
accummulation of fumes therefrom as are likely to be injurious to
the workers employed in the work-room.
16. Artificial humidification.
-
(1) The Government may, in
respect of all factories in which
humidity of the air is artificially increased, make rules
-
(a) prescribing standards of humidification;
(b) regulating the methods used for artificially
increasing the humidity of the air;
(c) directing prescribed tests determining the humidity
of the air to be correctly carried out and
recorded; and
(d) prescribing methods to be adopted for securing
adequate ventilation and cooling of the air in the
work-rooms.
(2) In any factory in which the
humidity of the air is
artificially increased, the water used for the purpose shall be
taken
from a public supply, or other source of drinking water, or
shall be effectively purified before it is so used.
(3) If it appears to an
Inspector that the water used in a
factory for increasing humidity which is required to be effectively
purified under sub-section (2) is not effectively purified, he may
serve on the Manager of the factory an order in writing, specifying
the measures which in his opinion should be adopted, and requiring
them to be carried out before a specified date.
17. Overcrowding. -
(1) No work-room in any factory
shall be overcrowded to the
extent that it is injurious to the health of the workers employed
therein.
(2) Without prejudice to the
generality of the provisions of
sub-section (1), there shall be provided for every worker employed
in a work-room-
(a) at least three hundred and fifty cubic feet of
space in the case of a factory in existence on the
date of the commencement of this Act, and
(b) at least five hundred cubic feet of space in the
case of a factory built after the commencement of
this Act.
Explanation - For the purpose of this sub-section
no account
shall be taken of a space which is more than fourteen feet above
the level of the floor of the room.
(3) If the Chief Inspector by
order in writing so requires,
there shall be posted in each work-room of a factory a notice
specifying the maximum number of workers who may, in compliance
with the provisions of this section, be employed in the room.
(4) The Chief Inspector may, by
order in writing exempt,
subject to the conditions as he may think fit to impose, any work-
room from the provisions of this section if he is satisfied that
compliance therewith in respect of such room is not necessary for
the purpose of health of the workers employed therein.
18. Lighting. -
(1) In every part of a factory
where workers are working or
passing, there shall be provided and maintained sufficient and
suitable lighting, natural or artificial, or both.
(2) In every factory all glazed
windows and skylights used
for the lighting of the work-room shall be kept clean on both the
outer and inner surfaces and free from obstruction as far as
possible under the rules framed under sub-section (3) of section
14.
(3) In every factory effective
provision shall so far as is
practicable, be made for the prevention of -
(a) glare either directly from any source of light or
by reflection from a smooth or polished surface,
and
(b) the formation of shadows to such an extent as to
cause eye strain or risk of accident to any worker.
(4) The Government may
prescribe standards of sufficient and
suitable lighting for factories or for any class or description of
factories or for any manufacturing process.
19. Drinking water. -
(1) In every factory effective
arrangements shall be made to
provide and maintain at a suitable point conveniently situated for
all workers employed therein, a sufficient supply of wholesome
drinking water.
(2) All such points shall be
legibly marked "Drinking Water"
in a language understood by the majority of the workers and no such
point shall be situated within twenty feet of any washing place,
urinal or latrine, unless a shorter distance is approved in writing
by the Chief Inspector.
(3) In every factory wherein
more than two hundred and fifty
workers are ordinarily employed, provision shall be made for
cooling the drinking water during the hot weather by effective
means and for distribution thereof.
(4) The Government may, in
respect of all factories or any
class or description of factories, make rules for securing
compliance with the provisions of this section.
20. Latrines and urinals. -
(1) In every factory -
(a) sufficient latrines and urinals of prescribed types
shall be provided conveniently situated and
accessible to workers at all times while they are
in the factory;
(b) enclosed latrines and urinals shall be provided
separately for male and female workers;
(c) such latrines and urinals shall be adequately
lighted and ventlated and no latrine or urinal
shall, unless specifically exempted in writing by
the Chief Inspector, communicate with any work-room
except through an intervening open space or
ventilated passage;
(d) all such latrines and urinals shall be maintained
in a clean and sanitary condition at all times with
suitable detergents or disinfectants or with both;
(e) the floors and internal walls of the latrines and
urinals and the sanitary blocks shall, up to a
height of three feet, be finished to provide a
smooth polished impervious surface.
(2) The Government may
prescribe the number of latrines and
urinals to be provided in any factory in proportion to the numbers
of male and female workers ordinarily employed therein and such
further matters in respect of sanitation in the factories.
21. Spittoons. -
(1) In every factory there
shall be provided, at convenient
places, a sufficient number of spittoons which shall be maintained
in a clean and hygienic condition.
(2) The Government may make
rules prescribing the type and
the number of spittoons to be provided and their location in any
factory and such further matters as may be deemed necessary
relating to their maintenance in a clean and hygienic condition.
(3) No person shall spit within
the premises of a factory
except in the spittoons provided for the purpose. A notice
containing this provision and the penalty for its violation shall
be prominently displayed at suitable places in the premises.
(4) Whosoever spits in
contravention of sub-section (3),
shall be punishable with a fine not exceeding Taka Two.
CHAPTER 1V: SAFETY
22. Precautions in case of
fire. -
(1) Every factory will be
provided with such means of escape
in case of fire as may be prescribed.
(2) If it appears to the
Inspector that any factory is not
provided with the means of escape prescribed under sub-section (1),
he may serve on the Manager of the factory an order in writing
specifying the measures which, in his opinion, should be adopted
before a date specified in the order.
(3) In every factory the doors
affording exit from any room
shall not be locked or fastened so that they can be easily and
immediately opened from inside while any person is within the room,
and all such doors, unless they are of the sliding type, shall be
constructed to open outwards, or where the door is between two
rooms, in the direction of the nearest exit from the building and
no such door shall be locked or obstructed while work is being
carried on in the room.
(4) In every factory every
window, door, or other exit
affording means of escape in case of fire, other than the means of
exit in ordinary use, shall be distinctively marked in a language
understood by the majority of the workers and in red letters of
adequate size or by some other effective and clearly understood
sign.
(5) In every factory there
shall be provided effective and
clearly audible means of giving warning in case of fire to every
person employed therein.
(6) A free passage-way giving
access to each means of escape
in case of fire shall be maintained for the use of all workers in
every room of the factory.
(7) In every factory wherein
more than ten workers are
ordinarily employed in any place above the ground floor, or
explosives or highly inflammable materials are used or stored,
effective measures shall be taken to ensure that all the workers
are familiar with the means of escape in case of fire and have been
adequately trained in the routine to be followed in such case.
(8) The Government may make
rules prescribing in respect of
any factory, or class or description of factories, the means of
escape to be provided in case of fire and the nature and amount of
fire-fighting apparatus to be provided and maintained.
23. Fencing of machinery.
-
(1) In every factory the
following shall be securely fenced
by safeguards of substantial construction which shall be kept in
position while the part of machinery required to be fenced are in
motion or in use, namely -
(a) every moving part of a prime mover, and every fly
wheel connected to a prime mover;
(b) the head-race and tail-race of every water wheel
and water turbine;
(c) any part of a stock-bar which projects beyond the
head stock of a lathe; and
(d) unless they are in such position or of such
construction as to be as safe to every person
employed in the factory as they would be if they
were securely fenced -
(i) every part of an electricity generator, a
motor or rotary convertor;
(ii) every part of transmission machinery; and
(iii) every dangerous part of
any machinery:
Provided that, for the purpose of
determining whether any
part of machinery is in such position or is of such construction as
to be
safe as aforesaid, account shall not be taken of any occasion
when it being necessary to make an examination of the machinery
while it is in motion or, as a result of such examination, to carry
out any mounting or shipping of belts, lubrication or other
adjusting operation while the machinery is in motion, such
examination or operation is made or carried out in accordance with
the provisions of section 24.
(2) Without prejudice to any
other provision of this Act
relating to the fencing of machinery, every set screw, bolt and key
on any revolving shaft, spindle wheel or pinion and all spur, worm
and other toothed or friction gearing in motion with which a worker
would otherwise be liable to come into contact, shall be securely
fenced, to prevent such contact.
(3) The Government may exempt,
subject to such conditions as
may be imposed, for securing the safety of the workers, any
particular machinery or part thereof from the provisions of this
Act.
(4) The Government may, by
rules, prescribe such further
precautions as it may consider necessary in respect of any
particular machinery or part thereof.
24. Work on or near machinery
in motion. -
(1) Where in any factory it
becomes necessary to examine any
part of machinery referred to in section 23 while the machinery is
in motion, or as a result of such examination, to carry out any
mounting or shipping of belts, lubrication or other adjusting
operation while the machinery is in motion, such examination or
operation shall be made or carried out only by a specially trained
adult male worker wearing tight fitting clothing whose name has
been recorded in the register prescribed in this behalf and while
he is so engaged such worker shall not handle a belt at a moving
pulley unless the belt is less than six inches in width and unless
the belt-joint is either laced or flush with the belt.
(2) No woman or child shall be
allowed in any factory to
clean, lubricate or adjust any part of machine while that part is
in motion, or to work between moving parts or between fixed and
moving parts, of any machinery which is in motion.
(3) The Government may, by
notification in the official
Gazette, prohibit, in any specified factory or class or description
of factories, the cleaning, lubricating or adjusting by any person,
of specified parts of machinery when those parts are in motion.
25. Employment of young persons
on dangerous machines.
(1) No young person shall work
at any machine unless he has
been
fully instructed as to the dangers arising in
connection with the machine and the precautions to be
observed, and -
(a) has received sufficient training in work at the
machine, or
(b) is under adequate supervision by a person who has
thorough knowledge and experience of the machine.
(2) This section shall apply to
such machines as may be
notified by the Government to be of such a dangerous character that
young persons ought not to work at them unless the foregoing
requirements are complied with.
