Factories Act, 1948
Bare Act
Section 1
Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Act may be called the Factories Act, 1948.
1 [(2) It extends to the whole of India 2[* * *].
(3) It shall came into force on the lst
day of April, 1949.
Section 2
Interpretation
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject
or context,-
(a) "adult" means a person who has completed his
eighteenth year of age;
(b) "adolescent" means a person who has completed his
fifteenth year of age but has not completed his eighteenth year;
3 [(bb) "calendar year" means the period of twelve
months beginning with the first day of January in any year;]
(c) "child" means a person who has not completed his
fifteenth year of age;
4 [(ca) "competent person", in relation to any
provision of this Act, means a person or an institution recognized as such by
the Chief Inspector for the purposes of carrying out tests, examinations and
inspections required to be done in a factory under the provisions of this Act
having regard to-
( i ) the qualifications
and experience of the person and facilities available at his disposal; or
(ii) the qualifications and experience of the
persons employed in such institution and facilities available therein, with
regard to the conduct of such tests, examinations and inspections, and more
than one person or institution can be recognized as a competent person in
relation to a factory;
( 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;]
(d) "young person" means a person who is either a
child or an adolescent;
(e) "day" means a period of twenty-four hours
beginning at midnight;
(f) "week" means a period of seven days beginning at
midnight on Saturday night or such other night as may be approved in writing for
a particular area by the Chief Inspector of Factories;
(g) "power" means electrical energy, or any other form
of energy which is mechanically transmitted and is not generated by human or
animal agency;
(h) "prime mover" means any engine, motor or other
appliance which generates or otherwise provides power;
( i ) "transmission machinery"
means any shaft, wheel drum, pulley, system of pulleys, coupling, 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 appliance;
(j) "machinery" includes prime movers, transmission
machinery and all other appliances whereby power is generated, transformed,
transmitted or applied;
(k) "manufacturing process" means any process for-
( i ) 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
5 [(ii) pumping oil, water, sewage or any
other substance; or]
(iii) generating, transforming or transmitting
power; or
6 [(iv) composing types for printing,
printing by letter press, lithography, photogravure or other similar process or
book binding;] 7[or]
(v) constructing, reconstructing, repairing,
refitting, finishing or breaking up ships or vessels; 7[or]
7 [(vi) preserving or storing any article
in cold storage;]
(l) "worker" means a person 8[employed,
directly or by or through any agency (including a contractor) with or without
the knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration 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 7[but does not include any member of the armed
forces of the Union];
(m) "factory" means any premises including the
precincts thereof-
( i ) 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 the aid of power, or is ordinarily so carried on, or
(ii) Whereon twenty 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 without the aid of
power, or is ordinarily so carried on,-
but does not include a mine subject to the operation of 9[the
Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952)] or 10[a mobile unit belonging to the
armed forces of the Union, a railway running shed or a hotel, restaurant or
eating place].
7 [Explanation 11[I ]: For computing the number of
workers for the purposes of this clause all the workers in 12[different
groups and relays] in a day shall be taken into account;]
13 [Explanation II :
For the purposes of this clause, the mere fact that an Electronic Data
Processing Unit or a Computer Unit is installed in any premises or part
thereof, shall not be construed to make it a factory if no manufacturing
process is being carried on in such premises or part thereof;]
(n) "occupier" of a factory means the person who has
ultimate control over the affairs of the factory 14[***];
13 [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:]
7 [15[PROVIDED FURTHER that] in the case
of a ship which is being repaired, or on which maintenance work is being
carried out, in a dry dock which is available for hire,-
(1) the owner of the dock shall be deemed to be the occupier for
the purposes of any matter provided for by or under
(a) section 6, section 7, 4[section
7A, section 7B,] section 11 or section 12;
(b) section 17, in so far as it relates to the
providing and maintenance of sufficient and suitable lighting in or around the
dock;
(c) section 18, section 19, section 42,
section 46, section 47 or section 49, in relation to the workers employed on
such repair or maintenance;
(2) the owner of the ship or his agent or master or other
office-in-charge of the ship or any person who contracts with such owner, agent
or master or other officer-in-charge to carry out the repair or maintenance
work shall be deemed to be the occupier for the purposes of any matter provided
for by or under section 13, section 14, section 16 or section 17 (save as
otherwise provided in this proviso) or Chapter IV (except section 27) or
section 43, section 44, or section 45, Chapter VI, Chapter VII, Chapter VIII or
Chapter IX or section 108, section 109 or section 110, in relation to-
(a) the workers employed directly by him, or
by or through any agency; and
(b) the machinery, plant or premises in use
for the purpose of carrying out such repair or maintenance work by such owner,
agent, master or other officer-in-charge or person;]
16 [***]
(p) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the
State Government under this Act;
17 [* * *]
(r) where work of the same kind is carried out by two or more
sets of workers working during different periods of the day, each of such sets
is called a 18["group" or "relay"] and each of
such periods is called a "shift".
Comment: Reading these provisions together, it is quite
reasonable and legitimate to hold that a person to be a worker within the
meaning of the Factories Act must be a person employed in the premises or the
precincts of the factory. As held by this court in the State of Uttar Pradesh
v. M. P. Singh (1960) 2 SCR 605: (AIR 1960 SC 569) field workers who are
employed in guiding, supervising and controlling the growth and supply of sugar
cane to be used in the factory are not employed either in the precincts of the
factory or in the premises of the factory. Hence the provisions of the
Factories Act do not apply to them. AIR 1978 SUPREME COURT 849, Rohtas Industries Ltd v. Ramlakhan
Singh
Section 3
References to time of day
In this Act references to time of day are references to Indian
Standard Time, being five and a half hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time:
PROVIDED that for any area in which Indian Standard
Time is not ordinarily observed the State Government may make rules,-
(a) specifying the area,
(b) defining the local mean time ordinarily observed therein,
and
(c) permitting such time to be observed in all or any of the
factories situated in the area.
Section 4
Power to declare different departments to
be separate factories or two or more factories to be a single factory
The State Government may, 4[on its own or] on an
application made in this behalf by an occupier, direct, by an order in writing 4[and
subject to such conditions as it may deem fit], that for all or any of the
purposes of this act different departments or branches of a factory of the
occupier specified in the application shall be treated as separate factories or
that two or more factories of the occupier specified in the application shall
be treated as a single factory:]
19 [PROVIDED that no order under this section shall be
made by the State Government on its own motion unless an opportunity of being
heard is given to the occupier.]
Section 5
Power to exempt during public emergency
In any case of public emergency the State Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, exempt any factory or class or
description of factories from all or any of the provisions of this Act 20[except
section 67] for such period and subject to such conditions as it may think fit:
PROVIDED that no such notification shall be made for a
period exceeding three months at a time.
7 [Explanation :
For the purposes of this section "public emergency" means a grave
emergency whereby the security of India or of any part of the territory thereof
is threatened, whether by war or external aggression or internal disturbance.]
Section 6
Approval, licensing and registration of factories
(1) The State Government may make rules-
22 [(a) requiring, for the purposes of the
Act, the submission of plans of any class or description of factories to the
Chief Inspector or the State Government;]
21[ ( aa )
requiring the previous permission in writing of the State Government or the
Chief Inspector to be obtained for the site on which the factory is to be
situated and for the construction or extension of any factory or class or
description of factories;
(b) requiring for the purpose of considering
applications for such permission the submission of plans and specifications;
(c) prescribing the nature of such plans and
specifications and by whom they shall be certified;
(d) requiring the registration and licensing
of factories or any class or description of factories, and prescribing the fees
payable for such registration and licensing and for the renewal of licenses;
(e) requiring that no license shall be granted
or renewed unless the notice specified in section 7 has been given.
(2) If on an application for permission referred to in 22[clause
( aa )] of sub-section (1) accompanied by the plans and
specifications required by the rules made under clause (b) of that sub-section,
sent to the State Government or Chief Inspectors by registered post, no order
is communicated to the applicant within three months from the date on which it
is so sent, the permission applied for in the said application shall be deemed
to have been granted.
(3) Where a State Government or a Chief Inspector refuses to
grant permission to the site, construction or extension of a factory or to the
registration and licensing of a factory, the applicant may within thirty days
of the date of such refusal appeal to the Central Government if the decision
appealed from was of the State Government and to the State Government in any
other case.
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 7[if such replacement or addition does not
reduce the minimum clear space required for safe working around the plant or
machinery or adversely affect the environmental conditions from the evolution
or emission of steam, heat or dust or fumes injurious to health.]
Section 7
Notice by occupier
(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;
23 [(bb) the name and address of the owner
of the premises or building (including the precincts thereof) referred to in
section 93;]
(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; and
(ii) to be carried on in the factory during
the next twelve months in the case of all factories;
5 [(e) the total rated horse power
installed or to be installed in the factory, which shall not include the rated
horse power of any separate stand-by plant;]
(f) the name of the manager of the factory for
the purposes of this Act;
(g) the number of workers likely to be employed
in the factory;
(h) 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;
( i ) such other
particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) In respect of all establishments which come within the scope
of the Act for the first time, the occupier shall send a written notice to the
Chief Inspector containing the 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) 24[at
least thirty days] before the date of the commencement of work.
