Factories Act 1948
Objectives:
• to regulate the working conditions in factories,
• to regulate health, safety welfare, and annual leave
• enact special provision in respect of young persons,
women and children who work in the factories.
• Conditions of work
• Uniformity in leave with wages
• Compensatory off
• Overtime allowances
• Provides for licensing , registration and inspection of
factories.
Definitions
Factory 2(m): any premise or precincts thereof
(i) whereon ten or more workers are working, or
were working on any day of the preceding twelve
months, and any part of which a manufacturing
process being carried on with the aid of power; (ii)
twenty or more without the aid of power
Factory does not include mine under Mines Act
Mobile unit of Army
Railway running shed or hotel ,restaurant or eating
place
• Expl.I : for computing number of workers for the purpose this clause
all the workers in different groups and relay shall be taken.
• Expl.II: mere installation of data processing unit or a computer unit
shall not construed to make it a factory if no manufacturing process is
being carried out.
• Premise includes precincts means both premises with or without
precincts, thus both building and lands are covered under the
expression
• Ardeshir H. Bhiwandiwala v. State of Bombay AIR 1962 SC 29, the lands
in which the process of manufacturing salt is carried on is a factory.
• the Constitution Bench explained that "premises including precincts"
does not necessarily mean that the premises must always have
precincts. Even buildings need not have any precincts. The word
"including" is not a term restricting the meaning of the word
"premises" but is a term which enlarges the scope of the word
"premises".
A comprehensive reading of the Factories Act,
1948 clearly shows that the word “premises” can
refer to an entire area, which may have several
separate buildings, within it, or which may
correspond to an open yard. Further, an
important point to consider is that the definition
of "manufacturing process" does not mandate
that the manufacturing activities should be
carried on in one building alone. What this
definition really deals with is the nature of the
work done and not with where that work is to be
done.
2(k): manufacturing process: any process for
a) making, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, packing,
oiling, washing, cleaning, breaking up, demolishing, or
otherwise treating or adapting any article or substance with
a view to its use, sale, transport, delivery or disposal, or
b) pumping oil, water, sewage or any other substance; or
c) generating, transforming or transmitting power; or
d) composing types for printing, printing by letter press,
lithography, photogravure or other similar process or book
binding
e) constructing, reconstructing, repairing, refitting, finishing or
breaking up ships or vessels
f) preserving or storing any article in cold storage
• 2(l) "worker" means a person employed, directly or by or
through any agency including a contractor
• with or without the knowledge of the principal
employer, (for hire, or engaged to work related to factory)
• whether for remuneration or not, (apprentice)
• 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,(watchman)
• or connected with, the manufacturing process,
• or the subject of the manufacturing process
• but does not include any member of the armed forces of
the Union;
• State v Sri Krishnadas (1954),such persons can be classified as workers who iether
directly or through agency employed for doing the work. It doesnot contemplate
the person who workers in the premises without the knowledge of employer.
• 1976 Amndt Act substituted including a contractor
• with or without the knowledge of the principal employer, and added
person employed, directly or by or through any agency with or without wages
• State of Bombay v Alisaheb Kasim Tamboli, even if a person is not receiving the
wage he can also be called as worker.
• KMP kodar Moideen v State, watchman will be a worker only if his duties are
incidental to the factory.
• Chintaman rao v State of MP,1958, sattedars who supply tobacco, or beedi leave
are only independent contractors. Here the court discussed about the master and
servant relation.
• State of kerala v V M patel, person engaged in pepper processing and ginger
curing can be called as worker.