26. Striking gear and devices
for cutting off power. -
(1) In every factory -
(a) suitable striking gear or other efficient
mechanical appliances shall be provided and
maintained and used to move driving belts to and
from fast and loose pulleys which form part of the
transmission machinery, and such gear or appliances
shall be so constructed, placed and maintained as
to prevent the belt from crooping back on the first
pulleys;
(b) driving belts when not in use shall not be allowed
to rest or ride upon shafting in motion.
(2) In every factory suitable
devices for cutting off power
in emergencies from running machinery shall be provided and
maintained in every work-room.
(3) In respect of factories in
operation before the
commencement of this Act the provisions of sub-section (2) shall
apply only to work-rooms in which electricity is used for power.
27. Self-acting machines. - No
traversing part of a self-
acting machine in any factory and no material carried thereon
shall, if the space over which it runs is a space over which any
person is liable to pass whether in the course of his employment or
otherwise, be allowed to run on its outward or inward traverse
within a distance of eighteen inches from any fixed structure which
is not part of the machine:
Provided that the Chief Inspector may permit the
continued use
of a machine installed before the commencement of this Act which
does not comply with the requirements of this section on such
conditions for ensuring safety as he may think fit to impose.
28. Casing of new machinery. -
(1) In all machinery driven by
power and installed in any
factory after the commencement of this Act -
(a) every set screw, belt or key or any revolving
shaft, spindle, wheel or pinion shall be so sunk,
encased or otherwise effectively guarded as to
prevent danger; and
(b) all spur, worm and other toothed or friction
gearing which does not require frequent adjustment
while in motion, shall be completely encased unless
it is so situated as to be as safe as it would be
if it were completely encased.
(2) Whoever sells or lets on
hire or as agent of a seller or
hirer, causes or procures to be sold or let on hire, for use in a
factory any machinery driven by power which does not comply with
the provisions of sub-section (1), shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to threee months, or with
a fine
which may extend to Taka five hundred or with both.
(3) The Government may make
rules specifying further
afeguards to be provided in respect of any other dangerous part of
any particular machine or class or description of machines.
29. Prohibition of employment
of women and children near
cotton-openers. - No woman or child shall be employed in any part
of a factory for pressing cotton in which a cotton-opener is at
work:
Provided that if the feed-end of a cotton-opener
is in a room
separated from the delivery end by a partition extending to the
roof or to such heights as the Inspector may, in any particular
case, specify in writing, women and children may be employed on the
side of the partition where the feed-end is situated.
30. Cranes and other lifting
machinery. -
(1) The following provisions
shall apply in respect of cranes
and all other lifting machinery, other than hoists and lifts, in
any factory -
(a) every part thereof, including the working gear,
whether fixed or movable, ropes and chains and
anchoring and fixing appliances shall be -
(i) of good construction, sound material and
adequate strength;
(ii) properly maintained;
(iii) thoroughly examined by a
competent person
at least once in every period of twelve
months, and a register shall be kept
containing the prescribed particulars of
every such examination;
(b) no such machinery shall be loaded beyond the safe
working load which shall be plainly marked thereon;
and
(c) while any person is employed or working on or near
the wheel-tract of a travelling crane in any place
where he would be liable to be struck by the crane,
effective measures shall be taken to ensure that
the crane does not approach within twenty feet of
that place.
(2) The Government may make
rules in respect of any lifting
machinery or class or description of lifting machinery in factories
(a) prescribing requirements to be complied with in
addition to those set out in this section; or
(b) exempting from compliance with all or any of the
requirements of this section, where, in its
opinion, such compliance is unnecessary or
impracticable.
31. Hoists and lifts.-
(1) In every factory-
(a) every hoist and lift shall be -
(i) of good mechanical construction, sound
material and adequate strength,
(ii) properly maintained, and shall be thoroughly
examined by a competent person at least once
in every period of six months, and a register
shall be kept containing the prescribed
particulars of every such examination;
(b) every hoistway and liftway shall be sufficiently
protected by an enclosure fitted with gates, and
the hoist or lift and every such enclosure shall be
so constructed as to prevent any person or thing
from being trapped between any part of the hoist or
lift and any fixed structure or moving part;
(c) the maximum safe working load shall be plainly
marked on every hoist or lift, and no load greater
than such load shall be carried thereon;
(d) the cage of every hoist or lift used for carrying
persons shall be fitted with a gate on each side
from which access is afforded to a landing;
(e) every gate referred to in clause (b) or clause (d)
shall be fitted with interlocking or other
efficient device to secure the gate so that it
cannot be opened except when the cage is at the
landing and to ensure that the cage cannot be moved
unless the gate is closed.
(2) the following additional
requirements shall apply to
hoists and lifts used for carrying persons and installed or
reconstructed in a factory after the commencement of this Act,
namely-
(a) where the cage is supported by rope or chain there
shall be at least two ropes or chains separately
connected to the cage and balance weight, and each
rope or chain with its attachments shall be capable
of carrying the whole weight of the cage together
with its maximum load;
(b) efficient devices shall be provided and maintained
capable of supporting the cage together with its
maximum load in the event of breakage of the ropes,
chains or attachments;
(c) an efficient automatic device shall be provided and
maintained to prevent the cage from over-running.
(3) The Chief Inspector may
permit the continued use of a
hoist or lift installed in a factory before the commencement of
this Act which does not fully comply with the provisions of sub-
section (1) upon such conditions for ensuring safety as he may
think fit to impose.
(4) The Government may, if, in
respect of any class or
description of hoist or lift, it is of the opinion that it would be
unreasonable to enforce any requirement of sub-sections (1) and
(2),
by order direct that such requirement shall not apply to such
class or description of hoist or lift.
32. Revolving machinery.-
(1) In every room in a factory
in which the process of
grinding is carried on, there shall be permanently affixed to, or
placed near, each machine in use a notice indicating the maximum
safe working peripheral speed of every grind stone or abrasive
wheel, the speed of the shaft or spindle upon which the wheel is
mounted and the diameter of the pulley upon such shaft or spindle
necessary to secure safe working peripheral speed.
(2) The speeds indicated in
notices under sub-section (1)
shall not be exceeded.
(3) Effective measures shall be
taken in every factory to
ensure that the safe working perpheral speed of every revolving
vessel, cage, basket, flywheel, pulley disc or similar appliance
driven by power is not exceeded.
33. Pressure plant.-
(1)
If in any factory any part
of the plant or machinery used
in a
manufacturing process is operated at a pressure above
atmospheric pressure, effective measures shall be taken to ensure
that the safe working pressure of such part is not exceeded.
(2) The Government may make
rules providing for the
examination and testing of any plant or machinery such as is
referred to in sub-section (1) and prescribing such other safety
measures in relation thereto as may, in its opinion, be necessary
in any factory or class or description of factories.
34. Floors, stairs and means of
access. - In every factory -
(a) all floors, stairs, passages and gangways shall be
of sound construction and be properly maintained
and where it is necessary to ensure safety, steps,
stairs, passages and gangways shall be provided
with substantial handrails; and
(b) there shall, so far as is reasonably practicable,
be provided and maintained safe means of access to
every place at which any person is, at any time,
required to work.
35. Pits, sumps, openings in
floors, etc. -
(1) In every factory, every
fixed vessel, sump, tank, pit or
opening in the ground or in a floor which, by reason of its depth,
situation, construction or contents, is or may be a source of
danger, shall be either securely covered or securely fenced.
(2) The Government may, by
order in writing, exempt, subject
to such conditions as may be imposed, any factory or class or
description of factories in respect of any vessel, sump, tank, pit
or opening from compliance with the provisions of this section.
36. Excessive wieghts. -
(1) No person shall be employed
in any factory to lift, carry
or move any load so heavy as to be likely to cause him injury.
(2) The Government may make
rules prescribing the maximum
weights which may be lifted, carried or moved by adult men, adult
women, adolescents and children employed in factories or in any
class or description of factories or in carrying on any specified
process.
37. Protection of eyes. - The
Government may, in respect of
any manufacturing process carried on in any factory, by rules,
require that effective screens or suitable goggles shall be
provided for the protection of persons employed on or in the
immediate vicinity of a process which involves -
(a) risk of injury to the eyes from particles or
fragments thrown off in the course of the process,
or
(b) risk to the eyes by reason of exposure to excessive
light or heat.
38. Powers to require
specifications of defective parts or
tests of stability. - If it appears to the Inspector that any
building or part of a building, or any part of the ways, machinery
or plant in a factory, is in such a condition that it may be
dangerous to human life or safety, he may serve on the Manager of
the factory an order in writing, requiring him before a specified
date -
(a) to furnish such drawings, specifications and other
particulars as may be necessary to determine
whether such building, ways, machinery or plant can
be used with safety, or
(b) to carry out such tests as may be necessary to
determine the strength or quality of any specified
parts and to inform the Inspector of the results
thereof.
39. Safety of building and
machinery. -
(1) If it appears to the
Inspector that any building or part
of a building or any part of the ways, machinery or plant in a
factory is in such a condition that it is dangerous to human life
or safety, he may serve on the Manager of the factory, an order in
writing specifying the measures which, in his opinion, should be
adopted, and requiring them to be carried out before a specified
date.
(2) If it appears to the
Inspector that the use of any
building or part of a building or of any part of the ways,
machinery or plant in a factory involves imminent danger to human
life or safety, he may serve on the Manager of the factory an order
in writing prohibiting its use until it has been properly repaired
or altered.
40. Power to make rules to
supplement this Chapter. -
The Government may make rules requiring that -
(1) in any factory or in any class or description of
factories, such further devices and measures for
securing the safety of the persons employed therein
as it may deem necessary shall be adopted; and
(2) work on a manufacturing process carried on with the
aid of power shall not be begun in any building or
part of a building erected or taken into use as a
factory until a certificate of stability in the
prescribed form and signed by a person possessing
the prescribed qualifications, has been sent to the
Chief Inspector.
41. Precautions against
dangerous fumes -
(1) In any factory no
person shall enter or be permitted to
enter any chamber, tank, vat, pit, pipe, flue or other confined
space in which dangerous fumes are likely to be present to such an
extent as to involve risks of persons being overcome thereby,
unless it is provided with a manhole of adequate size or other
effective means of egress.