(4) Whenever a new manager is appointed, the occupier shall send
to the 25[Inspector a written notice and to the Chief Inspector a
copy thereof] within seven days from the date on which such person takes over
charge.
(5) During any period for which no person has been designated as
manager of a factory or during which the person designated does not manage the
factory, any person found acting as a 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.
Section 8
Inspectors
(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
appoint such persons as possess the prescribed qualification to be Inspectors
for the purposes of this Act and may assign to them such local limits as it may
think fit.
(2) The State Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, appoint any person to be a Chief Inspector who shall, in addition to
the powers conferred on a Chief Inspector under this Act, exercise the powers
of an Inspector through out the State.
7 [(2A) The State Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint as many Additional Chief Inspectors, Joint Chief
Inspectors and Deputy Chief Inspectors and as many other officers as it thinks
fit to assist the Chief Inspector and to exercise such of the powers of the
Chief Inspector as may be specified in such notification.
(2B) Every Additional Chief Inspector, Joint Chief Inspector,
Deputy Chief Inspector and every other officer appointed under sub-section (2A)
shall, in addition to the powers of a Chief Inspector specified in the
notification by which he is appointed, exercise the powers of an Inspector
throughout the State.]
(3) No person shall be appointed under sub-section (1),
sub-section (2) 7[,sub-section (2A)] or sub-section (5) 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 in any patent or machinery connected therewith.
(4) Every District Magistrate shall be an Inspector for his
district.
(5) The State Government may also, by notification as aforesaid,
appoint such public officers as it thinks fit to be additional Inspectors for
all or any of the purposes of this Act, within such local limits as it may
assign to them respectively.
(6) In any area where there are more Inspectors than one the
State 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) 27[Every Chief Inspector, Additional Chief Inspector,
Joint Chief Inspector, Deputy Chief Inspector, Inspector and every other
officer appointed under this section] shall be deemed to be a public servant
within the meaning of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), and shall be
officially subordinate to such authority as the State Government may specify in
this behalf.
Section 9
Powers of Inspectors
Subject to any rules made in this behalf, an Inspector may,
within the local limits for which he is appointed,-
(a) enter, with such assistants, being persons in the service of
the government, or any local or other public authority, 4[or with an
expert] as he thinks fit, any place which is used, or which he has reason to
believe is used, as a factory;
28 [(b) make examination of the premises, plant, machinery,
article or substance;
(c) inquire into any accident or dangerous occurrence, whether
resulting in bodily injury, disability or not, and take on the spot or
otherwise statements of any person which he may consider necessary for such
inquiry;
(d) require the production of any prescribed register or any
other document relating to the factory;
(e) seize, or take copies of, any register, record or other
document or any portion thereof as he may consider necessary in respect of any
offence under this Act, which he has reason to believe, has been committed;
(f) direct the occupier that any premises or any part thereof,
or anything lying therein, shall be left undisturbed (whether generally or in
particular respects) for so long as is necessary for the purpose of any
examination under clause (b);
(g) take measurements and photographs and make such recordings
as he considers necessary for the purpose of any examination under clause (b),
taking with him any necessary instrument or equipment;
(h) in case of any article or substance found in any premises,
being an article or substance which appears to him as having caused or is
likely to cause danger to the health or safety of the workers, direct it to be
dismantled or subject it to any process or test (but not so as to damage or
destroy it unless the same is, in the circumstances necessary, for carrying out
the purposes of this Act), and take possession of any such article or substance
or a part thereof, and detain it for so long as is necessary for such
examination;
( i ) exercise such other powers as may
be prescribed:]
PROVIDED that no person shall be compelled under this
section to answer any question or give any evidence tending to incriminate
himself.
Section 10
Certifying surgeons
(1) The State Government may appoint qualified medical
practitioners 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
it may assign to them respectively.
(2) A certifying surgeon may, with the approval of the State
Government, authorize any qualified medical practitioner to exercise any of his
powers under this Act for such period as the certifying surgeon may specify and
subject to such conditions as the State Government may think fit to impose, and
references in this Act to a certifying surgeon shall be deemed to include
references to any qualified medical practitioner when so authorized.
(3) No person shall be appointed to be, or authorized to
exercise the powers of a certifying surgeon, or having been so appointed or
authorized, 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
process or business carried on therein or in any patent or machinery connected therewith
or is otherwise in the employ of the factory:
7 [PROVIDED that the State Government may, by order
in writing and subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order,
exempt any person or class of persons from the provisions of this sub-section
in respect of any factory or class or description of factories.]
(4) The certifying surgeon shall carry out such duties as may be
prescribed in connection with-
(a) the examination and certification of young
persons under this Act;
(b) the examination of persons engaged in
factories in such dangerous occupations or processes as may be prescribed;
(c) the exercising of such medical supervision
as may be prescribed for any factory or class or description of factories
where-
( i ) cases of illness
have 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 substances used therein or by reason
of the adoption of any new manufacturing process or of any new substance for
use in a manufacturing process, there is a likelihood of injury to the health
of workers employed in that manufacturing process;
(iii) young persons are, or are about to be,
employed in any work which is likely to cause injury to their health.
Explanation
: In this section "qualified medical
practitioner" means a person holding a qualification granted by an
authority specified in the Schedule to the Indian Medical Degrees Act, 1916, or
in Schedules to the Indian Medical Council Act, 193329.
Section 11
Cleanliness (1) Every factory shall be kept clean and free from effluvia
(1) Every factory shall be kept clean and free from effluvia
arising from any drain, privy or other nuisance, and in particular-
(a) accumulation of dirt and refuse shall be
removed 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 a 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 all walls, sides and tops of passages and
staircases shall-
( i ) where they are 30[painted
otherwise than with washable water-paint] or varnished, be repainted or revarnished at least once in every period of five years;
31 [( ia ) Where
they are painted with washable water-paint, be repainted with at least one coat
of such paint at least once in every period of three years and washed at least
once in every period of six months;]
(ii) where they are painted or varnished or
where they have smooth impervious surfaces, be cleaned at least once in every
period of fourteen months by such method as may be prescribed;
(iii) in any other case, be kept whitewashed
or colour washed, and the whitewashing or colour washing shall be carried out at least once in every
period of fourteen months;
7 [( dd ) all
doors and window frames and other wooden or metallic framework and shutters
shall be kept painted or varnished and the painting or varnishing shall be
carried out at least once in every period of five years;]
(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 32[in
a factory or class or description of factories or any part of a factory or
class or description of factories], it is not possible for the occupier to
comply with all or any of the provisions of sub-section (1), the State
Government may by order exempt such factory or class or description of
factories 7[or part] from any of the provisions of that sub-section
and specify alternative methods for keeping the factory in a clean state.
Section 12
Disposal of wastes and effluents
33 [(1) Effective arrangements shall be made in every factory
for the treatment of wastes and effluents due to the manufacturing process
carried on therein, so as to render them innocuous, and for their disposal.]
(2) The State Government may make rules prescribing the
arrangements to be made under sub-section (1) or requiring that the
arrangements made in accordance with sub-section (1) shall be approved by such
authority as may be prescribed.
Section 13
Ventilation and temperature
(1) Effective and suitable provision shall be made in every
factory for securing and maintaining in every workroom
(a) adequate ventilation by the circulation of
fresh air, and
(b) such a temperature as will secure to
workers therein reasonable conditions of comfort and prevent injury to health;
and in particular,-
( i ) walls and roofs shall be of such
material and so designed that such temperature shall not be exceeded but 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
temperatures, such adequate measures as are practicable shall be taken to
protect the workers there from, by separating the process which produces such
temperatures from the workroom, by insulating the hot parts or by other
effective means.
(2) The State 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 18[proper measuring
instruments, at such places and in such position as may be specified, shall be
provided and such records, as may be prescribed, shall be maintained.]
34 [(3) If it appears to the Chief Inspector that excessively
high temperatures in any factory can be reduced by the adoption of suitable
measures, he may, without prejudice to the rules made under sub-section (2),
serve on the occupier, 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.]
Section 14
Dust and fume
(1) In every factory in which, by reason of the manufacturing
process carried on, there is given off any dust or fume 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, or any dust in substantial quantities, effective
measures shall be taken to prevent its inhalation and accumulation in any
workroom, 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, fume or
other impurity, and such point shall be enclosed so far as possible.
(2) In any factory no stationary internal combustion engine
shall be operated unless the exhaust is conducted into the open air, and no
other internal combustion engine shall be operated in any room unless effective
measures have been taken to prevent such accumulation of fumes there from as
are likely to be injurious to workers employed in the room.
Section 15
Artificial humidification
(1) In respect of all factories in which the humidity of the air
is artificially increased, the State Government may make rules,-
(a) prescribing standards of humidification;
(b) regulating the methods used for
artificially increasing the humidity of the air;
(c) directing prescribed tests for determining
the humidity of the air to be correctly carried out and recorded;
(d) prescribing methods to be adopted for
securing adequate ventilation and cooling of the air in the workrooms.
(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 would be adopted, and requiring them to be carried out before specified
date.
