Health Of Workers Under Factories Act, 1948

INTRODUCTION

Health is a significant piece of everybody’s life. Being solid doesn’t just mean being ‘without malady’. It incorporates physical, social, and psychological well-being as well. Keeping up sound health is without a doubt a worry for everybody except it is increasingly fundamental for the individuals who are continually under danger of health risks. These are the assembly line laborers. They are continually under the peril of health dangers. Subsequently, it gets important to focus on the strength of the laborers in the industrial facilities just as individuals in the public arena. So as to normalize the health measures and security arrangements, the Factories Act, 1948 sets out certain ‘health measures’.

In extraordinary Britain, the second 50% of the eighteenth century, there was a fast development of mechanical towns and processing plants. As it was begun without arranging, they utilized the ladies just as their youngsters in processing plants who expected to work for over 12 hours every day. A portion of the workers stepped up to the plate and execute work enactment, Factories Act appeared in 1819. After certain alterations, the last revised of the Factories Act occurred in 1948.

In India, the First manufacturing plants Act was passed in 1881. This Act was fundamentally intended to ensure kids and to give scarcely any measures to the health and security of the laborers. This law was pertinent to just those manufacturing plants, which utilized at least 100 specialists. In 1891 another Factories Act was passed which reached out to the plants representative at least 50 specialists. Production lines Act incorporates:

Health

Safety

Welfare Working Hours Of Adults

Annual Leave With wages

“Industrial facility” is characterized in area 2(m) of the Act. It implies any premises including the areas thereof-

a) Whereon at least 10 specialists are working or were taking a shot at any day of the previous a year, and in any piece of which an assembling procedure is being continued with the guide of intensity, or is normally so continued; or

b) Whereon at least 20 laborers are working or were taking a shot at any day of the first a year, and in any piece of which an assembling procedure is being continued without the guide of intensity, or is commonly so continued. In any case, does exclude a mine subject to the activity of the Mines Act, 1952 or a portable unit having a place with the Armed powers of the Union, a railroad running shed or an inn, eatery or eating place.

The principle target of the Factories Act, 1948 is to guarantee sufficient health measures and advance the health and security and government assistance of the laborers utilized in processing plants. The demonstration likewise makes arrangements with respect to the work of ladies and youthful people. Yearly leave with compensation and so on.

The Act makes definite arrangements with respect to different issues identifying with health, security and government assistance arrangements.

A. Health Chapter III of Section 11 to 20 of the Factories Act, 1948, manages the arrangements identifying with the soundness of the laborers in a plant.

B. Health  Chapter IV of the Factories Act, 1948, manages the arrangements identifying with the security of the laborers in a manufacturing plant.

C. Government assistance There are numerous government assistance arrangements referenced under the Act.

The principle focal point of the Factories Act is towards the Health advantages to the laborers. Health  Chapter of the Act contains determination from Section 11 to 20. The Factories Act, 1948 likewise gives arrangements identifying with security measures for the laborers utilized in this. This is to guarantee the health of laborers taking a shot at or around the machines. There are explicit guidelines identifying with the health and security of ladies representatives under different laws in our nation. Arrangements identifying with health  and security of ladies under different Acts are as under:

FACTORIES ACT, 1948

1. Women are prohibited from working between 7.00 pm to 6.00 am. There has been a recent amended to allow women to work in night shifts in certain sectors including the Special Economic Zone (SEZ), IT sector and Textiles. This is subject to the condition that the employers shall be obligated to provide adequate safeguards in the workplace, equal opportunity, their transportation from the factory premises to the nearest point of their residence.

2. Section 22 of the Act prohibits that no woman shall be allowed to clean, lubricate or adjust any part of a prime mover or of any transmission machinery while the prime mover or transmission machinery is in motion if that would expose the woman to risk of injury from any moving part either of that machine or of any adjacent machinery.

3. Section 27 of the Act provides that no woman shall be employed in any part of a factory for pressing cotton in which a cotton opener is at work.

PLANTATION LABOUR ACT, 1951

1. Section 25 of the Act bans employment of any women in any plantation between 7.00 pm to 6.00 am without permission of the State Government. But it specifically exempts from its purview women who are employed in any plantation as midwives and nurses.

2. The Act also provides provisions relating to sickness and maternity leave for women employees.

MINES ACT, 1952

Section 46 of the Act prohibits employment of any women in any part of a mine which is below-ground. And in any part of the mine above ground except between the hours, 6.00 am and 7.00 pm. It also provides that every woman employed in a mine above ground shall be allowed a break of not less than 11 hours between the end of day work and the commencement of the next day of work.

Provisions relating to Offences and Penalties under the Factories Act, 1948 for contravention of laws relating to safety and health of the workers?

1. For contravention of the provisions of the Act or Rules- imprisonment upto 2 years or fine upto Rs.1,00,000 or both.

2. Contravention causing death or serious bodily injury – fine not less than Rs.25,000 in case of death and not less than Rs.5000 in case of serious injuries.

3. Continuation of contravention – imprisonment upto 3 years or fine not less than Rs.10,000 which may extend to Rs.2,00,000.

4. On contravention of Chapter IV pertaining to safety or dangerous operation.

CONCLUSION

Factories Act works with a primary objective to protect workers employed in the factories against industrial and occupational hazards. For that purpose, it seeks to impose upon the owners or the occupier’s certain obligations to protect works unwary as well as negligent and to secure for them, employment in conditions conducive to their health and safety from accidents.

REFERENCES

Millie Nihila. “Industrial Pollution and Workers’ Health.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 30, no. 25, 1995, pp. 1484–1485. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4402904. Accessed 21 June 2020.

Nagaraj. “How to Improve India’s Industrial Statistics.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 37, no. 10, 2002, pp. 966–970. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4411846. Accessed 21 June 2020.

“Workers’ Health.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 22, no. 41, 1987, pp. 1717–1717. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4377583. Accessed 21 June 2020.

Jefferys, Margot, and C. H. Wood. “A Survey of Small Factories.” British Journal of Industrial Medicine, vol. 17, no. 1, 1960, pp. 10–24. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/27721521. Accessed 21 June 2020.

Tripathy, Jaya Prasad. “Occupational Health Hazard in India: Need for Surveillance and Research.” Current Science, vol. 106, no. 5, 2014, pp. 668–669., www.jstor.org/stable/24099960. Accessed 21 June 2020.

Qadeer, Imrana, and Dunu Roy. “Work, Wealth and Health: Sociology of Workers’ Health in India.” Social Scientist, vol. 17, no. 5/6, 1989, pp. 45–92., www.jstor.org/stable/3517444. Accessed 21 June 2020.

This Article is Authored by CARISHMA BHARGAVA, 2nd Year BA LL.B Student at O.P Jindal Global University.

Also Read – Hazardous Employment under Factory Act

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