(2) No portable electric light
of voltage exceeding twenty-
four volts shall be permitted in any factory for use inside any
confined space such as is referred to in sub-section (1) and where
the fumes present are likely to be inflammable, lamp or light other
than of flame proof construction shall be permitted to be used in
such confined space.
(3) No person in any factory
shall enter or be permitted to
enter any confined space such as is referred to in sub-section (1)
until all practicable measures have been taken to remove any fumes
which may be present and to prevent any ingress of fumes and unless
either -
(a) a certificate in writing has been given by a
competent person, based on a test carried out by
himself, that the space is free from dangerous
fumes and fit for persons to enter, or
(b) the worker is wearing suitable breathing apparatus
and a belt securely attached to a rope, the free
end of which is held by a person standing outside
the confined space.
(4) Suitable breathing
apparatus, reviving apparatus and
belts and ropes shall, in every factory, be kept ready for instant
use beside any such confined space as aforesaid which any person
has entered, and all such apparatus shall be periodically examined
and certified by a competent person to be fit for use; and a
sufficient number of persons employed in every factory shall be
trained and practised in the use of all such apparatus and in the
method of restoring respiration.
(5) No person shall be
permitted to enter in any factory, any
boiler furnace, boiler, flue chamber, tank, vat, pipe or other
confined space for the purpose of working or making any examination
therein until it has been sufficiently cooled by ventilation or
otherwise declared to be safe for persons to enter.
(6) The Government may make
rules prescribing the maximum
dimensions of the manholes referred to in sub-section (1) and may,
by order in writing, exempt, subject to such conditions as it may
think fit to impose, any factory or class or description of
factories from compliance with any of the provisions of this
section.
42. Explosive or inflammable
dust, gas, etc. -
(1) Where in any factory any
manufacturing process produces
dust, gas, fume or vapour of such character and to such extent as
to be likely to explode on ignition, all practicable measures shall
be taken to prevent any such explosion by -
(a) effective enclosure of the plant or machinery used
in the process;
(b) removal or prevention of the accumulation of such
dust, gas, fume or vapour;
(c) exclusion or effective enclosure of all possible
sources of ignition.
(2) Where in any factory the
plant or machinery used in a
process such as is referred to in sub-section (1) is not so
constructed as to withstand the probable pressure which such an
explosion as aforesaid would produce, all practicable measures
shall be taken to restrict the spread and effects of the explosion
by the provision in the plant or machinery of chokes, baffles,
vents or other effective appliances.
(3) Where any part of the plant
or machinery in a factory
contains any explosive or inflammable gas or vapour under pressure
greater than atmospheric pressure, that part shall not be opened
except in accordance with the following provisions, namely -
(a) before the fastening of any joint of any pipe
connected with the part of the fastening of the
cover of any opening into the part is loosened, any
flow of the gas or vapour into the part or any such
pipe shall be effectively stopped by a stop-valve
or other means;
(b) before any such fastening as aforesaid is removed,
all practicable measures shall be taken to reduce
the pressure of the gas or vapour in the part or
pipe to atmospheric pressure;
(c) where any such fastening, as aforesaid, has been
loosened or removed, effective measures shall be
taken to prevent any explosive or inflammable gas
or vapour from entering the part or pipe until the
fastening has been secured; or, as the case may be,
securely replaced:
Provided that the provisions of this sub-section
shall not
apply
in the case of plant or machinery installed in the open air.
(4) No plant, tank or vessel,
which contains or has contained
any explosive or inflammable substance shall be subjected in any
factory to any welding, brazing soldering or cutting operation
which involves the application of heat unless adequate measures
have first been taken to remove such substance and any fumes non-
explosive or non-inflammable, and no such substance shall be
allowed to enter such plant, tank or vessel after any such
operation until the metal has cooled sufficiently to prevent any
risk of igniting the substance.
(5) The Government may, by
rules, exempt, subject to such
conditions as may be prescribed, any factory or class or
description of factories from compliance with all or any of the
provisions of this section.
CHAPTER V: WELFARE
43. Washing facilities. -
(1) In every factory -
(a) adequate and suitable facilities for washing and
bathing shall be provided and maintained for the
use of the workers therein;
(b) separate and adequately screened facilities shall
be provided for the use of male and female workers;
and
(c) such facilities shall be conveniently accessible
and shall be kept clean.
(2) The Government may, in
respect of any factory or class or
description of factories or of any manufacturing process, prescribe
standards of adequate and suitable facilities for washing.
44. First-aid appliances. -
(1) There shall, in every
factory or section of a factory, be
provided and maintained, so as to be readily accessible during all
working hours, first aid boxes and cupboards equipped with the
prescribed contents and the number of such boxes and cupboards
shall not be less than one for every one hundred and fifty workers
ordinarily employed in the factory.
(2) Nothing except the
prescribed contents shall be kept in
the boxes and cupboards referred to in sub-section (1) and all such
boxes and cupboards shall be kept in charge of a responsible person
who is trained in first-aid treatment and who shall always be
available during the working hours of the factory.
(3) A notice shall be affixed
in every work-room stating the
name of the person in charge of the first-aid box or cupboard
provided in respect of that room and such person shall wear a badge
so as to facilitate idenitfication.
(4) In every factory wherein
five hundred or more workers are
employed, there shall be provided and maintained an ambulance room
or dispensary of the prescribed size containing the prescribed
equipment or similar facilities, in the charge of such medical and
nursing staff as may be prescribed.
45. Canteens. -
(1) The Government may make
rules requiring that, in any
specified factory wherein more than two hundred and fifty workers
are ordinarily employed, an adequate canteen shall be provided for
the use of the workers.
(2) Without prejudice to the
generality of the foregoing
power, such rules may provide for -
(a) the date by which such canteen shall be provided;
(b) the standards in respect of construction,
accommodation, furniture and other equipment of the
canteen;
(c) the foodstuff to be served therein and the charges
which may be made therefor;
(d) the constitution of a managing committee for the
canteen and representation of the workers in the
management of the canteen; and
(e) the delegation to the Chief Inspector, subject to
such conditions as may be specified, of the power
to make rules in respect of matters referred to in
clause (c).
46. Shelters, etc. -
(1) In every factory wherein more than one hundred
workers are ordinarily 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, shall be
provided and maintained for the use of the workers:
Provided that any canteen maintained in
accordance with the
provisions of section 45 shall be regarded as part of the
requirements of this sub-section:
Provided further that where a lunch room exists
no workers
shall eat any food in the work room.
(2) The shelters, rest rooms or
lunch rooms provided under
sub-section (1) shall be sufficiently lighted and ventilated and
shall be maintained in a cool and clean condition.
(3) The Government may -
(a) prescribe the standards in respect of construction,
accommodation, furniture and other equipment of
shelters, rest rooms and lunch rooms to be provided
under this section;
(b) prescribe the type of shelter for persons, the
nature of whose work requires them to be exposed to
the sun and the elements during the greater part of
their work;
(c) by notification in the official Gazette exempt any
factory or class or description of factories from
the requirements of this section.
47. Rooms for children. -
(1) In every factory, wherein
more than fifty women workers
are ordinarily employed, there shall be provided and maintained a
suitable room or rooms for the use of children under the age of six
years of such women.
(2) Such rooms shall propvide
adequate accommodation, be
adequately lighted and ventilated and maintained in a clean and
sanitary condition, and shall be under the charge of women trained
or experienced in the care of children and infants.
(3) The Government may make
rules -
(a) prescribing the location and the standards in
respect of construction, accommodation, furniture
and other equipment of rooms to be provided under
this section;
(b) requiring the provision, in factories to which this
section applies, of additional facilities for the
care of children belonging to women workers
including suitable provision of facilities for
washing and changing their clothing;
(c) requiring the provision, in any factory, of free
milk or refreshment or both for such children;
(d) requiring that facilities shall be given in any
factory for the mothers of such children to feed
them at the necessary intervals.
48. Welfare officers. -
(1) In every factory wherein
five hundred or more workers are
employed, the occupier shall employ in the factory such number of
welfare officers as may be prescribed.
(2) The Government may
prescribe the duties, qualifications
and conditions of service of officers employed under sub-section
(1).
49. Power to make rules to
supplement this Chapter. - The
Government may make rules -
(a) exempting, subject to compliance with such
alternative arrangements for the welfare of workers
as may be specified, any factory or class or
description of factories from compliance with any
of the provisions of this Chapter; and
(b) requiring in any factory or class or description of
factories that representatives of the workers
employed in the factory shall be associated with
the management of the welfare arrangements for the
workers.
CHAPTER VI: WORKING HOURS OF ADULTS
50. Weekly hours. -
(1) No adult worker shall be
required or allowed to work in
a factory for more than forty-eight hours in a week.
(2) Subject to the provisions
of section 58, an adult worker
may
work for more than nine hours in a day or forty-eight
hours
in a week:
Provided that the total hours of an adult worker
shall not
exceed sixty hours in any week and on an average fifty-six hours
per week in any year.
Notes
Rule 4 of the Factories (Exemption) Rules
provides that no
adult worker exempted from the provisions of this section, other
than an adult male worker employed under rule 6 on urgent repairs,
shall be allowed to work for more than sixty hours in any week and
on an average fifty-six hours per week in any year.
51. Weekly holidays. -
(1) No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work
in any factory on a Sunday or a Friday as the case may be, unless -
(a) he has had, or will have a holiday for a whole day,
on one of the three days immediately before or
after that Sunday or Friday, as the case may be;
and
(b) the manager of the factory has, before that Sunday
or Friday, or the substituted day, whichever is
earlier -
(i) given notice to the Inspector of his intention
to require the worker to work on the Sunday or
Friday as the case may be, and of the day
which is to be substituted; and
(ii) displayed a notice to that effect in the
factory:
Provided that no substitution shall be made which
will result
in any worker working for more than ten days consecutively without
a holiday for a whole day.