Section 16
Overcrowding
(1) No room in any factory shall be overcrowded to an extent
injurious to the health of the workers employed therein.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-section (1),
there shall be in every work room of a factory in existence on the date of the
commencement of this Act at least 35[9.9 cubic meters] and of a
factory built after the commencement of this Act at least 36[4.2
cubic meters] or space for every worker employed therein, and for the purposes
of this sub-section no account shall be taken of any space which is more than 37[4.2metres]
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 workroom 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 such conditions, if any, as he may think fit to impose, any workroom from
the provisions of this section, if he is satisfied that compliance therewith in
respect of the room is unnecessary in the interest of the health of the workers
employed therein.
Section 17
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 workroom shall be kept clean on both the inner and outer
surfaces and so far as compliance with the provisions of any rules made under
sub-section (3) of section 13 will allow, free from obstruction.
(3) In every factory effective provision shall, so far as is
practicable, be made for the prevention of-
(a) glare, either directly from a source of
light or by reflection from a smooth or polished surface;
(b) the formation of shadows to such an extent
as to cause eye-strain or the risk of accident to any worker.
(4) The State Government may prescribe standards of sufficient
and suitable lighting for factories or for any class or description of
factories or for any manufacturing process.
Section 18
Drinking water
(1) In every factory effective arrangements shall be made to
provide and maintain at suitable points 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 a majority of the workers employed in
the factory, and no such point shall be situated within 38[six
meters of any washing place, urinal, latrine, spittoon, open drain carrying sullage or effluent or any other source of contamination]
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, provisions shall be made for cooling drinking
water during hot weather by effective means and for distribution thereof.
(4) In respect of all factories or any class or description of
factories the State Government may make rules for securing compliance with the
provisions of sub-sections (1),(2) and (3) and for the examination by
prescribed authorities of the supply and distribution of drinking water in
factories.
Section 19
Latrines and urinals
(1) In every factory-
(a) sufficient latrine and urinal
accommodation of prescribed types shall be provided conveniently situated and
accessible to workers at all times while they are at the factory;
(b) separate enclosed accommodation shall be
provided for male and female workers;
(c) such accommodation shall be adequately
lighted and ventilated, and no latrine or urinal shall, unless specially
exempted in writing by the Chief Inspector, communicate with any workroom
except through an intervening open space or ventilated passage;
(d) all such accommodation shall be maintained
in a clean and sanitary condition at all times;
(e) sweepers shall be employed whose primary
duty it would be to keep clean latrines, urinals and washing places.
(2) In every factory wherein more than two hundred and fifty
workers are ordinarily employed-
(a) all latrine and urinal accommodation shall
be of prescribed sanitary types;
(b) the floors and internal walls, up to a
height of 39[ninety centimeters], of the latrines and urinals and
the sanitary blocks shall be laid in glazed tiles or otherwise finished to
provide a smooth polished impervious surface;
(c) without prejudice to the provisions of
clauses (d) and (e) of sub-section (1), the floors, portions of the walls and
blocks so laid or finished and the sanitary pans of latrines and urinals shall
be thoroughly washed and cleaned at least once in every seven days with
suitable detergents or disinfectants or with both.
(3) The State 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 provide for such further
matters in respect of sanitation in factories, including the obligation of
workers in this regard, as it considers necessary in the interest of the health
of the workers employed therein.
Section 20
Spittoons
(1) In every factory there shall be provided a sufficient number
of spittoons in convenient places and they shall be maintained in a clean and
hygienic condition.
(2) The State Government may make rules prescribing the type and
the number of spittoons to be provided and their location in any factory and
provide for such further matters 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 and a notice containing this
provision and the penalty for its violation shall be prominently displayed at
suitable places in the premises.
(4) Whoever spits in contravention of sub-section (3) shall be
punishable with fine not exceeding five rupees.
Section 21
Fencing of machinery
(1) In every factory the following, namely:
( i ) every moving
part of a prime mover and every flywheel connected to a prime mover, whether
the prime mover or flywheel is in the engine house or not;
(ii) the headrace and tailrace of every
water-wheel and water turbine;
(iii) any part of a stock-bar which projects
beyond the head stock of a lathe; and
(iv) unless they are in such position or of
such construction as to be safe to every person employed in the factory as they
would be if they were securely fenced, the following, namely,-
(a) every part of an
electric generator, a motor or rotary convector;
(b) every part of
transmission machinery; and
(c) every dangerous
part of any other machinery;
shall be securely fenced by safeguards of substantial
construction which 40[shall be constantly maintained and kept in
position] while the parts of machinery they are fencing are in motion or in
use:
41 [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-
( i ) it is necessary to make an
examination of any part of the machinery aforesaid while it is in motion or, as
a result of such examination, to carry out lubrication or other adjusting
operation while the machinery is in motion, being an examination or operation
which it is necessary to be carried out while that part of the machinery is in
motion, or
(ii) in the case of any part of a transmission machinery used in
such process as may be prescribed (being a process of a continuous nature the
carrying on of which shall be, or is likely to be, substantially interfered
with by the stoppage of that part of the machinery), it is necessary to make an
examination of such part of the machinery while it is in motion or, as a result
of such examination, to carry out any mounting or shipping of belts or
lubrication or other adjusting operation while the machinery is in motion, and
such examination or operation is made or carried out in accordance with the provisions
of sub-section (1) of section 22.]
(2) The State Government may by rules prescribe such further
precautions as it may consider necessary in respect of any particular machinery
or part thereof, or exempt, subject to such condition as may be prescribed, for
securing the safety of the workers, any particular machinery or part thereof
from the provisions of this section.
Section 22
Work on or near machinery in motion
(1) 42[Where in any factory it becomes necessary to
examine any part of machinery referred to in section 21, while the machinery is
in motion, or, as a result of such examination, to carry out-
(a) in a case referred to in clause (i ) of the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 21,
lubrication or other adjusting operation; or
(b) in a case referred to in clause (ii) of
the proviso aforesaid, any mounting or shipping of belts or 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 (which shall be supplied by the occupier)
whose name has been recorded in the register prescribed in this behalf and who
has been furnished with a certificate of this appointment, and while he is so
engaged-
(a) such worker shall
not handle a belt at a moving pulley unless-
( i )
the belt is not more than fifteen centimeters in width;
(ii) the pulley is normally for the purpose of
drive and not merely a fly-wheel or balance wheel (in which case a belt is not
permissible);
(iii) the belt joint
is either laced or flush with the belt;
(iv) the belt, including the joint and the
pulley rim, are in good repair;
(v) there is reasonable clearance between the
pulley and any fixed plant or structure;
(vi) secure foothold and, where necessary,
secure handhold, are provided for the operator; and
(vii) any ladder in use for carrying out any
examination or operation aforesaid is securely fixed or lashed or is firmly
held by a second person.]
(b) 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 such worker would otherwise be
liable to come into contact, shall be securely fenced to prevent such contact.
43 [(2) No woman or young person 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, or to clean,
lubricate or adjust any part of any machine if the cleaning, lubrication or
adjustment thereof would expose the woman or young person to risk of injury
from any moving part either of that machine or of any adjacent machinery.]
(3) The State 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.
Section 23
Employment of young persons on dangerous machines
(1) No young person 44[shall be required or allowed
to work] at any machine to which this section applies, 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 a through knowledge and experience of the machine.
(2) Sub-section (1) shall apply to such machines as may be
prescribed by the State Government, being machines which in its opinion are of
such a dangerous character that young persons ought not to work at them unless
the foregoing requirements are complied with.
Section 24
Striking gear and devices for cutting off power
(1) In every factory-
(a) suitable striking gear or other efficient
mechanical appliance 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 creeping back on to the fast pulley;
(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
workroom:
PROVIDED that in respect of factories in operation
before the commencement of this Act, the provisions of this sub-section shall
apply only to workrooms in which electricity is used as power.
45 [(3) When a device, which can inadvertently shift from
"off " to "on" position, is provided in a factory to cut
off power, arrangements shall be provided for locking the device in safe
position to prevent accidental starting of the transmission machinery or other
machines to which the device is fitted.]
Section 25
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 46[forty-five centimeters] 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.
Section 26
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, bolt or key on any
revolving shaft, spindle, wheel or pinion shall be so sunk, encased or
otherwise effectively guarded as to prevent danger;
(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 47[sub-section
(1) or any rules made under sub-section (3)], shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which may
extend to five hundred rupees or with both.
48 [(3) The State Government may make rules specifying
further safeguards to be provided in respect of any other dangerous part of any
particular machine or class or description of machines.]
Section 27
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 height 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.
Section 28
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 hoist way and lift way 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 that the gate cannot be opened except when the cage is at the landing
and 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 with
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 State Government may, if in respect of any class or
description of hoist or lift, it is of opinion that it would be unreasonable to
enforce any requirement of sub-sections (1) and (2), by order direct such
requirement shall not apply to such class or description of hoist or lift.
4 [Explanation :
For the purposes of this section, no lifting machine or appliance shall be
deemed to be a hoist or lift unless it has a platform or cage, the direction or
movement of which is restricted by a guide or guides.]
