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; [1] [(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; [2] [(ca) "competent person", in relation to any provision of
this Act, means a
person or an institution recognised as such by the Chief Inspector for the
purposes of carrying out tests, examinations and inspection 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
recognised 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 or 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 [3] [(ii) pumping oil, water, sewage or any other substance; or] (iii) ??generating, transforming or transmitting
power; or [4] [(iv) composing types for printing, printing by letter
press, lithography, photogravure or other similar process or
book binding;] [5]
[or] (v) constructing,
reconstructing, repairing, refitting, finishing or breaking up ships or
vessels; [6]
[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 [9][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 [10]
[the Mines Act, 1952 (35 of 1952)],
or [11]
[a mobile unit belonging to the armed forces of the Union, railway running shed
or a hotel), restaurant or eating place]. [12] [Explanation [13]
[I]--For computing the number of workers for the purposes of this clause all
the workers in [14]
[different groups and relays] in a day shall be taken into account;] [15] [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;] [STATE
AMENDMENTS [Uttar Pradesh [16] [In Section 2 of the Factories Act, 1948 as amended in its application to Uttar Pradesh,
hereinafter referred to as the principal Act, in clause (m),-- (i) in
sub-clause (i), for the words "ten or more", the words "twenty
or more" shall be substituted; (ii) in
sub-clause (ii), for the words "twenty or more", the words
"forty or more" shall be substituted.]] (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 [17]
[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 [18]
[or declared]: [19] [Provided that any person so defined or declared shall,
where the ordinary rate of wages of such person [20]
[does not exceed the wage limit 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 [21]
[***] 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 [22] [section 51 and section 52]; (f)
of workers
engaged in a manufacturing process which cannot be carried on except during
fixed sections, from the provisions of [23] [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 [24] [section 51 and section 52]; [25] [(i) of workers engaged in the printing of newspapers, who arc 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, [26]
[or lorries or trucks] from the provisions of
sections 51, 52, 54, 55 and 56]; [27] [(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. [28] (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; [29] [(iii) the, total number of hours of work in a week, including
overtime, shall not exceed sixty;] [30] [(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 [31]
[five years]. STATE AMENDMENT [Uttar Pradesh [32] [In Section 64 of the principal Act, in sub-section (4), in clause (iv) for the word
"fifty", the words "one hundred" shall be
substituted." (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 workers 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 Stale Government,
the Chief Inspector may by written order exempt, on such conditions as it or he
may deem expedient, any or all of the adult workers in any factory or group or
class or description of factories from
any or all of the provisions of sections 51 , 52 , 54 and 56 on Ike ground that
the exemption is required to enable the factory or factories to deal with an exceptional press of work. [33] [(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 .] [34] [***] [STATE AMENDMENTS [Uttar Pradesh [35] [In Section 65 of the principal Act, in sub-section (3), in clause (iv) for the words "seventy-five"
the words "one hundred fifteen " shall be substituted.] (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 [36]
[required or allowed to work in any factory] except between the hours
of 6A.M. and 7 P.M. : Provided that the State Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, in respect of [37]
[any factory or group or class or description of factories,] very 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. : [38] [(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. [STATE AMENDMENTS [Uttar Pradesh [39] [In Section 66 of the principal Act, in sub-section (1), in clause (b) for the existing proviso,
the following proviso shall be substituted, namely-- "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 vary
the limits laid down in this clause and such variation may authorise the
employment of any woman between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. mentioning
therein the provisions for the safety and facilities of the woman to be given
to her." No Court shall take cognizance of any offence
punishable under this Act unless
complaint thereof is made within three months of the date on which the alleged
commission of the offence came to the knowledge of an Inspector: Provided that where the offence consists of disobeying
a written order made by an Inspector, complaint thereof may be made within six
months of the date on which the offence is alleged to have been committed. [40] [Explanation.--For the purposes of this section,-- (a)
in the case of
a continuing offence, the period of limitation shall be computed with reference
to every point of time during which the offence continues ; (b)
where for the
performance of any act time
is granted or extended on an application made by the occupier or manager of a
factory, the period of limitation shall be computed from the date on which the
time so granted or extended expired.] STATE AMENDMENT [41]Uttar Pradesh : After section 106, insert the following section.-- "106A. Compounding in offences.--The Inspector
may, subject to any general or special order of the State Government in this
behalf, compound any offences punishable under this Act with fine only, and committed
for the first time, either before or after the institution of the prosecution,
on realisation of such amount of composition fee as he thinks fit not
exceeding the maximum amount of fine fixed for the offence; and where the
offence is so compounded,-- (i) before
the institution of the prosecution, the offender shall not be liable to
prosecution, for such offence and shall, if in custody, be set at liberty; (ii) after
the institution of the prosecution the composition shall amount to acquittal of
the offender." [1]
Inserted by Act 25 of 1954, section 2 (w.e.f. 7-5-1954). [2]
Inserted by Act 20 of 1987, section 2 (w.e.f. 1-12-1987). [3]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, for Sub-clause (ii) of clause (ii)
(w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [4]
Substituted by Act 25 of 1954, section 2, for sub-clause (iv) (w.e.f.
7-5-1954). [5]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [6]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [7]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [8]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, for Sub-clause (ii) of clause (ii)
(w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [9]
Inserted by Act 20 of 1987, section 2 (w.e.f. 1-12-1987). [10]
Substituted by Act 25 of 1954, section 2, for "the Indian Mines Act, 1923 (4 of 1923)" [11]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, for " a railway running
shed" (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [12]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 2, (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [13]
Explanation numbered as Explanation I by Act 20 of 1987, section 2 (w.e.f.
1-12-1987). [14]
Substituted by Act 20 of 1987, section 2 for "different relays"
(w.e.f. 1-12-1987). [15]
Inserted by Act 20 of 1987, section 2 (w.e.f. 1-12-1987). [16]
Inserted by Factories (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Act, 2017. [17]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [18]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [19]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [20]
Substituted by Act 20 of 1987, 21, for "does not exceed rupees
seven hundred and fifty per month" (w.e.f. 1-12-1987). [21]
Omitted by Act 25 of 1954, section 15 for the
words "throughout the day". [22]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 for "section
52" (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [23]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 for "section
52" (w.e.f.
26-10-1976). [24]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 for "section 52" (w.e.f.
26-10-1976). [25]
Added by Act 25
of 1954, section 15 (w.e.f. 7-5-194). [26]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [27]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [28]
Substituted by Act 25 of 1954, section 15, for sub-section (4) (w.e.f.
7-5-1954). [29]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [30]
Clause (iii) re-numbered as clause (iv) by act 94 of 1976, section
27 (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [31]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 27, for "three years" (w.e.f.
26-10-1976). [32]
Substituted by Factories (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Act, 2017. [33]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 28, for sub-section (3) (w.e.f.
26-10-1976.) [34]
Sub-section (4) omitted by Act 94 of 1976, section 28
(w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [35]
Substituted by Factories (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Act, 2017. [36]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 29, for "employed in any
factory" (w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [37]
Substituted by Act 94 of 1976, section 29, for "any class or
description of factories"
(w.e.f. 26-10-1976). [38]
Inserted by Act 25 of 1954, section 17 (w.e.f. 7-5-1954). [39]
Substituted by Factories (Uttar Pradesh Amendment) Act, 2017. [40]
Inserted by Act 94 of 1976, section 43 (w.e.f.
26-10-1976). [41]
Vide Uttar Pradesh Act, 35 of 1979, section 4 (w.e.f. 21-12-1979).FACTORIES ACT, 1948 (UTTAR PRADESH AMENDMENT)