(2) Notice under sub-section
(1) may be cancelled by a notice
given to the Inspector and a notice displayed in the factory not
later than the day before the Sunday or Friday, or the substituted
day to be cancelled, whichever is earlier.
(3)
Where, in accordance with
the provision of sub-section (1)
any worker works on a Sunday or Friday, and has had a holiday
on one of the three days immediately before it, that Sunday or
Friday, as the case may be, shall for the purpose of calculating
his weekly hours of work, be included in the preceding week.
Notes
According to Rule 7, the provisions of this
section shall not
apply to adult male workers engaged solely in the work of attending
to boilers or prime movers, on condition that -
(a) the manager of the factory
shall classify all such
workers
into groups according to the nature of the work;
(b) a notice showing the groups
of workers working under the
provisions of this rule shall be displayed, maintained in
accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of
section
109;
(c) an attendance register for
such workers is maintained in
Form
No.1 and in respect of each worker the time of
commencement of each period of work be entered therein
beforehand and the time of finishing each period of work
be
entered therein immediately after the period of work
has
been completed; and
(d) no such worker be employed
for more than fourteen
consecutive days without a holiday for a whole day.
52. Compensatory weekly
holiday. -
(1) Where, as a result of the
passing of an order or the
making of a rule under the provisions of this Act exempting a
factory or the workers therein from the provisions of section 51,
a worker is deprived of any of the weekly holidays provided for in
sub-section (1) of that section, he shall be allowed, as soon as
circumstances permit, compensatory holidays of equal number to the
holidays so deprived of.
(2) The Government may make
rules prescribing the manner in
which the compensatory holidays under sub-section (1) shall be
allowed.
Notes
Rule 5 provides for compensatory holidays:
-
(1) Where, as a result of any
of these rules exempting the
workers
in a factory from the operation of the
provisions of section 51, a worker is deprived of any of
the
weekly holidays for which provision is made under
sub-section (1) of section 52, he be allowed compensatory
holidays of equal number to the holidays so lost in the
manner
prescribed by this rule.
(2) Every worker shall be
allowed compensatory holidays to
which
he is entitled under sub-rule (1), as soon as the
circumstances permit, either within the same month in
which
the holidays were due to him or within two months
immediately following that month:
Provided that in the case of a seasonal factory,
a worker
shall be
allowed the compensatory holidays before the close of the
current session.
(3) All the workers may be
allowed the compensatory holidays
either
simultaneously or by rotation as may be deemed
expedient.
(4) Notwithstanding anything
contained in the foregoing sub-
rule,
in the case of a seasonal factory having a
continuous manufacturing process, a worker may, subject
to the
approval of the Chief Inspector, be allowed the
compensatory holidays permissible under sub-rule (1) at
the end
of the current session at a time, commencing from
a day
not later than the date immediately following the
day on
which the current season comes to a close, and
such
worker shall be paid the wages due for the number of
compensatory holidays so allowed before he is discharged
for the
season.
53. Daily hours. - No adult
worker shall be required or
allowed to work in a factory for more than nine hours in any day:
Provided that, subject to the provisions of
sections 50, 54,
55 and 58, an adult worker may work in a factory for more than nine
hours, but not exceeding ten hours on any day.
54. Intervals for rest or
meals. - No adult worker in a
factory shall be liable to work -
(a) for more than six hours in any one day unless he
has been allowed an interval of at least one hour
during that day for rest or a meal;
(b) for more than five hours in any one day unless he
has been allowed an interval of at least half an
hour during the day for rest or a meal; or
(c) for more than eight and a half hours unless he has
had an interval under clause (a) or two such
intervals under clause (b) during that day for rest
or meals.
55. Spreadover. - The
periods of work of an adult worker in
a factory shall be so arranged that, inclusive of his interval for
rest or a meal under section 54, it shall not spread over more than
ten and a half hours or where the factory is declared to be a
seasonal one, eleven and a half hours on any day, save with the
permission of the Chief Inspector and subject to such conditions as
he may impose, either generally or in the case of any particular
factory.
56. Night shift. - Where
an adult worker in a factory works
on a shift which extends beyond midnight, -
(a) for the purposes of section 51 a holiday for a
whole day shall mean in his case a period of twenty
four consecutive hours beginning from the end of
his shift; and
(b) the following day for him shall be deemed to be the
period of twenty-four consecutive hours beginning
from the end of his shift and the hours he has
worked after midnight shall be counted towards the
previous day.
57. Prohibition of over-lapping
shifts. -
(1) Work shall not be carried
on in any factory by means of
a system of so arranged that more than one relay of workers is
engaged in work of the same kind at the same time.
(2)
The Government may make
rules exempting, subject to such
conditions as may be imposed, any factory or class or description
of factories from the operation of the provisions of sub-section
(1).
58. Extra allowance for
overtime. -
(1) Where a worker works in a
factory for more than nine
hours on any day or more than forty eight hours in any week, he
shall, in respect of overtime work, be entitled to an allowance at
the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages:
Provided that the ordinary rate of wages for
calculating
allowance for overtime work under this sub-section shall not
include any bonus or any other additional payment in lieu of bonus.
(2) Where any workers in a
factory are paid on a piece-rate
basis, the Government, in consultation with the employer concerned
and the representatives of the workers, may, for the purposes of
this section, fix time rates as nearly as possible equivalent to
the average rates of earnings of those workers, and the rates so
fixed shall be deemed to be the ordinary rates of wages of those
workers.
(3) The Government may
prescribe the registers to be
maintained in a factory for the purpose of securing compliance with
the provisions of this section.
Notes
As is evident, overtime is payable after nine
hours of work in
a day or forty eight hours of work in a week. For example:-
If a worker works for ten hours on Monday and
seven hours
daily from Tuesday till Saturday, his total weekly working hours
would be forty five. He would still be paid one hour overtime for
Monday because, on that day, his working hours exceeded nine hours
notwithstanding the fact that he only worked forty five hours in
the week.
59. Restriction on double
employment. - No adult worker shall
be employed or allowed to be employed in more than one factory on
any day, except with permission in writing from the Chief Inspector
on such terms and conditions as he may impose.
60. Notice of periods of work
for adults and preparation
thereof. -
(1) There shall be displayed
and correctly maintained in
every factory in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2)
of section 109, a notice of periods of work for adults showing
clearly the periods which adult workers may be required to work.
(2) The periods shown in the
notice shall be fixed beforehand
in accordance with the provisions of this section and shall be such
that workers working during such periods would not be working in
contravention of the provisions of sections 50, 51, 53, 54 and 55.
(3) Where all the adult workers
in a factory are required to
work during the same periods, the manager of the factory shall fix
those periods generally.
(4) Where all the adult workers
in a factory are not required
to work during the same periods, the manager of the factory shall
classify them into groups according to the nature of their work,
and indicate the number of workers in each group.
(5) For each group which is not
required to work in a system
of shifts, the manager of the factory shall fix the period during
which the group may be required to work.
(6) Where any group is required
to work on a system of
shifts, and the relays are not or are not intended to be subject to
predetermined periodical changes of shifts, the manager of the
factory shall fix the periods during which each relay of the group
may be required to work.
(7) Where any group is to work
on a system of shifts and
relays are, or are intended to be, subject to predetermined
periodical changes of shifts, the manager of the factory shall draw
up a scheme of shifts, where under the periods during which any
relay of the group may be required to work on the relay which will
be working at any time of the day shall be known for any day.
(8) A copy of the notice shall
be sent in duplicate to the
Inspector within fourteen days after the commencement of this Act,
or, if the factory begins work after the commencement of this Act,
before the day on which it begins work, for approval of the periods
of work by the Inspector.
The Inspector shall return a copy of the notice
to the manager
within one week of its receipt, indicating modifications, if any;
the manager shall immediately comply with the modifications, if
made and shall preserve the approval in the records of the factory.
(9) Any propsed change in the
system of work in the factory
which will necessitate a change in the notice shall be notified to
the Inspector in duplicate before the change is made, and, except
with the previous sanction of the Inspector, no such change shall
be made.
(10) The Government may make rules
prescribing the form and
manner in which it shall be maintained.
Note
It was observed in a case (reported in AIR 1943
Oudh, 308)
that where, acting on the assurance of the authorities concerned,
a factory doing urgent military orders works overtime fully
believing that the necessary exemption would be given, the manager
and the occupier of the factory cannot be convicted of offence
since there is no deliberate breach of rules as set out in section
115.
61. Register of adult workers
and supply or ticket and cards.
(1) The manager of every
factory shall maintain a register of
adult workers, to be available to the Inspector at all times during
working hours, showing -
(a) the name of each adult worker in the factory;
(b) the nature of his work;
(c) the group, if any, in which he is included;
(d) where his group works on shifts, the relay to which
he is allotted; and
(e) such other particulars as may be prescribed:
Provided that if the Inspector is of the opinion
that any
muster roll
or register maintained as part of the routine of a
factory gives in respect of all or any of the workers in the
factory, the particulars required under this section, he may, by
order in writing, direct that such muster roll or register shall,
to the corresponding extent, be maintained in place of, and be
treated as, the register of adult workers in that factory.
(2) The Government may make
rules prescribing the form of the
register of adult workers, the manner in which it shall be
maintained and the period for which it shall be preserved.
(3) Tickets or cards shall be
supplied to the workers by the
occupier or the manager of a factory in the following manner:
(a) every permanent worker shall be provided with a
permanent Departmental ticket showing his number;
(b) every 'badli' worker shall be provided with a
'badli' card' on which shall be entered the days on
which he has worked and which shall be surrendered
if he obtains permanent employment;
(c) every temporary worker shall be provided with a
'temporary ticket' which shall be surrendered on
his leaving the job or getting permanent
employment;
(d) every 'casual' worker will be provided with a
'casual card', on which shall be entered the days
on which he has worked in the factory; and
(e) every apprentice shall be provided with an
'apprentice card' which shall be surrendered if he
obtains permanent employment or if he leaves his
training.