Section 29
Lifting machines, chains, ropes and
lifting tackles
(1) In any factory the following provisions shall be complied
with in respect of every lifting machine (other than a hoist and lift) and
every chain, rope and lifting tackle for the purpose of raising or lowering
persons, goods or materials:
(a) all parts, including the working gear,
whether fixed or movable, of every lifting machine and every chain, rope or
lifting tackle shall be-
( i ) of good
construction, sound material and adequate strength and free from defects;
(ii) properly
maintained; and
(iii) thoroughly examined by a competent
person at least once in every period of twelve months, or at such intervals as
the Chief Inspector may specify in writing; and a register shall be kept
containing the prescribed particulars of every such examination;
(b) no lifting machine and no chain, rope or
lifting tackle shall, except for the purpose of test, be loaded beyond the safe
working load which shall be plainly marked thereon together with an
identification mark and duly entered in the prescribed register; and where this
is not practicable, a table showing the safe working loads of every kind and size
of lifting machine or, chain, rope or lifting tackle in use shall be displayed
in prominent positions on the premises;
(c) while any person is employed or working on
or near the wheel track of a traveling 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 49[six meters] of that
place.
(2) The State Government may make rules in respect of any
lifting machine or any chain, rope or lifting tackle used in factories-
(a) prescribing further requirements to be
complied with in addition to those set out in this section;
(b) providing for exemption from compliance
with all or any of the requirements of this section, where in its opinion, such
compliance is unnecessary or impracticable.
(3) For the purposes of this section a lifting machine or a
chain, rope or lifting tackle shall be deemed to have been thoroughly examined
if a visual examination supplemented, if necessary, by other means and by the
dismantling of parts of the gear, has been carried out as carefully as the
conditions permit in order to arrive at a reliable conclusion as to the safety
of the parts examined.
Explanation : In this sections,
(a) "lifting machine" means a crane, crab, winch, teagle , pulley block, gin wheel, transporter or runway;
50 [(b) "lifting tackle" means any chain, sling,
rope sling, hook, shackle, swivel, coupling, socket, clamp, tray or similar
appliance, whether fixed or movable, used in connection with the raising or lowering
of persons, or loads by use of lifting machines.]
Section 30
Revolving machinery
(1) 51[In every 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 grindstone 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 such 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 peripheral speed of every revolving vessel, cage, basket,
fly-wheel, pulley, disc or similar appliance driven by power is not exceeded.
Section 31
Pressure plant
52 [(1) If in any factory, any plant or machinery or any part
thereof is operated at a pressure above atmospheric pressure, effective
measures shall be taken to ensure that the safe working pressure of such plant
or machinery or part is not exceeded.]
(2) The State 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.
53 [(3) The State Government may, by rules, exempt, subject
to such conditions as may be specified therein, any part of any plant or
machinery referred to in sub-section (1) from the provisions of this section.]
Section 32
Floors, stairs and means of access
In every factory-
(a) all floors, steps, stairs, passages and gangways shall be of
sound construction and properly maintained 54[and shall be kept free
from obstructions and substances likely to cause persons to slip], and where it
is necessary to ensure safety, steps, stairs, passages, and gangways shall be
provided with substantial handrails;
(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.
55 [(c) When any person has to work at a height from where he
is likely to fall, provision shall be made, so far as is reasonably
practicable, by fencing or otherwise, to ensure the safety of the person so
working.]
Section 33
Pits, sumps, opening 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 State Government may, by order in writing, exempt,
subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, 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.
Section 34
Excessive weights
(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 State 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 specific process.
Section 35
Protection of eyes
In respect of any such manufacturing process carried on in any
factory as may be prescribed, being 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,
the State Government may by rules require that effective screens or suitable
goggles shall be provided for the protection of persons employed on, or in the
immediately vicinity of, the process.
Section 36
Precautions against dangerous fumes,
gases, etc.
(1) No person shall be required or allowed to enter any chamber,
tank, vat, pit, pipe, flue or other confined space in any factory in which any
gas, fume, vapor or dust is likely to be present to such an extent as to
involve risk to persons being overcome thereby, unless it is provided with a
manhole of adequate size or other effective means of egress.
(2) No person shall be required or allowed to enter any confined
space as is referred to in sub-section (1), until all practicable measures have
been taken to remove any gas, fume, vapor or dust, which may be present so as
to bring its level within the permissible limits and to prevent any ingress of
such gas, fume, vapor or dust and unless-
(a) a certificate in writing has been given by
a competent person, based on a test carried out by himself that the space is
reasonably free from dangerous gas, fume, vapor or dust; or
(b) such person is wearing suitable breathing
apparatus and a belt securely attached to a rope the free end of which is held
by a person outside the confined space.]
Section 37
Explosive or inflammable dust, gas, etc.
(1) Where in any factory any manufacturing process produces
dust, gas, fume or vapor of such character and to such extent as to be likely
to explode to 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 vapor;
(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 provisions 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 vapor 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 or the fastening of the cover of any opening into
the part is loosened, any flow of the gas or vapor into the part of 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 vapor 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 vapor from entering the part of 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 arising there from or to render such substance and 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 State 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.
Section 38
Precautions in case of fire
(1) In every factory, all practicable measures shall be taken to
prevent outbreak of fire and its spread, both internally and externally, and to
provide and maintain-
(a) safe means of escape for all persons in
the event of a fire, and
(b) the necessary equipment and facilities for
extinguishing fire.
(2) Effective measures shall be taken to ensure that in every
factory 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 cases.
(3) The State Government may make rules, in respect of any
factory or class or description of factories, requiring the measures to be
adopted to give effect to the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2).
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (a) of
sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), if the Chief Inspector, having regard to
the nature of the work carried on in any factory, the construction of such
factory, special risk to life or safety, or any other circumstances, is of the
opinion that the measures provided in the factory, whether as prescribed or
not, for the purposes of clause (a) of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), are
inadequate, he may, by order in writing, require that such additional measures
as he may consider reasonable and necessary, be provided in the factory before
such date as is specified in the order.]
Section 39
Power 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, he may serve on 59[the
occupier or manager or both] 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 in such manner as may be specified
in the order, and to inform the Inspector of the results thereof.
Section 40
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 59[the
occupier or manager or both] 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 any part of the ways, machinery or plant in a factory
involves imminent danger to human life or safety, he may serve on 60[the
occupier or manager or both] of the factory an order in writing prohibiting its
use until it has been properly repaired or altered.
Section 41
Power to make rules to supplement this Chapter
The State Government may make rules requiring the provision in
any factory or in any class or description of factories of such further 62[devices
and measures] for securing the safety of persons employed therein as it may
deem necessary.
Section 42
Washing facilities
(1) In every factory,-
(a) adequate and suitable facilities for
washing 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;
(c) such facilities shall be conveniently
accessible and shall be kept clean.
(2) The State 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.
Section 43
Facilities for storing and drying clothing
The State Government may, in respect of any factory or class or
description of factories, make rules requiring the provision therein of
suitable places for keeping clothing not worn during working hours and for the
drying of wet clothing.
Section 44
Facilities for sitting
(1) In every factory suitable arrangements for sitting shall be
provided and maintained for all workers obliged to work in standing position,
in order that they may take advantage of any opportunities for rest which may
occur in the course of their work.
(2) If, in the opinion of the Chief Inspector, the workers in
any factory engaged in a particular manufacturing process or working in a
particular room are able to do their work efficiently in a sitting position, he
may, by order in writing, require the occupier of the factory to provide before
a specified date such seating arrangements as may be practicable for all
workers so engaged or working.
(3) The State Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, declare that the provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to any
specified factory or class or description of factories or to any specified
manufacturing process.
Section 45
First-aid appliances
(1) There shall in every factory be provided and maintained so
as to be readily accessible during all working hours first-aid boxes or
cupboards, equipped with the prescribed contents, and the number of such boxes
or cupboards to be provided and maintained shall not be less than one for every
one hundred and fifty workers ordinarily employed 3[at any one time]
in the factory.
64 [(2) Nothing except the prescribed contents shall be kept
in a first-aid box or cupboard.
(3) Each first-aid box or cupboard shall be kept in the charge
of a separate responsible person 65[who holds a certificate in
first-aid treatment recognized by the State Government] and who shall always be
readily available during the working hours of the factory].
66 [(4)] In every factory wherein more than five hundred
workers are 67[ordinarily employed] there shall be provided and
maintained an ambulance room of the prescribed size, containing the prescribed
equipment and in the charge of such medical and nursing staff as may be
prescribed 68[and those facilities shall always be made readily
available during the working hours of the factory].
Section 46
Canteens
(1) The State Government may make rules requiring that in any
specified factory wherein more than two hundred and fifty workers are
ordinarily employed, a canteen or canteens shall be provided and maintained by
the occupier 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 foodstuffs 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;
7 ( dd ) the
items of expenditure in the running of the canteen which are not to be taken in
account in fixing the cost of foodstuffs and which shall be borne by the
employer;]
(e) the delegation to the Chief Inspector,
subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, of the power to make rules
under clause (c).
Section 47
Shelters, rest rooms and lunch rooms
(1) In every factory wherein more than one hundred and fifty
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 46 shall be regarded as part of the requirements of
this sub-section:
PROVIDED FURTHER that where a lunch room exists no worker shall
eat any food in the work room.
(2) The shelters or rest rooms or lunch rooms to be provided
under sub-section (1) shall be sufficiently lighted and ventilated and shall be
maintained in a cool and clean condition.
(3) The State 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) by notification in the Official Gazette,
exempt any factory or class or description of factories from the requirements
of this section.
