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CHAPTER IV.—HOURS IN FACTORIES. 
This chapter deals with hours in factories; we are concerned 
mainly with the operation of the relevant provisions of the Indian Fac- 
bories Act and make proposals for their amendment. The Act applies 
to both perennial and seasonal factories ; but in this, as in the preceding 
chapters, the discussion excludes those factories which do not work 
for the greater part of the year. We also reserve for later consider- 
ation the smaller factories, i.e., those employing less ‘than 20 persons, 
and the establishments in which no mechanical power is used, although 
a few of these are at present subject to the Act, 
The Present Law. 
Between 1875 and 1908 factory legislation was the subject of 
investigation by four Commissions or Committees and particular gues- 
tions concerning factory labour have come under review, either locally or 
generally, at different times before and after 1908. Factories Acts were 
passed in 1881, 1891, 1911, 1922, 1923 and 1926, and the present law is 
derived from the last four Acts. As few of the more important provisions 
now in force go back earlier than 1922, we confine ourselves to references 
to the history of the more important provisions as they come under 
discussion. Adult hours are ordinarily restricted to 11 per day and 60 
per week. So far as women are concerned, the daily limit dates from 
1891. In the case of men, a daily limit of 12 hours for textile factories 
was introduced in 1911, and this limit was reduced to 11 hours and 
sxtended to non-textile factories in 1922, when the more important 
weekly limit of 60 hours was introduced. The latter limitation was 
based on a special provision relating to India in the International Labour 
Convention dealing with hours of work, which was adopted at Washington 
in 1919 and ratified by India in 1921 ; but the operatives in some of the 
leading centres had secured a 60 hour week before it was embodied 
in the law, and employers generally advocated or consented to its intro- 
duction. The special article relating to India in the Washington Con- 
vention concludes with the words, “further provisions limiting the 
hours of work in India shall be considered at a future meeting of the 
General Conference.” 
Statistics of Hours, 
Before examining the desirability or possibility of amending 
the law, we review briefly the existing position in respect of working 
hours in perennial factorics. When no date is given, our statements 
refer to the position in 1929, before the present depression set in. The 
annual statistics of factories contain statements for each province showing 
the number of factories in which normal weekly hours fall within 
specified limits, and we give the all-Tndia figures below. 
Number of factories in whi 
Sin which normal weekly | For men. 
Not above 48 .. ve ws 
Above 48 and not above 54 .. wr 
Above R4 
2,164 1,723 
1,008 658 
Can 9087