Explanation:- The different classes of
workers in this sub-
section shall have the same meaning as in the Industrial and
Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1960.
(4) Every worker shall, on
being required to do so, by the
Inspector or any person authorised by the occupier or manager of
the factory, produce his ticket or card for inspection.
Note
It was held that putting of ginned cotton into
bales and
having it pressed must be considered to be work connected with the
manufacturing process within the meaning of section 2(h) of the Act
and that the fact that the workers employed on the machine were
employees of the person who owned the cotton and not of the
factory, does not make any difference and the accused is guilty of
an offence for failure to maintain a register of workers (1933,
Nagpur 283).
62. Hours of work to correspond
with notice under section 60
and register under section 61. - No adult worker shall be required
or allowed to work otherwise than in accordance with the notice
under sub-section (1) of section 60 and the entries made beforehand
against his name in the register maintained under section 61.
63. Power to make rules
exempting from restrictions. -
(1) The Government may make
rules specifying the persons who
hold positions of supervision or management or are employed in work
of a confidential nature in a factory, and the provisions of this
Chapter except clause (b) of, and the proviso to sub-section (1) of
section 65, shall not apply to any person so specified.
(2) The Government may make
rules to exempt to such extent
and subject to such conditions as may be specified, the adult
workers -
(a) engaged on urgent repairs, from the operation of
provisions of sections 50, 51, 53, 54 and 55;
(b) engaged in work of a preparatory or complimentary
nature which must necessarily be carried on outside
the limits laid down for the general working of the
factory, from the operation of the provisions of
sections 50, 53, 54 and 55;
(c) engaged in work which is necessarily so
intermittent that the intervals during which they
do not work while on duty ordinarily amount to more
than the intervals for rest required under section
54, from operation of provisions of sections 50,
53, 54 and 55;
(d) engaged in any work which for technical reaons must
be carried on continuously throughout the day, from
the operation of the provisions of sections 50, 51,
53, 54 and 55;
(e) engaged in making and supplying articles of prime
necessity which must be made or supplied everyday
from the operation of the provisions of section 51;
(f) engaged in a manufacturing process which cannot be
carried on except during fixed seasons from the
operation of the provisions of section 51;
(g) engaged in a manufacturing process which cannot be
carried on except at times dependent on the
irregular action of natural forces, from the
operation of the provisions of sections 51 and 54;
(h) engaged in engine rooms or boiler houses or in
attending to power plants or transmission machinery
from the operation of the provisions of section 51;
and
(i)
engaged in the printing of newspapers, are held up
on account of the breakdown of machinery from the
operation of the provisions of sections 50, 53 and
55.
(3) Rules made under
sub-section (2) providing for any
exemption may also provide for any consequential exemption subject
to such conditions, as may be imposed from the operations of the
provisions of section 60.
(4) In making rules under this
section, the Government shall
not exceed except, in respect of clause (a) of sub-section (2), the
following limits on work inclusive of overtime -
(i) ten hours of work in any
day;
(ii) twelve hours of overtime work in
any one week;
(iii)
twelve hours of spreadover, inclusive of intervals
for rest or meal in any one day:
Provided that subject to the previous approval of
the Chief
Inspector the daily maximum specified in section 53 may be exceeded
in order to facilitate the change of shifts.
(5) Rules made under this
section shall remain in force for
such period, not exceeding three years, as may be specified
therein.
64. Power to make exemption
order. -
(1) Where the Government is
satisfied that, owing to the
nature of the work carried on or to other circumstances, it is
unreasonable to require that the periods of work of any adult
workers in any factory or class of factories should be fixed
beforehand, it may, by written order, relax or modify the
provisions of section 60 in respect of such workers to such extent
and in such manner as it may think fit, and subject to such
conditions as it may deem expedient to ensure control over periods
of work.
(2) The Government or, subject
to the control of the
Government, the Chief Inspector, may by written order, exempt, on
such conditions as it or he may deem expedient, any or all of the
adult workers in any factory, or group, or class of factories from
the operation of any or all of the provisions of sections 50, 51,
54 and 60 on the ground that the exemption is required to enable
the factory or factories to deal with an exceptional pressure of
work.
(3) Any exemption given under
sub-section (2) in respect of
weekly hours of work shall be subject to the maximum limits
prescribed under sub-section (4) of section 63.
(4) An order under sub-section
(2) shall remain in force for
such periods not exceeding two months from the date on which notice
thereof is given to the manager of the factory:
Provided that if in the opinion of the
Government, the public
interest so requires, it may from time to time, by notification in
the official Gazette, extend the operation of any such order for
such further periods, not exceeding six months at any one time, as
may be specified in the notification.
65. Further restrictions on the
employment of women. -
(1) The provisions of this
Chapter, shall, in their
application to women workers in factories, be supplemented by the
following further restrictions, namely -
(a) no exemptions from the
provisions of section 53 shall be
granted
in respect of any worman, and
(b) no woman shall be allowed
to work in a factory except
between
7 a.m. and 8 p.m.:
Provided that the Government may, by notification
in the
official Gazette, in respect of any class or classes of factories
and for the whole year or any part thereof, vary the limits laid
down in clause (b) to any span of ten and a half hours between 5
a.m. and 8.30 p.m.
(2) The Government may make
rules providing for the exemption
from the above restrictions, to such extent and subject to such
conditions as may be specified therein, of women working in fish-
curing or fish-canning factories where the employment of women
beyond the said hours is necessary to prevent damage to, or
deterioration of, any raw materials.
(3) Rules made under
sub-section (2) shall remain in force
for such period, not exceeding three years, as may be specified
therein.
66. Prohibition of employment
of children. - No child who has
not completed fourteen years of age shall be required or allowed to
work in any factory.
67. Non-adult workers to carry
tokens. - A child who has
completed fourteen years of age or an adolescent shall not be
required ot allowed to work in any factory unless -
(a) a certificate of fitness granted to him under
section 68 is in the custody of the manager of the
factory;
(b) such child or adolescent carries while he is at
work a token giving a reference to such
certificate.
68. Certificates of fitness. -
(1) A Certifying Surgeon shall,
on the application of any
young person or his parent or guardian, accompanied by a document
signed by the manager of a factory that such person will be
employed therein if certified to be fit for work in a factory, or
on the application of the manager of the factory in which such
person wishes to
work, examine such
person and ascertain his
fitness for work in such factory.
(2) The Certifying Surgeon may,
after examination, grant to
such young person in the prescribed form or renew -
(a) a certificate of fitness to work in a factory as a
child, if he is satisfied that the young person has
completed his fourteenth year, has attained the
prescribed physical standards and is fit for such
work;
(b) a certificate of fitness to work in a factory as an
adult, if he is satisfied that the young person has
completed his sixteenth year and is fit for a full
day's work in a factory:
Provided that unless the Certifying Surgeon has
personal
knowledge of the place where the young person proposes to work and
of the manufacturing process in which he will be employed, he shall
not grant or renew the certificate under this sub-section until he
has examined such place.
(3) A certificate of fitness
granted or renewed under sub-
section (2) -
(a) shall be valid only for the period of twelve months
from the date thereof;
(b) may be made subject to re-examination of the young
persons before the expiry of a period of twelve
months, or subject to conditions in regard to the
nature of the work in which the young person may be
employed.
(4) A Certifying Surgeon shall
revoke any certificate granted
or renewed under sub-section (2) if in his opinion the holder of it
is no longer fit to work in the capacity stated therein in a
factory.
(5) Where a Certifying Surgeon
refuses to grant a certificate
or a certificate of the kind requested, or revokes a certificate,
he shall, if so requested by any person who could have applied for
the certificate or the renewal therefor, state his reasons in
writing for such refusal.
(6) Where a certifcate under
this section with reference to
any young person is granted or renewed subject to such conditions
as are referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (3), the young
person shall not be required or allowed to work in any factory
except in accordance with those conditions.
(7) Any fee payable for a
certificate under this section
shall be paid by the occupier and shall not be recoverable from the
young person or his parents or guardian.
69. Effect of certificate of fitness
granted to adolescents.
(1) An adolescent who has been
granted a certificate of
fitness to work in a factory as an adult under clause (b) of sub-
section (2) of section 68, and who, while at work in the factory,
carries a token giving reference to the certificate, shall, subject
to the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 70, be deemed to be
an adult for all puposes of Chapters VI and VIII.
(2) An adolescent who has not
been granted a certificate of
fitness to work in a factory as an adult under clause (b) of sub-
section (2) of section 68, shall, notwithstanding his age, be
deemed to be a child for the purposes of this Act.
70. Working hours for children.
-
(1) No child or adolescent
shall be required or allowed to
work in any factory -
(a) for more than five hours in any day; and
(b) between the hours of 7 p.m. and 7 a.m.
(2) The period of work of all
children employed in a factory
shall be limited to two shifts which shall not overlap or spread
over more than seven and a half hours each.
(3) A child shall be employed
in only one of the relays which
shall not, except with the previous permission in writing of the
Chief Inspector, be changed more frequently than once in a period
of thirty days.
(4) The provisions of section
51 shall apply also to child
workers; no exemption from the provisions of that section shall be
granted in respect of any child.
(5) No child shall be required
or allowed to work in any
factory on any day on which he has already been working in another
factory.
71 Notice of periods of
work for children. -
(1) In every factory in which
children are employed, there
shall be displayed in the manner laid down in sub-section (2) of
section 109, a notice of periods of work for children, showing
clearly the periods within which children may be required or
allowed to work.
(2) The periods shown in the
notice under sub-section (1)
shall be fixed beforehand in the manner laid down for adult workers
in section 60 and shall be such that children working on those
periods would not be working in contravention of section 70.
(3) The provisions of
sub-sections (8), (9) and (10) of
section 60 shall apply also to the notice under sub-section (1).
(4) The Government may make
rules prescribing the form of the
notice under sub-section (1) and the manner in which it shall be
maintained.