Section 48
Creches
(1) In every factory wherein more than 69[thirty
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 provide adequate accommodation, shall be
adequately lighted and ventilated, shall be maintained in a clean and sanitary
condition and shall be under the charge of women trained in the care of
children and infants.
(3) The State 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.
Section 49
Welfare officers
(1) In every factory wherein five hundred or more workers are
ordinarily employed, the occupier shall employ in the factory such number of
welfare officers as may be prescribed.
(2) The State Government may prescribe the duties,
qualifications and conditions of service of officers employed under sub-section
(1).
Section 50
Power to make rules to supplement this Chapter
The State Government may make rules-
(a) exempting, subject to compliance with such
alternative arrangements for the welfare of workers as may be prescribed, any
factory or class or description of factories from compliance with any of the
provisions of this Chapter;
(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 of
the workers.
Section 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.
Section 52
Weekly holidays
(1) No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in a
factory on the first day of the week (hereinafter referred to as the said day),
unless
(a) he has or will have a holiday for a whole
day on one of the three days immediately before or after the said day, and
(b) the manager of the factory has, before the
said day or the substituted day under clause (a), whichever is earlier,-
( i ) delivered a
notice at the office of the Inspector of his intention to require the worker to
work on the said day 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) Notices given under sub-section (1) may be cancelled by a
notice delivered at the office of the Inspector and a notice displayed in the
factory not later than the day before the said day or the holiday to be
cancelled, whichever is earlier.
(3) Where, in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1),
any worker works on the said day and has had a holiday on one of the three days
immediately before it, that said day shall, for the purpose of calculating his
weekly hours of work, be included in the preceding week.
Section 53
Compensatory holidays
(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 52, a worker is deprived of any of the
weekly holidays for which provision is made in sub-section (1) of that section,
he shall be allowed, within the month in which the holidays were due to him or
within the two months immediately following that month, compensatory holidays
of equal number to the holidays so lost.
(2) The State Government may prescribe the manner in which the
holidays for which provision is made in sub-section (1) shall be allowed.
Section 54
Daily hours
Subject to the provisions of section 51, no adult worker shall
be required or allowed to work in a factory for more than nine hours in any
day:
70 [PROVIDED that, subject to the previous approval of
the Chief Inspector, the daily maximum specified in this section may be
exceeded in order to facilitate the change of shifts.]
Section 55
Intervals for rest
71 [(1) 72[The periods of work] of adult workers
in a factory each day shall be so fixed that no period shall exceed five hours
and that no worker shall work for more than five hours before he has had an
interval for rest of at least half an hour.
73 [(2) 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 any factory from the provisions of
sub-section (1) so however that the total number of hours worked by a worker
without an interval does not exceed six.]
Section 56
Spreadover
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 74[spread over up to twelve
hours].
Section 57
Night shifts
Where a worker in a factory works on a shift which extends
beyond midnight,-
(a) for the purposes of sections 52 and 53, a holiday for a
whole day shall mean in his case a period of twenty-four consecutive hours
beginning when his shift ends;
(b) the following day for him shall be deemed to be the period
of twenty-four hours beginning when such shift ends, and the hours he has
worked after midnight shall be counted in the previous day.
Section 58
Prohibition of overlapping shifts
(1) 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.
75 [(2) 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 from
the provisions of sub-section (1).]
Section 59
Extra wages for overtime
(1) Where a worker works in a factory for more than nine hours
in any day or for more than forty-eight hours in any week, he shall, in respect
of overtime work, be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate
of wages.
76 [(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), "ordinary
rate of wages" means the basic wages plus such allowances, including the
cash equivalent of the advantage accruing through the concessional
sale to workers of food grains and other articles, as the worker is for the
time being entitled to, but does not include a bonus and wages for overtime
work.
(3) Where any workers in a factory are paid on a piece-rate
basis, the time rate shall be deemed to be equivalent to the daily average of
their full-time earnings for the days on which they actually worked on the same
or identical job during the month immediately preceding the calendar month
during which the overtime work was done, and such time rates shall be deemed to
be the ordinary rates of wages of those workers:
PROVIDED that in the case of a worker who has not
worked in the immediately preceding calendar month on the same or identical
job, the time rate shall be deemed to be equivalent to the daily average of the
earning of the worker for the days on which he actually worked in the week in
which the overtime work was done.
Explanation : For the purposes of this sub-section in
computing the earnings for the days on which the worker actually worked such
allowances, including the cash equivalent of the advantage accruing through the
concessional sale to workers of food grains and other
articles, as the worker is for the time being entitled to, shall be included
but any bonus or wages for overtime work payable in relation to the period with
reference to which the earnings are being computed shall be excluded.
77 [(4) The cash equivalent of the advantage accruing through
the concessional sale to a worker of food grains and
other articles shall be computed as often as may be prescribed on the basis of
the maximum quantity of food grains and other articles admissible to a standard
family.
Explanation 1 : "Standard family" means a
family consisting of the worker, his or her spouse and two children below the
age of fourteen years requiring in all three adult consumption units.
Explanation 2 : "Adult consumption unit"
means the consumption unit of a male above the age of fourteen years, and the
consumption unit of a female above the age of fourteen years and that of a
child below the age of fourteen years shall be calculated at the rates of .8
and .6 respectively of one adult consumption unit.
(5) The State Government may make rules prescribing-
(a) the manner in which the cash equivalent of
the advantage accruing through the concessional sale
to a worker of food grains and other articles shall be computed; and
(6) the registers that shall be maintained in a factory for the
purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of this section.]
Section 60
Restriction on double employment
No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in any
factory on any day on which he has already been working in any other factory,
save in such circumstances as may be prescribed.
Section 61
Notice of periods of work for adults
(1) There shall be displayed and correctly maintained in every
factory in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 108, a
notice of periods of work for adults, showing clearly for every day the periods
during which adult workers may be required to work.
(2) The periods shown in the notice required by sub-section (1)
shall be fixed beforehand in accordance with the following provisions of this
section, and shall be such that workers working for those periods would not be
working in contravention of any of the provisions of sections 51, 52, 54,
78[55, 56 and 58.].
(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 for such workers 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 indicating the number of
workers in each group.
(5) For each group which is not required to work on a system of
shifts, the manager of the factory shall fix the periods 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 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 the
relays are 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 and the relay which
will be working at any time of the day shall be known for any day.
(8) The State Government may prescribe forms of the notice
required by sub-section (1) and the manner in which it shall be maintained.
(9) In the case of a factory beginning work after the
commencement of this Act, a copy of the notice referred to in sub-section (1)
shall be sent in duplicate to the Inspector before the day on which work is
begun in the factory.
(10) Any proposed change in the system of work in any factory
which will necessitate a change in the notice referred to in sub-section (1)
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 until one week has elapsed since the last change.
Section 62
Register of adult workers
(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, or when any work is being carried on in the factory, 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 opinion that any
muster roll or register maintained as part of the routine of a factory gives in
respect of any or all the workers in the factory the particulars required under
this sections, 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.
7 [(1A) No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work
in any factory unless his name and other particulars have been entered in the
register of adult workers.]
(2) The State Government may prescribe 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.
Section 63
Hours of work to correspond with notice under section
61 and register under section 62
No adult worker shall be required or allowed to work in any
factory otherwise than in accordance with the notice of periods of work for
adults displayed in the factory and the entries made beforehand against his
name in the register of adult workers of the factory.
Section 64
Power to make exempting rules
(1) The State Government may make rules defining the persons who
hold positions of supervision or management or are employed in a confidential
position in a factory 7[or empowering the Chief Inspector to declare
any person, other than a person defined by such rules, as a person holding
position of supervision or management or employed in a confidential position in
a factory if, in the opinion of the Chief Inspector, such person holds such
position or is so employed], and the provisions of this Chapter, other than the
provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 66 and of the proviso to
that sub-section, shall not apply to any person so defined 7[or
declared]:
7 [PROVIDED that any person so defined or declared
shall, where the ordinary rate of wages of such person 18[does not
exceed the wage limits specified in sub-section (6) of section 1 of the Payment
of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936), as amended from time to time], be entitled to
extra wages in respect of overtime work under section 59.].
(2) The State Government may make rules in respect of adult
workers in factories providing for the exemption, to such extent and subject to
such conditions as may be prescribed-
(a) of workers engaged on urgent repairs, from
the provisions of sections 51, 52, 54, 55 and 56;
(b) of workers engaged in work in the nature of
preparatory or complementary work which must necessarily be carried on outside
the limits laid down for the general working of the factory, from the
provisions of sections 51, 54, 55, and 56;
(c) of workers 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 by
or under section 55, from the provisions of sections 51, 54, 55 and 56;
(d) of workers engaged in any work which for technical
reasons must be carried on continuously 79[* * *] from the
provisions of sections 51, 52, 54, 55, and 56;
(e) of workers engaged in making or supplying
articles of prime necessity which must be made or supplied every day, from the
provisions of 80[section 51 and section 52];
(f) of workers engaged in a manufacturing
process which cannot be carried on except during fixed seasons, from the
provisions of 5[section 51, section 52 and section 54];
(g) of workers engaged in a manufacturing
process which cannot be carried on except at times dependent on the irregular
action of natural forces, from the provisions of sections 52 and 55;
(h) of workers engaged in engine-rooms or
boiler-houses or in attending to power-plant or transmission machinery, from the
provisions of 81[section 51 and section 52];
3 [( i ) of
workers engaged in the printing of newspapers, who are held up on account of
the breakdown of machinery, from the provisions of sections 51, 54 and 56.
