UNREGULATED FACTORIES, 93
The number of establishments of this kind cannot be given with
complete accuracy since, unlike the position in respect of the bigger
factories, the aggregate number is considerable and fluctuates conti-
nuously. But, from approximate figures furnished to us by most of the
local Governments, we estimate that the number which employ more than
nine and less than twenty persons is not less than two thousand.
Extent of Regulation Recommended.
The effective application of the Factories Act to these factories
ab this stage would involve serious practical difficulties. We therefore
recommend the general extension to them of only a few sections of the
Factories Act. We are anxious to limit, for the present, the burden which
the inspection of these factories would involve, and believe that the
imitation proposed is justified by the fact that in most of them there is
Little occasion for the enforcement of number of provisions contained in
the Factories Act. Further, many of the owners or managers are unedu-
cated and would find it difficult to maintain any elaborate registers,
We recommend that the only operative sections of the Factories
Act which should apply automatically, .e., by law, without the issue
of a notification, to these factories are section 5 (giving inspectors
powers of entry), Chapter III (relating to health and safety) but
excluding sections 12 and 15, section 37 (relating to rules) and the
appropriate parts of Chapter VIII with section 50 (relating to penalties
and procedure). The provincial Governments would retain the power,
which they have at present, of applying the Factories Act in, extenso to any
such factory, and in addition they should be given authority to extend any
selected sections, other than those automatically applied. These powers
might be used, for example, to give protection to children in respect of
hours, or to check excessive hours generally, or to secure holidays, as
necessity arises. Mr Joshi and Diwan Chaman Lall consider that those
sections of the Factories Act relating to hours and the weekly rest day
should be applied and extended to all factories employing more than
3 persons.
The Criterion of Numbers.
The recommendations made above are intended to apply to
factories using power and employing not less than 10 but less than 20
persons. We also advocate that provincial Governments he given power
bo apply the sections specified above to similar places employing less than
10 persons where they have reason to believe that the conditions prevail-
ing constitute a danger to life or lim}. Finally, we recommend that the
criterion for determining the number of workers employed in such places
shall be the aggregate number employed for any part of the 24 hours and
not, as at present, the number employed at any given moment, i.e.
“simultaneously ”, Quy attention has been directed to the fact that a
number of factories employing many more than 20 persons escape the
provisions of the Act by dividing the workers into shifts.
Main Defects of Factories not Using Power.
We now come to the consideration of rlaces where no power is
used but where anv number of workers mav be employed. even as many gg