72. Register of child workers.
-
(1) The manager of every
factory in which children are
employed shall maintain a register of child workers to be available
to the Inspector at all times during working hours showing -
(a) the name and date of birth of each child and
adolescent worker in the factory;
(b) the nature of his work;
(c) the group, if any, in which he is included;
(d) where his group works on shifts, the relay to which
he is allotted;
(e) the number of his certificate of fitness granted
under section 68 and the date of its renewal; and
(f) such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) The Government may make
rules prescribing the form of the
register of child workers, the manner in which it shall be
maintained and the period for which it shall be preserved.
73. Hours of work to correspond
with notice under section 71
and register under section 72. - No child shall be required or
allowed to work other than in accordance with the notice under sub-
section (1) of section 71 and the entries made beforehand against
his name in the register maintained under section 72.
74. Power to require medical
examination. - Where an
Inspector is of the opinion -
(a) that any person working in a factory without a
certificate of fitness is a child or an adolescent,
or
(b) that a child or adolescent working in a factory
with a certificate of fitness is no longer fit to
work in the capacity stated therein,
he may serve on the manager of the factory a notice requiring that
such person or such child or adolescent, as the case may be, shall
be examined by a Certifying Surgeon and such person, child or
adolescent shall not, if the Inspector so directs, be allowed to
work in any factory until he has been so examined and has been
granted a certificate of fitness or a fresh certificate of fitness
as the case may be, under section 68 or has been certified by the
Certifying Surgeon examining him not to be a child or adolescent.
75. Power to make rules.
- The Government may make rules -
(a) prescribing the form of certificates of fitness to
be granted under section 68, providing for grant of
duplicates in the event of loss of the original
certificates and renewals thereof and fixing the
fees which may be charged for such certificates and
renewals thereof and such duplicates;
(b) prescribing the physical standards to be attained
by children and adolescents working in factories;
and
(c) regulating the procedure of the Certifying Surgeon
under this Chapter and specifying other duties,
which they may be required to perform in connection
with the employment of children and adolescents in
factories and fixing the fees which may be charged
for such duties.
76. Provisions of this Chapter
not in derogation of Act XXVI
of 1938. - The provisions of this Chapter shall be in addition to,
and not in derogation of, the provisions of the Employment of
Children Act, 1938.
Note
[See the Employment of Children Act, 1938]
CHAPTER VIII: LEAVE AND HOLIDAYS WITH WAGES
77. Application of the Chapter.
- Nothing in this Chapter
shall affect any right or privilege to which a worker has been
entitled on the date this Act comes into force, under any existing
law or under any award, agreement, settlement, contract, custom or
usage, if such right or privilege is more favourable to him.
78. Annual leave with wages. -
(1) Every worker who has
completed one year of continuous
servcie in a factory, shall be allowed during the subsequent period
of twelve months, leave with wages for a number of days calculated
at the rate of -
(i)
if an adult, one day for every twenty-two days of
work performed by him during the previous period of
twelve months;
(ii) if a child, one day for every fifteen days of work
performed by him during the previous period of
twelve months:
Provided that a period of leave shall be
inclusive of any
holiday which may occur during such period.
(2) If a worker does not, in
any such period of twelve
months, take the leave to which he is entitled under sub-section
(1), either in whole or in part, any such leave not taken by him
shall be added to the leave to be allowed to him under that sub-
section in the succeeding period of twelve months:
Provided that a worker, if an adult, shall
cease to earn any
leave under this section when the earned leave due to him amounts
to twenty days and if a child, shall cease to earn any such leave
when the earned leave due to him amounts to thirty days:
Provided further that any leave applied for by a
worker but
refused by the occupier or manager or his authorised officer for
any reason shall be added to the credit of such worker beyond the
aforesaid limit.
(3) For the purpose of this
section a worker shall be deemed
to have completed a period of continuous service in an
establishment notwithstanding any interruption in service during
that period due to -
(a) any holiday;
(b) any leave with wages;
(c) any leave with or without wages due to sickness or
accident;
(d) any maternity leave not exceeding twelve weeks;
(e) any period of lay-off arising due to failure,
refusal or inability of an employer on account of
shortage of coal, power or raw material or the
accummulation of stock or the breakdown of
machinery or for any other reason, to give
employment to a worker whose name is borne in the
muster rolls of his factory;
(f) a strike which is not illegal or a lock-out which
is not legal.
Notes
The employer cannot make payment in lieu of
holidays. As
provided in this section, a worker is not entitled to any holiday
before completion of twelve months' continuous service as
contemplated under this section. There is no consideration for
unauthorised absence. So, unauthorised absence causes a break in
continuous service. In such a case, the employer will be justified
not to give any holiday to the worker.
79. Festival holidays.
-
(1) Every worker shall be
allowed at least ten days' festival
holidays with wages in a year. The days and dates for such
festivals shall be fixed by the occupier or manager in such manner
as may be prescribed.
(2) A worker may be required to
work on any festival holiday,
but two days' additional compensation holidays with full pay and a
substitute holiday shall be provided to him in accordance with the
provisions of section 51.
80. Casual leave and sick
leave. -
(1) Every worker shall be
entitled to casual leave with full
wages for ten days in a year.
(2) Every worker shall be
entitled to fourteen days' sick
leave on half the average wages in a year:
Provided that sick leave or casual leave
admissible under this
section shall not be accumulated and carried forward to the
succeeding year.
Notes
The annual leave is based on the number of days
actually
worked. In the case of a worker who has availed himself of all
kinds of leave during the previous year, the entitlement for annual
leave in the subsequent year will be counted as follows:-
As per section 51, out of 365 days 52 weekly
holidays are to
be counted, while under section 79 festival holidays of 10 days are
to calculated, under sub-section (1) there will be ten days' casual
leave, while under section 88(2) there will be fourteen days' sick
leave and twelve days' annual leave will be available during the
past year, which means ninety-eight days in all. If we divide the
balance of 267 working days by 22 we find that only 12 days' annual
leave can be given during the subsequent year. In the same way, a
child will be entitled to 17 annual holidays.
81. Wages during leave or
holiday periods. - For the leave or
holidays allowed to a worker under the provision of this Act, he
shall be paid -
(a) in case of leave with full wages, at the rate equal
to the daily average of his full time earnings,
including dearness allowance, if any, for the days
on which he worked during the month immediately
preceding his leave, but excluding any over-time
earnings and bonus; and
(b) in case of leave with half the average wages at the
rate equal to half the daily average of his
earnings calculated in the manner provided in
clause (a).
82. Payment in advance in
certain cases. - Any worker who has
been allowed leave for not less than four days in the case of an
adult, and five days in the case of a child, under section 78
shall, before his leave begins, be paid the wages due for the
period of the leave allowed.
83. Power of Inspector to act
for workers. - Any Inspector
may institute proceedings on behalf of any worker to recover any
sum required to be, but has not been paid under this Chapter by an
occupier or manager.
84. Power to make rules. -
(1) The Government may make
rules to carry into effect the
provisions of this Chapter.
(2) Without prejudice to the
generality of the foregoing
power, rules made under this section may provide for maintaining by
managers of factories of registers showing such particulars as may
be specified and requiring such registers to be preserved and made
available for examination by Inspectors.
85. Power to exempt factories.
- Where the Government is
satisfied that the leave rules applicable to the workers in a
factory provide benefits which, in its opinion, are on the whole
not less favourable than those provided for in this Chapter, it
may, by order in writing, exempt a factory from all or any of the
provisions of this Chapter subject to such conditions as may be
specified in the order.
CHAPTER IX: SPECIAL PROVISIONS
86. Power to exempt public
institutions. - The Government may
exempt, subject to such conditions as it may impose, any workshop,
or workplace where a manufacturing process is carried on, which is
attached to a public institution and maintained for the purpose of
education, training or reformation, from all or any of the
provisions of this Act:
Provided that no exemption will be granted from
the provisions
relating to hours of work and holidays unless the person having the
control of the institution submits for the approval of the
Government, a scheme for the regulation of the hours of employment,
intervals for rest and meals and holidays of the persons employed
in or attending the institutions and the Government is satisfied
that the provisions of the scheme are not less favourable than the
corresponding provisions of this Act.
87. Dangerous operations. -
Where the Government is satisfied
that any operation carried on in a factory exposes any person
employed in it to serious risk of bodily injury, poisoning or
disease, it may make rules applicable to such factory or class of
factories in which such operation is carried on -
(a) specifying the operation and declaring it to be
hazardous;
(b) prohibiting or restricting the employment of women,
adolescents or children in the operation;
(c) providing for the periodical medical examination of
persons employed in the operation and prohibiting
the employment of persons not certified as fit for
such employment;
(d) providing for the protection of all persons
employed in the operation or in the vicinity of the
places where it is carried on; and use of any
specified materials or processes in connection with
the operation.
88. Notice of certain
accidents. - Where in any factory an
accident occurs which causes death, or which causes any bodily
injury whereby any person injured is prevented from resuming his
work in the factory during the forty-eight hours immediately
following the accident or which is of such a nature as may be
prescribed in this behalf, the manager of the factory shall send
notice thereof to the Inspector in such form and within such time,
as may be prescribed.
Note
The manager has been made primarily responsible
for notifying
the accident though, as a matter of fact, both the occupier and the
manager are jointly and severally responsible for contravening the
provisions of the Act (see also section 93). It was held in a
Madras case (A.I.R. 1942 Madras 34) that if an occupier, being an
illiterate person, trusts his manager, it would not be a ground for
acquitting him, but lesser punishment may be awarded to him.
89. Notice of dangerous
occurrences. - The Government may, by
notification in the official Gazette, extend the provisions of
section 88 to special classes of accidents, such as explosion,
fire, collapse of buildings, accidents to machinery or plant
occurring in a factory, although no death or bodily injury has been
caused to any person.
90. Notice of certain diseases.
-
(1) Where any worker in a
factory contracts any disease
specified in the Schedule, the manager of the factory shall send
notice thereof to the Inspector in such form and within such time
as may be prescribed.