Explanation : In this clause the
expression "newspapers" has the meaning assigned to it in the Press
and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867);
(j) of workers engaged in the loading or
unloading of railway wagons, 7[or lorries or trucks], from the
provisions of sections 51, 52, 54, 55 and 56];
7 [(k) of workers engaged in any work,
which is notified by the State Government in the Official Gazette as a work of
national importance, from the provisions of section 51, section 52, section 54,
section 55 and section 56.]
(3) Rules made under sub-section (2) providing for any exemption
may also provide for any consequential exemption from the provisions of section
61 which the State Government may deem to be expedient, subject to such
conditions as it may prescribe.
6 [(4) In making rules under this section, the State
Government shall not exceed, except in respect of exemption under clause (a) of
sub-section (2), the following limits of work inclusive of overtime:
( i ) the total number
of hours of work in any day shall not exceed ten;
(ii) the spread over, inclusive of intervals
for rest, shall not exceed twelve hours in any one day:
PROVIDED that the State Government may, in
respect of any or all of the categories of workers referred to in clause (d) of
sub-section (2), make rules prescribing the circumstances in which, and the
conditions subject to which, the restrictions imposed by clause (i ) and clause (ii) shall not apply in order to enable a
shift worker to work the whole or part of a subsequent shift in the absence of
a worker who has failed to report for duty;
7 [(iii) the total number of hours of
work in a week, including overtime, shall not exceed sixty;]
82 [(iv)] the total number of hours of
overtime shall not exceed fifty for any one quarter.
Explanation : "Quarter" means a period of three
consecutive months beginning on the 1st of January, the 1st of April, the 1st
of July or the 1st of October.](5) Rules made under this section shall remain in force for not
more than 83[five years].
Back
: "Quarter" means a period of three
consecutive months beginning on the 1st of January, the 1st of April, the 1st
of July or the 1st of October.]
(5) Rules made under this section shall remain in force for not
more than 83[five years].
Section 65
Power to make exempting orders
(1) Where the State 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 worker in any factory or class or
description of factories should be fixed beforehand, it may, by written order,
relax or modify the provisions of section 61 in respect of such workers
therein, 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 State Government or, subject to the control of the State
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 a class or description of factories from any or all of
the provisions of section 51, 52, 54 and 56 on the ground that the exemption is
required to enable the factory or factories to deal with an exceptional press
of work.
84 [(3) Any exemption granted under sub-section (2) shall be
subject to the following conditions, namely-
( i ) the total number
of hours of work in any day shall not exceed twelve;
(ii) the spread over, inclusive of intervals
for rest, shall not exceed thirteen hours in any one day;
(iii) the total number of hours of work in any
week, including overtime, shall not exceed sixty;
(iv) no worker shall be allowed to work
overtime, for more than seven days at a stretch and the total number of hours
of overtime work in any quarter shall not exceed seventy-five.
Explanation : In this sub-section "quarter" has
the same meaning as in sub-section (4) of section 64.]
Section 66
Further restrictions on employment of women
(1) The provisions of this Chapter shall, in their application
to women in factories, be supplemented by the following further restrictions,
namely:
(a) no exemption from the provisions of
section 54 may be granted in respect of any woman;
(b) no woman shall be 86[required
or allowed to work in any factory] except between the hours of 6 A.M. and 7
P.M.:
PROVIDED that the State Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, in respect of 87[any factory
or group or class or description of factories,] vary the limits laid down in
clause (b), but so that no such variation shall authorize the employment of any
woman between the hours of 10 P.M. and 5 A.M.
3 [(c) there shall be no change of shifts
except after a weekly holiday or any other holiday.]
(2) The State Government may make rules providing for the
exemption from the restrictions set out in sub-section (1), to such extent and
subject to such conditions as it may prescribe, of women working in fish-curing
or fish-canning factories, where the employment of women beyond the hours
specified in the said restrictions is necessary to prevent damage to or
deterioration in, any raw material.
(3) The rules made under sub-section (2) shall remain in force
for not more than three years at a time.
Section 67
Prohibition of employment of young children
No child who has not completed his fourteenth year shall be
required or allowed to work in any factory.
Section 68
Non-adult workers to carry tokens
A child who has completed his fourteenth year or an adolescent
shall not be required or allowed to work in any factory unless-
(a) a certificate of fitness granted with reference to him under
section 69 is in the custody of the manager of the factory, and
(b) such child or adolescent carries while he is at work a token
giving a reference to such certificate.
Section 69
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 any young person wishes to work, examine such person and
ascertain his fitness for work in a factory.
(2) The certifying surgeon, after examination, may grant to such
young person, in the prescribed form, or may 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, that he has attained the prescribed physical standards and
that he 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
fifteenth year, and is fit for a full day's work in a factory:
PROVIDED that unless the certifying surgeon has a
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 a 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 a period of twelve
months from the date thereof;
(b) may be made subject to conditions in
regard to the nature of the work in which the young person may be employed, or
requiring re-examination of the young person before the expiry of the period of
twelve months.
(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 or renew 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 thereof, state his reasons in writing for so doing.
(6) Where a certificate 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, his
parents or guardian.
Section 70
Effect of certificate of fitness granted to adolescent
(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
69, and who while at work in a factory carries a token giving reference to the
certificate, shall be deemed to be an adult for all the purposes of Chapters VI
and VIII.
88 [* * *]
13 [(1A) No female adolescent or a male adolescent who has
not attained the age of seventeen years but who has been granted a certificate
of fitness to work in a factory as an adult, shall be required or allowed to
work in any factory except between 6 A.M. and 7 P.M. :
PROVIDED that the State Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, in respect of any factory or group or class or
description of factories,-
( i ) vary the limits
laid down in this sub-section so, however, that no such section shall authorize
the employment of any female adolescent between 10 P.M. and 5 A.M.
(ii) grant exemption from the provisions of
this sub-section in case of serious emergency where national interest is
involved.]
(2) An adolescent who has not been granted a certificate of
fitness to work in a factory as an adult under the aforesaid clause (b) shall,
notwithstanding his age, be deemed to be a child or all the purposes of this
Act.
Section 71
Working hours for children
(1) No child shall be employed or permitted to work in any
factory
(a) for more than four and a half hours in any
day;
6 [(b) during the night.
Explanation :For the purpose of this sub-section
"night" shall mean a period of at least twelve consecutive hours
which shall include the interval between 10 P.M. and 6 P.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
five hours each; and each 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.
(3) The provisions of section 52 shall apply also to child
workers and no exemption from the provisions of that section may be granted in
respect of any child.
(4) 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.
4 [(5) No female child shall be required or allowed to work
in any factory except between 8 A.M. and 7 P.M.].
Section 72
Notice of period of work for children
(1) There shall be displayed and correctly maintained in every
factory in which children are employed, in accordance with the provisions of
sub-section (2) of section 108 a notice of periods of work for children,
showing clearly for every day the periods during which children may be required
or allowed to work.
(2) The periods shown in the notice required by sub-section (1)
shall be fixed beforehand in accordance with the method laid down for adult
workers in section 61, and shall be such that children working for those
periods would not be working in contravention of any of the provisions of
section 71.
(3) The provisions of sub-sections (8), (9) and (10) of section
61 shall apply also to the notice required by sub-section (1) of this section.
Section 73
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 or when any work is being carried on in a
factory, showing,-
(a) the name of each child 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) the number of his certificate of fitness
granted under section 69.
7 [(1A) No child worker shall be required or allowed to work
in any factory unless his name and other particulars have been entered in the
register of child workers.]
(2) The State Government may prescribe 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.
Section 74
Hours of work to correspond with notice under section
72 and register under section 73
No child shall be employed in any factory otherwise than in
accordance with the notice of periods of work for children displayed in the
factory and the entries made beforehand against his name in the register of
child workers of the factory.
Section 75
Power to require medical examination
Where an Inspector is of opinion-
(a) that any person working in a factory without a certificate
of fitness is a young person, or
(b) that a young person 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 young person, as the case may be, shall be examined by a
certifying surgeon, and such person or young person shall not, if the Inspector
so directs, be employed, or permitted 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 69, or has been
certified by the certifying surgeon examining him not to be a young person.
Section 76
Power to make rules
The State Government may make rules-
(a) prescribing the forms of certificates of fitness to be
granted under section 69, providing for the grant of duplicates in the event of
loss of the original certificates, 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;
(c) regulating the procedure of certifying surgeons under this
Chapter;
(d) specifying other duties which certifying surgeons may be
required to perform in connection with the employment of young persons in
factories, and fixing the fees which may be charged for such duties and the
persons by whom they shall be payable.
Section 77
Certain other provisions of law not barred
The provisions of this Chapter shall be in addition to, and not
in derogation of, the provisions of the Employment of Children Act, 1938 (26 of
1938).