• Rajarangam Secretary Distt. Beedi workers union v State of Tamil Nadu, 1991, SC
Beedi workers
2(n) "occupier" of a factory means the person who has
ultimate control over the affairs of the factory
provided that:
(i) in the case of a firm or other association of individuals, any
one of the individual partners or members thereof shall be
deemed to be the occupier;
(ii) in the case of a company, any one of the directors shall be
deemed to be the occupier;
(iii) in the case of a factory owned or controlled by the Central
Government or any State Government, or any local authority,
the person or persons appointed to manage the affairs of the
factory by the Central Government, the State Government or
the local authority, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be
the occupier
• The test is whether he is having ultimate
control over the factory,
• Not essentially physical and immediate control
• Even a remote but ultimate control
• In case of joint owners all have equal control
• John Donald Mackenzie v Chief Inspector of
Factories,1962 SC, the occupier of the factory
cannot be equated with the owner
Notice by Occupier 7(1)
Notice to inspector of factory 15 days before he occupies the factory
The name and situation
Name and address of the occupier
Name and addresses of the owner of the building
Address of communication
The nature of manufacturing process
Total rated horse power used
Name of the manager of the factory
Number of workers likey to be employed
Average number of workers per day
Less than 180 days, when resumes work
Appointment of new manager
Acting manager
Duties of occupier
• Health safety and welfare
• Maintenance of plant and factory
• Ensuring safety in transportation management
and storing of articles
• Provisions for instruction or information,
training and supervision
• Means of access to and egress from the
factory
• Monitoring working environment
General duties of manufactures for articles and
substances for use of factories
Ensure safety and health
Test and examination
Adequate information
Articles from outside India duties on the
importer
Sec. 2(cb)Hazardous process:
• " means any process or activity in relation to an industry
specified in the First Schedule where, unless special care
is taken, raw materials used therein or the intermediate
or finished products, bye-products, wastes, or effluents
thereof would-
• (i) cause material impairment to the health of the
persons engaged in or connected therewith, or
• (ii) result in the pollution of the general environment:
• PROVIDED that the State Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, amend the First
Schedule by way of addition, omission or variation of any
industry, specified in the said Schedule;
Chapter Provisions Relating To Hazardous
IV-A Processes
41A Constitution of Site Appraisal Committees
41B Compulsory disclosure of information by the oc
cupier
41C Specific responsibility of the occupier in relatio
n to hazardous processes
41D Power of Central Government to appoint Inquir
y Committee
41E Emergency standards
41F Permissible limits of exposure of chemical and
toxic substances
41G Workers' participation in safety management
41H Right of workers to warn about imminent dang
er
51:Weekly hours: No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a
factory for more than forty-eight hours in any week
52. Weekly holidays: No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work
in a factory on the first day of the week unless
Substitute the holiday
Notice to the inspector
Display of notice in the notice board
Working day should not exceed 10 days
53. Compensatory holidays: in case any worker is deprived of the weekly
holiday within month compensatory holiday shall be provided to him
54. Daily hours: not more than 9 hours a day
Two conditions:
The total hours shall not exceed more than 48 hours
On previous approval of the chief inspector it may exceed for facilitate
change in shift.
55. Intervals for rest: the period of work shall be arranges in such a way that
a period shall not exceed 5 hours and at least ½ an hour rest (interval) after
one period. With prior permission it may exceed 6 hours.
56. Spread over
The periods of work of an adult worker in a factory shall be
so arranged that inclusive of his intervals for rest under
section 55, they shall not spread over more than ten and a
half hours in any day:
PROVIDED that the Chief Inspector may, for reasons to be
specified in writing, increase the [spread over up to twelve
hours].
57. Night shifts
Where a worker in a factory works on a shift which
extends beyond midnight,-
a holiday for a whole day shall mean in his case a period of
twenty-four consecutive hours beginning when his shift
ends;
the hours he has worked after midnight shall be counted
in the previous day.
58. Prohibition of overlapping shifts
Work shall not be carried on in any factory by
means of a system of shifts so arranged that more
than one relay of workers is engaged in work of the
same kind at the same time.
The State Government or subject to the control of
the State Government, the Chief Inspector, may, by
written order and for the reasons specified therein,
exempt on such conditions as may be deemed
expedient, any factory or class or description of
factories or any department or section of a factory
or any category or description of workers therein.
59. Extra wages for overtime: If the working
hours exceeds 9 hours per day or 48 hours per
week, then he shall be paid overtime allowance
at the rate of double the wages