(2) If any medical practitioner
attends on a person who is,
or has been employed in a factory and who is, or is believed by
such medical practitioner to be suffering from any disease
specified in the Schedule, the medical practitioner shall, without
delay, send a report in writing to the Chief Inspector stating -
(a) the name and full postal address of the patient;
(b) the disease from which he believes the patient to
be suffering;
(c) the name and address of the factory in which the
patient is or was last employed.
(3) The Government may add to
or subtract from the Schedule
any disease by notification in the official Gazette.
Notes
The Schedule referred to in this section and in
section 91
lists the following diseases as notifiable:-
1. Lead poisoning
2. Lead teracthyl
poisoning
3. Phosphorous poisoning
4. Mercury poisoning
5. Manganese poisoning
6. Arsenic poisoning
7. Poinsoning by nitrous
fumes
8. Carbon bisulphide
poisoning
9. Benzene poisoning
including poisoning by any of its
homologues
10. Chrome ulceration
11. Anthrax
12. Silicosis
13. Poisoning by halogens
14. Pathological manifestations
due to
(a) radium or other radio active substance
(b) X-rays
15. Primary epithilmatous
cancer of the skin
16. Toxic anaemia.
91. Power of direct enquiry
into cases of accident or
disease. -
(1) The Government may, if it
considers it expedient so to
do, appoint a competent person under intimation to all concerned to
enquire into the causes of any accident occurring in a factory, or
into any case where a disease specified in the Schedule has been,
or is suspected to have been, contracted in a factory and may also
appoint one or more persons possessing legal or special knowledge
to act as assessors in such enquiry.
(2) The person appointed to
hold an enquiry under this
section shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code
of Civil Procedure, 1908, for the purposes
of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the
production of documents and material objects, and may also, so far
as may be necessary for the purposes of the enquiry, exercise any
of the powers of an Inspector under this Act; and every person
required by the person making the enquiry to furnish any
information shall be deemed to be legally bound so to do within the
meaning of section 176 of the Penal Code, 1860 (as adapted).
(3) The person holding an
enquiry under this section shall
make a report to the Government stating the causes of the accident
or disease, as the case may be, and any attendant circumstances,
and adding thereto any observations which he, or any of the
assessors, may think fit to make.
(4) The Government may, if it
thinks fit, cause to be
published any report made under this section or any extract
therefrom.
(5) The Government may make
rules for regulating the
procedure of enquiries under this section.
92. Power to take samples.
-
(1) An Inspector may, at any
time during the normal working
hours of a factory, after informing the occupier or the manager of
the factory or other person for the time being purporting to be the
manager of the factory, take, in the manner hereinafter provided,
a sufficient sample of any substance used or intended to be used in
the factory such use being, in the opinion of the Inspector -
(a) in contravention of any of the provisions of this
Act or the rules made thereunder, or
(b) likely to cause bodily injury or injury to the
health of workers in the factory.
(2)
Where the Inspector takes a
sample under sub-section (1),
he shall, in the presence of the person informed under the sub-
section unless such person wilfully absents himself, divide the
sample into three portions and effectively seal and suitably mark
them and shall permit such person to add his own seal and mark
thereon.
(3) The person informed as
aforesaid shall, if the Inspector
so requires, provide the appliances for dividing, sealing and
marking the sample taken under this section.
(4) The Inspector shall -
(a) forthwith give one portion of the sample to the
person informed under sub-section (1);
(b) forthwith send the second portion to a Government
analyst for analysis and report thereon; and
(c) retain the third portion for production to the
Court before which proceedings, if any, are
instituted in respect of the substance.
(5) Any document, purporting to
be a report under the hand of
any Government analyst upon any substance submitted to him for
analysis and report under this section, may be used as evidence in
any proceedings instituted in respect of the substance.
CHAPTER X: PENALTIES AND PROCEDURE
93. General penalty for offences. - Save as is otherwise expressly
provided in this Act and subject to the provisions of section 94,
if in, or in respect of, any factory, there is any contravention of
any of the provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder,
the occupier and the manager of the factory shall each be guilty of
an offence punishable with a fine which may extend to Taka one
thousand and, if the contravention is continued after conviction,
with a further fine which may extend to Taka seventy-five for every
day of the period during which the contravention continues.
Notes
The question as to who is the occupier must
depend, among
others, upon three considerations, viz. -
(a) who has the right of using the factory for purposes
under which it is constructed.
(b) who has the right of regulating and controlling it
(c) who has the predominant possession or general
superintendence over it
94. Liability of owner of
premises in certain circumstances.
(1) Where in any premises
separate buildings are leased to
different occupiers for use as separate factories, the owner of the
premises shall be responsible for the provision and maintenance of
common facilities and services, such as approach roads, drainage,
water supply, lighting and sanitation.
(2) The Chief Inspector shall
have, subject to the control of
the Government, power to issue orders to the owner of the premises
in respect of the carrying out of the provisions of sub-section
(1).
(3) Where in any premises,
independent or self-contained
floors or flats are leased to different occupiers for use as
different factories, the owner of the premises shall be liable as
if he were the occupier or manager of a factory, for any
contravention of the provisions of this Act in respect of -
(i)
latrines, urinals and washing facilities in so far
as the maintenance of the common supply of water
for these purposes is concerned;
(ii) fencing of machinery and plant belonging to the
owner and not specifically entrusted to the custody
or use of an occupier;
(iii) safe means of access to the
floors or flats
and maintenance and cleanliness of staircases
and common passages;
(iv) precautions in case of fire;
(v) maintenance of hoists and lifts; and
(vi) maintenance of any other common facilities provided
in the premises.
(4) The Chief Inspector shall
have, subject to the control of
the Government, power to issue orders to the owner of the premises
in
respect of the carrying out of the provisions of sub-section(3).
(5) The provisions of
sub-section (3) relating to the
liability of the owner shall apply where in any premises
independent rooms with common latrines, urinals and washing
facilities are leased to different occupiers for use as separate
factories;
Provided that the owner shall be responsible also
for
complying with the requirements relating to the provision and
maintenance of latrines, urinals and washing facilities.
(6) The Chief Inspector shall
have, subject to the control of
the Government, the powers to issue orders to the owner of the
premises referred to in sub-section (5) in respect of the carrying
out of
the provisions of section 45 or 47.
(7) Where, in any premises,
portions of a room or a shed are
leased to different occupiers for use as separate factories, the
owner of the premises shall be liable for any contravention of the
the provisions of -
(i)
Chapter III, except sections 15 and 16
(ii) Chapter IV, except sections 24, 25, 29, 36, 37 and
41:
Provided that in respect of the provisions of
sections 23, 26
and 34 the owner's liability shall be only in so far as such
provisions relate to things under his control:
Provided further that the occupier shall be
responsible for
complying with the provisions of Chapter IV in respect of plant and
machinery belonging to or supplied by him;
(iii) Section 43.
(8) The Chief Inspector shall
have, subject to the control of
the Government, power to issue orders to the owner of the premises
in respect of carrying out the provisions of sub-section (7).
(9) In respect of sub-sections
(5) and (7), while computing
for the purposes of any of the provisions of this Act the total
number of workers employed, the whole of the premises shall be
deemed to be a single factory.
95. Enhanced penalty after
previous convictions. - If any
person, who has been convicted of any offence punishable under
section 93 is again convicted of an offence involving contravention
of the same provision, he shall be punished, on a subsequent
conviction, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six
months, or with a fine which may extend to Taka one thousand or
with both:
Provided that for the purposes of this section no
cognizance
shall be taken of any conviction made more than two years before
the commission of the subsequent offence.
96. Penalty for obstructing an
Inspector. - Whoever wilfully
obstructs an Inspector in the exercise of any power conferred on
him by or under this Act, or fails to produce on demand by the
Inspector any register or other document in his custody kept in
pursuance of this Act or of any rules made thereunder, or conceals
or prevents any worker in a factory from appearing before, or being
examined by an Inspector, shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may
extend to Taka five hundred or with both.
Notes
If an Inspector asks the assistant manager of a
factory to
produce any register and the assistant manager fails to do so on
the ground that the manager had locked the same in his room and
left the office thereafter, the assistant manager is not liable to
be convicted. The only person who can be made liable to be
convicted would be the one who failed to produce the register which
was in his custody.
97. Penalty for wrongful
disclosure of information. -
Whoever, except in so far as may be necessary for the purpose of a
prosecution for any offence punishable under this Act, publishes or
discloses to any person the results of any analysis made under
section 92 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to three months, or with a fine which may extend to Taka
five hundred or with both.
98. Restriction on disclosure
of information. -
(1) No Inspector shall, while
in service or after leaving the
service, disclose other than in connection with the administration
of this Act, any information relating to any manufacturing or
commercial secret which may come to his knowledge in the course of
his official duties.
(2) Nothing in sub-section (1)
shall apply to any disclosure
of information made with the previous consent in writing of the
owner of such business or process or for the purposes of any legal
proceeding (including arbitration) pursuant to this Act or of any
criminal proceedings which may be taken, whether pursuant to this
Act or otherwise, or for the purposes of any report of such
proceedings as aforesaid.
(3) If any Inspector
contravenes the provisons of sub-section
(1),
he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months, or with a fine which may extend to Taka one
thousand or with both.
99. Offences by workers. -
(1) Subject to the provisions
of section 111, if any worker
employed in any factory contravenes any provision of this Act or
any rules or orders made thereunder imposing any duty or liability
on workers, he shall be punishable with a fine which may extend to
Taka fifty.
(2) Where a worker is convicted
of an offence punishable
under sub-section (1), the occupier or manager of the factory shall
not be deemed to be guilty of an offence in respect of that
contravention unless it is proved that he failed to take all
reasonable measures for its prevention.
100. Penalty for using false
certificates of fitness. -
Whoever knowingly uses or attempts to use, as a certificate of
fitness granted to himself under section 68, a certificate granted
to another person under that section, or who, having procured such
a certificate, knowingly allows it to be used, or allows another
person to attempt such a use, shall be punishable with imprisonment
for a term which may extend to one month, or with a fine which may
extend to Taka fifty or with both.