Section 78
Application of Chapter
(1) The provisions of this Chapter shall not operate to the
prejudice of any right to which a worker may be entitled under any other law or
under the terms of any award, 89[agreement (including settlement)]
or contract of service:
90 [PROVIDED that if such award, agreement (including
settlement) or contract of service provides for a longer annual leave with
wages than provided in this Chapter, the quantum of leave, which the worker
shall be entitled to, shall be in accordance with such award, agreement or
contract of service, but in relation to matters not provided for in such award,
agreement or contract of service or matters which are provided for less
favorably therein, the provisions of sections 79 to 82, so far as may be, shall
apply.]
(2) The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to workers 91[in
any factory]of any railway administered by the government, who are governed by
leave rules approved by the Central Government.
Section 79
Annual leave with wages
(1) Every worker who has worked for a period of 240 days or more
in a factory during a calendar year shall be allowed during the subsequent
calendar year, leave with wages for a number of days calculated at the rate of-
( i ) if an adult, one
day for every twenty days of work performed by him during the previous calendar
year;
(ii) if a child, one day for every fifteen
days of work performed by him during the previous calendar year.
Explanation 1 : For the purpose of this sub-section-
(a) any days of lay-off, by agreement or contract or as
permissible under the standing orders;
(b) in the case of a female worker, maternity leave for any
number of days not exceeding twelve weeks; and
(c) the leave earned in the year prior to that in which the
leave is enjoyed;
shall be deemed to be days on which the worker has worked in a
factory for the purpose of computation of the period of 240 days or more, but
shall not earn leave for these days.
Explanation 2 : The leave admissible under this
sub-section shall be exclusive of all holidays whether occurring during or at
either end of the period of leave.
(2) A worker whose service commences otherwise than on the first
day of January shall be entitled to leave with wages at the rate laid down in
clause ( i ) or, as the case may be, clause (ii) of
sub-section (1) if he has worked for two-thirds of the total number of days in
the remainder of the calendar year.
90 [(3) If a worker is discharged or dismissed from service
or quits his employment or is superannuated or dies while in service, during
the course of the calendar year, he or his heir or nominee, as the case may be,
shall be entitled to wages in lieu of the quantum of leave to which he was
entitled immediately before his discharge, dismissal, quitting of employment,
superannuation or death calculated at the rates specified in sub-section (1),
even if he had not worked for the entire period specified in sub-section (1) or
sub-section (2) making him eligible to avail of such leave, and such payment
shall be made-
( i ) where the worker
is discharged or dismissed or quits employment, before the expiry of the second
working day from the date of such discharge, dismissal, or quitting; and
(ii) where the worker is superannuated or dies
while in service, before the expiry of two months from the date of such
superannuation or death.]
(4) In calculating leave under this section, fraction of leave
of half a day or more shall be treated as one full day's leave, and fraction of
less than half a day shall be omitted.
(5) If a worker does not in any one calendar year take the whole
of the leave allowed to him under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), as the
case may be, any leave not taken by him shall be added to the leave to be
allowed to him in the succeeding calendar year:
PROVIDED that the total number of days of leave that
may be carried forward to a succeeding year shall not exceed thirty in the case
of an adult or forty in the case of a child:
PROVIDED FURTHER that a worker, who has applied for leave with
wages but has not been given such leave in accordance with any scheme laid down
in sub-section (8) and (9) 92[or in contravention of sub-section
(10)] shall be entitled to carry forward the 93[leave refused]
without any limit.
(6) A worker may at any time apply in writing to the manager of
a factory not less than fifteen days before the date on which he wishes his
leave to begin, to take all the leave or any portion thereof allowable to him
during the calendar year:
PROVIDED that the application shall be made not less
than thirty days before the date on which the worker wishes his leave to begin,
if he is employed in a public utility service as defined in clause (n) of
section 2 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947):
PROVIDED FURTHER that the number of times in which leave may be
taken during any year shall not exceed three.
(7) If a worker wants to avail himself of the leave with wages
due to him to cover a period of illness, he shall be granted such leave even if
the application for leave is not made within the time specified in sub-section
(6); and in such a case wages as admissible under section 81 shall be paid not
later than fifteen days, or in the case of a public utility service not later
than thirty days from the date of the application for leave.
(8) For the purpose of ensuring the continuity of work, the
occupier or manager of the factory, in agreement with the Works Committee of
the factory constituted under section 3 of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947
(14 of 1947), or a similar Committee constituted under any other Act or if
there is no such Works Committee or a similar Committee in the factory, in
agreement with the representatives of the workers therein chosen in the
prescribed manner, may lodge with the Chief Inspector a scheme in writing
whereby the grant of leave allowable under this section may be regulated.
(9) A scheme lodged under sub-section (8) shall be displayed at
some conspicuous and convenient places in the factory and shall be in force for
a period of twelve months from the date on which it comes into force, and may
thereafter be renewed with or without modifications for a further period of
twelve months at a time, by the manager in agreement with the Works Committee
or a similar Committee, or as the case may be, in agreement with the
representatives of the workers as specified in sub-section (8), and a notice of
renewal shall be sent to the Chief Inspector before it is renewed.
(10) An application for leave which does not contravene the
provisions of sub-section (6) shall not be refused, unless refusal is in
accordance with the scheme for the time being in operation under sub-sections
(8) and (9).
(11) If the employment of a worker who is entitled to leave
under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), as the case may be, is terminated by
the occupier before he has taken the entire leave to which he is entitled, or
if having applied for and having not been granted such leave, the worker quits
his employment before he has taken the leave, the occupier of the factory shall
pay him the amount payable under section 80 in respect of the leave not taken,
and such payment shall be made, where the employment of the worker is
terminated by the occupier, before the expiry of the second working day after
such termination, and where a worker who quits his employment, on or before the
next pay day.
(12) The unveiled leave of a worker shall not be taken into
consideration in computing the period of any notice required to be given before
discharge or dismissal.
Section 80
Wages during leave period
(1) For the leave allowed to him under 94[section 78
or section 79, as the case may be] a worker 95[shall be entitled to
wages] at a rate equal to the daily average of his total full time earnings for
the days on which 96[he actually worked] during the month
immediately preceding his leave, exclusive of any overtime and bonus but
inclusive of dearness allowance and the cash equivalent of the advantage
accruing through the concessional sale to the worker
of food grains and other articles:
97 [PROVIDED that in the case of a worker who has not
worked on any day during the calendar month immediately preceding his leave, he
shall be paid at a rate equal to the daily average of his total full time
earnings for the days on which he actually worked during the last calendar
month preceding his leave, in which he actually worked, exclusive of any
overtime and bonus but inclusive of dearness allowance and the cash equivalent
of the advantage accruing through the concessional
sale to the workers of food grains and other articles.]
(2) The cash equivalent of the advantage accruing through the concessional sale to the worker of food grains and other
articles shall be computed as often as may be prescribed, on the basis of the
maximum quantity of food grains and other articles admissible to a standard
family.
Explanation 1 : "Standard family" means
family consisting of a worker, his or her spouse and two children below the age
of fourteen years requiring in all three adult consumption units.
Explanation 2 : "Adult consumption unit"
means the consumption unit of a male above the age of fourteen years; and the
consumption unit of a female above the age of fourteen years and that of a
child below the age of fourteen years shall be calculated at the rates of .8
and .6 respectively of one adult consumption unit.
(3) The State Government may make rules prescribing-
(a) the manner in which the cash equivalent of
the advantage accruing through the confessional sale to a worker of food grains
and other articles shall be computed; and
(b) the registers that shall be maintained in
a factory for the purpose of securing compliance with the provisions of this
section.
Section 81
Payment in advance in certain cases
A 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, shall before
his leave begins, be paid the wages due for the period of the leave allowed.
Section 82
Mode of recovery of unpaid wages
Any sum required to be paid by an employer, under this Chapter
but not paid by him shall be recoverable as delayed wages under the provisions
of the payment of Wages Act, 1936 (4 of 1936).
Section 83
Power to make rules
The State Government may make rules directing managers of
factories to keep registers containing such particulars as may be prescribed
and requiring the registers to be made available for examination by Inspectors.
Section 84
Power to exempt factories
Where the State Government is satisfied that the leave rules
applicable to workers in a factory provide benefits which in its opinion are
not less favorable than those for which this Chapter makes provision, it may,
by written order, exempt the factory from all or any of the provisions of this
Chapter subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order.]
7 Explanation : For the purposes of this section, in
deciding whether the benefits which are provided for by any leave rules are
less favorable than those for which this Chapter makes provision, or not, the
totality of the benefits shall be taken into account.]
Section 85
Power to apply the Act to certain premises
(1) The State 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 carried on with or without the aid
of power or is so ordinarily carried on, notwithstanding that
( i ) the number of
persons employed therein is less than ten, if working with the aid of power and
less than twenty if working without the aid of power, or
(ii) the persons working therein are not
employed by the owner thereof but are working with the permission of, or under
agreement with, such owner:
PROVIDED that the manufacturing process is not being
carried on by the owner only with the aid of his family.
(2) After a place is so declared, it shall be deemed to be a
factory for the purposes of this Act, and the owner shall be deemed to be the
occupier, and any person working therein, a worker.
Explanation : For the purposes of
this section, "owner" shall include a lessee or mortgagee with possession of the
premises.
Section 86
Power to exempt public institutions
The State Government may exempt, subject to such conditions as
it may consider necessary, any workshop or workplace where a manufacturing
process is carried on and which is attached to a public institution, maintained
for the purposes of education, 98[training, research] or
reformation, from all or any of the provisions of this Act:
PROVIDED that no exemption shall be granted from the
provisions relating to hours of work and holidays, unless the persons having
the control of the institution submit, for the approval of the State
Government, a scheme for the regulation of the hours of employment, intervals
for meals, and holidays of the persons employed in or attending the institution
or who are inmates of the institution, and the State Government is satisfied
that the provisions of the scheme are not less favorable than the corresponding
provisions of this Act.
Section 87
Dangerous operations
Where the State Government is of opinion that any 99[manufacturing
process or operation] carried on in a factory exposes any persons employed in
it to a serious risk of bodily injury, poisoning or disease, it may make rules
applicable to any factory or class or description of factories in which the 99[manufacturing
process or operation] is carried on-
(a) specifying the 99[manufacturing process or
operation] and declaring it to be dangerous;
(b) prohibiting or restricting the employment of women,
adolescents or children in the 99[manufacturing process or
operation];
(c) providing for the periodical medical examination of persons
employed, or seeking to be employed in the 99[manufacturing process
or operation], and prohibiting the employment of persons not certified as fit
for such employment 31[and requiring the payment by the occupier of
the factory of fees for such medical examination];
(d) providing for the protection of all persons employed in the
99[manufacturing process or operation] or in the vicinity of the places
where it is carried on;
(e) prohibiting, restricting or controlling the use of any
specified materials or processes in connection with the 99[manufacturing
process or operation];
31 [(f) requiring the provision of additional welfare
amenities and sanitary facilities and the supply of protective equipment and
clothing, and laying down the standards thereof, having regard to the dangerous
nature of the manufacturing process or operation.]
Section 88
Notice of certain accidents
101 [(1) Where in any factory an accident occurs which causes
death, or which causes any bodily injury by reason of which the person injured
is prevented from working for a period of forty-eight hours or more immediately
following the accident, or which is of such nature as may be prescribed in this
behalf, the manager of the factory shall send notice thereof to such
authorities, and in such form and within such time, as may be prescribed.
31 [(2) Where a notice given under sub-section (1) relates to
an accident causing death, the authority to whom the notice is sent shall make
an inquiry into the occurrence within one month of the receipt of the notice
or, if such authority is not the Inspector, cause the Inspector to make an inquiry
within the said period.
(3) The State Government may make rules for regulating the
procedure at inquiries under this section.]
Section 89
Notice of certain diseases
(1) Where any worker in a factory contracts any disease
specified in 103[the Third Schedule], the manager of the factory
shall send notice thereof to such authorities and 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 the medical
practitioner to be, suffering from any disease specified in 103[the
Third Schedule], the medical practitioner shall without delay send a report in
writing to the office of 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, and
(c) the name and address of the factory in
which the patient is, or was, last employed.
(3) Where the report under sub-section (2) is confirmed to the
satisfaction of the Chief Inspector, by the certificate of a Certifying surgeon
or otherwise, that the person is suffering from a disease specified in 104[the
Third Schedule], he shall pay to the medical practitioner such fee as may be
prescribed, and the fee so paid shall be recoverable as an arrear of land
revenue from the occupier of the factory in which the person contracted the
disease.
(4) If any medical practitioner fails to comply with the
provisions of sub-section (2), he shall be punishable with fine which may
extend to 105[one thousand rupees].
106 [(5) The Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, add to or alter the Third Schedule and any such addition or
alteration shall have effect as if it had been made by this Act.]
Section 90
Power to direct enquiry into cases of accident or
disease
(1) The State Government may, if it considers it expedient so to
do, appoint a competent person to inquire into the causes of any accident
occurring in a factory or into any case where a disease specified in 104[the
Third 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 inquiry.
(2) The person appointed to hold an inquiry under this section
shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure,
1908 (5 of 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 inquiry, exercise any of the
powers of an Inspector under this Act; and every person required by the person
making the inquiry to furnish any information shall be deemed to be legally
bound so to do within the meaning of section 176 of the Indian Penal Code (45
of 1860).
(3) The person holding an inquiry under this section shall make
a report to the State Government stating the causes of the accident, or as the
case may be, disease, and any attendant circumstances, and adding any
observations which he or any of the assessors may think fit to make.
(4) The State Government may, if it thinks fit, cause to be
published any report made under this section or any extracts there from.
(5) The State Government may make rules for regulating the
procedure as inquiries under this section.
Section 91
Power to take samples
(1) An Inspector may at any time during the normal working hours
of a factory, after informing the occupier or manager of the factory or other
person for the time being purporting to be in charge 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-
(a) in the belief of the Inspector in
contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder , or
(b) in the opinion of the Inspector likely to
cause bodily injury to, 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 that sub-section unless
such person willfully 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 thereto.
(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;
(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.
Section 92
General penalty for offences
Save as is otherwise expressly provided in this Act and subject
to the provisions of section 93, if in, or in respect of, any factory there is
any contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or of any rules made thereunder or of any order in writing given thereunder , the occupier and manager of the factory shall
each be guilty of an offence and punishable with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to 108[two years] or with fine which may extend to 109[one
lakh rupees] or with both and if the contravention is
continued after conviction, with a further fine which may extend to 110[one
thousand rupees] for each day on which the contravention is so continued:
7 [PROVIDED that where contravention of any of the
provisions of Chapter IV or any rule made thereunder
or under section 87 has resulted in an accident causing death or serious bodily
injury, the fine shall not be less than 111[twenty-five thousand
rupees] in the case of an accident causing death, and 112[five
thousand rupees] in the case of an accident causing serious bodily injury.
Explanation : In this section and in section 94
"serious bodily injury" means an injury which involves, or in all
probability will involve, the permanent loss of the use of, or permanent injury
to, any limb or the permanent loss of, or injury to, sight or hearing, or the
fracture of any bone, but shall not include, the fracture of bone or joint (not
being fracture of more than one bone or joint) of any phalanges of the hand or
foot.]
Section 93
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 State 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 separate 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 insofar 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 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 approved in the premises.
(4) The Chief Inspector shall have, subject to the control of
the State Government, power to issue orders to the owner of the premises in
respect of the carrying out 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 provisions and maintenance of
latrines, urinals and washing facilities.
(6) The Chief Inspector shall have, subject to the control of
the State Government, the power 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 46 or section 48.
(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 provisions of-
( i ) Chapter III,
except sections 14 and 15;
(ii)Chapter IV, except sections 22, 23, 27,
34, 35 and 36 :
PROVIDED that in respect of the provisions of
sections 21, 24 and 32 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 42.
(8) The Chief Inspector shall have, subject to the control of
the State Government, power to issue orders to the owner of the premises in
respect of the carrying out of 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 single factory.]
Section 94
Enhanced penalty after previous conviction
113 [(1)] If any person who has been convicted of any offence
punishable under section 92 is again guilty of an offence involving a
contravention of the same provision, he shall be punishable on a subsequent
conviction with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 114[three
years] or with fine 5[which shall not be less than 115[ten
thousand rupees] but which may extend to 116[two lakh
rupees] or with both:
117 [PROVIDED that the court may, for any adequate and
special reasons to be mentioned in the judgment, impose a fine of less than 118[ten
thousand rupees]:
PROVIDED FURTHER that where contravention of any of the
provisions of Chapter IV or any rule made thereunder
or under section 87 has resulted in an accident causing death or serious bodily
injury, the fine shall not be less than 119[thirty-five thousand
rupees] in the case of an accident causing death and 120[ten
thousand rupees] in the case of an accident causing serious bodily injury].
7 [(2) For the purposes of sub-section (1), no cognizance
shall be taken of any conviction made more than two years before the commission
of the offence for which the person is subsequently being convicted.]
Section 95
Penalty for obstructing Inspector
Whoever willfully obstructs an Inspector in the exercise of any
power conferred on him by or under this Act, or fails to produce on demand by
an Inspector any registers or other documents 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 121[Six months] or with fine which may extend to
122[ten thousand rupees] or with both.
Section 96
Penalty for wrongfully disclosing results of analysis
under section 91
Whoever, except in so far as it may be necessary for the
purposes of a prosecution for any offence punishable under this Act, publishes
or discloses to any person the results of an analysis made under section 91,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 123[six
months] or with fine which may extend to 124[ten thousand rupees] or
with both.
Section 97
Offences by workers
(1) Subject to the provisions of section 111, if any worker
employed in a factory contravenes any provisions of this Act or any rules or
orders made thereunder , imposing any duty or
liability on workers, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to 125[five
hundred rupees].
(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.
Section 98
Penalty for using false certificate of fitness
Whoever knowingly uses or attempts to use, as a certificate of
fitness granted to himself under section 70, a certificate granted to another
person under that section, or who, having procured such a certificate,
knowingly allows it to be used, or an attempt to use it to be made, by another
person, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 126[two
months] or with fine which may extend to 126[one thousand rupees] or
with both.
Section 99
Penalty for permitting double employment of 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 of or control over him or obtaining any direct benefit
from his wages, shall be punishable with fine which may extend to 126[one
thousand rupees], unless it appears to the Court that the child so worked
without the consent or connivance of such parent, guardian or person.