101. Penalty for double employment of
a child. - If a child
works in a factory on any day on which he has already been working
in another factory the parent or guardian of the child or the
person having custody or control over him, or obtaining any direct
benefit from his wages, shall be punishable with a fine which may
extend to Taka fifty unless it appears to the Court that the child
so worked without the consent, connivance or wilful default of such
parent, or guardian or person.
102. Offences by a firm, company,
etc. -
(1) Where a person guilty of an
offence punishable under this
Chapter for which the occupier of a factory is punishable-
(a) is a firm or other body of individuals every
partner or member thereof; or
(b) is a company other than a private company every
director thereof; or
(c) is a private company, every shareholder thereof
shall be deemed to be guilty of such offence:
Provided that where any such firm, body or
company gives
notice to the Inspector nominating one of its partners, members,
directors or in the case of a private company, shareholder, who is
a resident of Bangladesh to be the occupier of the factory for the
purposes of this Chapter, such partner, member, director or
shareholder, as the case may be, shall so long as he is so
resident, be deemed to be such occupier until further notice
cancelling his nomination is received by the Inspector or until he
ceases to be a partner, member, director or shareholder.
(2) Where a person guilty of an
offence punishable under
section 94 for which the owner of a premises or building is
punishable is a firm, body of individuals or company, reference in
this section to an occupier shall be deemed to be a reference to an
owner and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.
103. Exemption of occupier or manager
from liability in
certain cases. -
(1) Where the occupier or
manager of a factory is charged
with an offence under this Act, he shall be entitled upon
complaint duly made by him to have any other person whom he charges
as the actual offender brought before the Court at the time
appointed for hearing the charge.
Note
(1) Under this section, both
the occupier and the manager can
escape the liability provided that they can prove that there was no
absence of due diligence on their part and the actual offender had
committed the offence without their knowledge. In a Bombay case
(A.I.R. 1940 Bom. 265) it was observed that the factory inspector
should have a right to cross-examine the person whom he has charged
if that person chooses to go into the witness box to set up
statutory defence.
(2) If, after the commission of
the offence has been proved,
the occupier or manager of the factory, as the case may be, proves
to the satisfaction of the Court, that he has used due diligence to
prevent the commission of the offence and that the said other
person committed the offence in question without his knowledge,
consent or connivance, that other person shall be punished for the
offence as if he were the occupier or manager, and the occupier
or manager shall be discharged from any liability for the offence.
(3) Where it is made to appear
to the satisfaction of the
Inspector at any time before the institution of proceedings for an
offence under this Act -
(a) that the occupier or manager of the factory has
used all due diligence to prevent the commission of
the offence;
(b) that it has been committed without the knowledge,
consent or connivance, and in contravention of the
orders, of the occupier or manager; and
(c) that it has been committed by any other person, the
Inspector shall proceed against such other person
who shall be punishable for the offence as if he
were the occupier or manager.
104. Power of the Court to make
orders. -
(1) Where the occupier or
manager of the factory is convicted
of an offence punishable under this Act, the Court may, in addtion
to awarding any punishment, by order in writing require him, within
a period specified in the order, which may, on application in that
behalf be extended from time to time to take such measures as may
be so specified for remedying the matters in respect of which the
offence was committed.
(2) Where an order is made
under sub-section (1), the
occupier or manager of the factory, as the case may be, shall not,
during the period specified therein or extended period, if any, be
liable under this Act for continuation of the offence for which he
has been convicted.
(3) If the order of the Court
under sub-section (1) is not
fully complied with during the aforesaid period, the occupier or
manager, as the case may be, shall, on the expiry of such period,
be deemed to have committed further offence punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with a
fine which may extend to Taka one hundred for every day after the
expiry of the said period during which the order has not been
complied with, or with both.
105. Presumption as to
employment. Every person who is found
in a factory at any time, except during intervals for meals or
rest, when work is going on or the machinery is in motion, shall,
until the contrary is proved, be deemed for the purposes of this
Act and the rules thereunder, to be, at that time employed in the
factory.
106. Onus as to age.
(1) When an act or omission
would, if a person were under or
over a certain age, be an offence punishable under this Act, and
such person is, in the opinion of the Court, apparently under or
over such age, the burden of proving that such person is not under
or over such age shall be on the accused.
(2) A declaration in writing by
a Certifying Surgeon relating
to a worker that he has personally examined and believes that he is
under or over the age set forth in such declaration shall, for the
purposes of this Act, be admissible as evidence of the age of the
workers.
107. Cognizance of offences. -
(1) No Court shall take
cognizance of an offence under this
Act except upon complaint made by, or under the authority of or
with the previous permission in writing, of an Inspector:
Provided that no case lying before a Court shall
be withdrawn
without the prior permission of the Chief Inspector of Factories.
(2) No Court inferior to that
of a Magistrate of the First
Class shall try an offence under this Act or any rules or order
made thereunder.
CHAPTER XI: SUPPLEMENT
108. Appeals.
(1) Where an order in writing
of an Inspector has been served
under this Act on the manager of a factory, such manager or the
occupier of the factory may, within thirty days of the serving of
the order, appeal against it to the Apeellate Authority which may,
subject to rules made in this behalf, confirm, modify or reverse
the order.
(2) Subject to rules made in
this behalf, the Appellate
Authority may, and, if the appellant so requires, shall, hear an
appeal under sub-section (1) with the aid of two assessors, one of
whom shall be appointed by the Appellate Authority and the other by
such body representing the industry concerned as may be prescribed:
Provided that no assessor is appointed by such
body, or if the
assessor so appointed fails to attend at the time and place fixed
for hearing the appeal, the Appellate Authority may, unless
satisfied that the failure to attend is due to sufficient cause,
proceed to hear the appeal without the aid of such assessor or, if
it thinks fit, without the aid of any assessor.
(3) Subject to such rules as
the Government may make in this
behalf and subject to such conditions as to partial compliance or
the adoption of temporary measures as the Appellate Authority may,
in any case think it fit to impose, the Appellate Authority may, if
it thinks fit, suspend the order appealed against pending the
decision of the appeal.
(4) The Government may make
rules for the purpose of this
section and such rules may specify the classes of appeals which
shall not be heard with the aid of assessors.
(5) In this section, 'Appellate
Authority' means the
Government or such Authority as the Government may appoint in this
behalf.
109. Display of notices. -
(1) In addition to the notices
required to be displayed in
any factory by this Act or the rules made thereunder, there shall
be displayed in every factory the official address of the Inspector
and the Certifying Surgeon and a notice containing such abstracts
of this Act and of the rules made thereunder as may be prescribed.
(2) All notices required to be
displayed in a factory by or
under this Act shall be -
(a) written in Bengali, English and, where the mother
tongue of the majority of the workers is other than
Bengali, in Urdu;
(b) displayed at a conspicuous and convenient place at
ot near the main entrance to the factory; and
(c) maintained in a clean and legible condition.
(3) The Chief Inspector may, by
order in writing served on
the manager of any factory, require that there shall be displayed
in the factory any other notice or poster relating to the health,
safety or welfare of the workers in the factory.
110. Service of notices and returns.
- The Government may make
rules -
(a) prescribing the manner of the service of orders
under this Act, and
(b) requiring owners, occupiers or managers of
factories to submit such return, occasional or
periodical, as it may consider necessary for the
purposes of this Act.
111. Obligation of workers. -
(1) No worker in a factory
shall -
(a) wilfully interfere with or misuse any appliance,
convenience or other thing provided in a factory
for the purposes of securing the health, safety or
welfare of the workers therein;
(b) wilfully and without reasonable cause do anything
which is likely to endanger himself or others.
(c) wilfully neglect to make use of any appliance or
other things provided in the factory for the
purposes of securing the health or safety of the
workers therein.
(2) If any worker employed in a
factory contravenes any
provision of sub-section (1), he shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with
a fine which may extend to Taka one hundred, or with both.
112. General power to make rules.
- The Government may make
rules providing for any matter which under any of the provisions of
this Act is to be or may be prescribed or which may be considered
expedient in order to give effect to purposes of this Act.
113. No charge for facilities and
convenience. - Subject to
the provisions of section 45, no fee or charge shall be realised
from any worker in respect of any arrangements or facilities to be
provided or an equipment or appliances to be supplied by the
occupier under this Act.
114. Publication of rules. -
(1) All rules made under this
Act shall be subject to the
condition of previous publication of the draft thereof with a
notice specifying the date, not later than three months from the
date of such publication on or after which the draft will be taken
into consideration.
(2) All such rules will be
published in the official Gazette
and shall come into force on the date of such publication.
(3) Rules made under this Act
may provide that a
contravention thereof shall be punishable with a fine not exceeding
Taka two hundred and fifty.
115. Protection to persons acting
under this Act. - No suit,
prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person
for anything which is, in good faith, done or intended to be done
under this Act.
116. [Repealed] Repealed by the
East Pakistan Repealing and
Amending Ordinance, 1966. (E.P. Ord. XIII of 1966).
The Schedule (See Sections 90 and 91)
List of notifiable diseases
1. Lead poisoning including poisoning by any preparation or
compound of lead or their sequelae.
2. Lead teracthyl poisoning
3. Phophorus poisoning or its sequelae
4. Mercury poisoning or its sequelae
5. Manganese poisoning or its sequelae
6. Arsenic poisoning or its sequelae
7. Poisoning by nitrous fumes
8. Carbon bisulphide poisoning
9. Benzene poisoning including poisoning by any of its
homologues, their nitro or amido derivatives or
its sequelae
10. Chrome alceration or its sequelae.
11. Anthrax
12. Silicosis
13. Poisoning by Halogens or Halogen derivatives of the
Hydrocarbons of the aliphatic series.
14. Pathological manifestations due to -
(a) Radium or other
radio-active substances.
(b) X-rays
15. Primary equithlimatous cancer of the skin
16. Toxic anaemia
The International Labour Organization is a United Nations
specialized agency.