What are the safety and health provisions that a women should know?
According to the General Census 200, more than 127,220,248 individuals are women in the workforce. Among these stats, 28 million women work in the work offices in urban areas and 121.8 million women do their job in rural areas with a total existence of 149.8 million female workers in India. All the Women of our country irrespective of their color, age, caste, and religion, are said to be an important part of the office work. Undoubtedly, a large chunk of women goes through discrimination in their jobs places. They were harassed and suppressed whenever she questioned others about doing a certain job. Despite numerous laws against discrimination faced by women, still there are plenty of them who face it every day. People think women are less capable of working in the workplace as compared to men.
According to one of the points mentioned in Article 15 of 'The Constitution of India,' no discrimination at all should be taking place at any cost based on gender in all spheres of life starting from job, home, or decision making. Despite the declaration, most women still undergo partiality, disrespect, and discrimination at the time when they work in offices or factories. Even though the Factories Act, of 1948 delivers the welfare rights for every woman and has made several provisions in concern with the safety of women, good health of women, and the well-being of women along with other benefits, the act is sitting still behind in most of the regions.
In this article, you are going to learn about the safety and health provisions that every woman in India should be aware of. Once you are aware, you can fight against all the odds.
What are the safety and health provisions that a woman should know?
Here are the detailed listed health & safety provisions for every woman as per the factory act, 1948. Let's understand each of them in detail from the section beneath -
Section 34: Excessive weights: Under section 34, the state government has the authority to state the actual weight number that can be lifted by men, women, or younger people at the workplace according to their capabilities. The major reason behind it is to discard the extra pressure on women's health. Also, if any weight lifting seems obvious that it might ruin the health of people and lead to injury, then it can't be avoided at all costs. If anybody is caught forcing women or the younger generation in the work area regarding the forceful heavy lifting of machinery or other equipment, then they are subject to serious repercussions under the law.
Section 19: Latrines and urinals: According to Section 19 of the Factories Act, every factory needs to develop enough latrines and urinal areas for both men and women so that they are safe from any harassment, shame, and embarrassment at the workplace where they work. Moreover, it also commands that these restrooms should be different for men and women. It should be sanitized, clean, and in proper hygienic condition. Workers are allowed to use them every second of the day without any permission.
Section 27: Prohibition of employment of women and children near cotton openers: Section 27 under this act, restricts women from areas and work of opening or pressing the cotton or wherever the cotton openers are used. The overall purpose behind is to sustain the good health of women and safeguard them from unseen injuries at the factory place. Cotton bales are prone to igniting the flames at lightning speed. It might injure women if done uncarefully. The overall motive is also to stave off burn-related injuries. As before many incidents have taken place where women have lost their lives due to catching fire all around from wet cotton bales.
Section 22: Work on or near machinery in motion: According to the factory act, it has been made very obvious that under Section 22, if the lubrication of machinery is required when it's in motion, then no woman or any other younger person should be asked to work on it. The main motive behind it is to save women from unwanted injury or other dangers of fireworks at the workplace. The new provision under section 22 is focused on providing health-related safety to all women and young children. All the motion machinery related items should be handled by the men themselves.
The lacunae in the Factories Act, 1948: Women have been underpaid and fired straight away, especially during the covid-19 pandemic lockdown. It generally takes place in the clothes and garments factory. The majority of the women were asked not to enter the office premises due to the pandemic. But, due to the severe money issues, they had to rejoin the companies after a few months and agree to the low salary. Being the only earning members, and with the responsibility to feed their children, they had to work beyond their capability, rights, and freedoms. It took a severe toll on the health of the women workers.
Key Takeaways
Women in the factories have been going through a lot of struggles. They are either denied to get the job or are asked to join with several conditions in place. Women in most areas are still provided jobs at bare minimum prices that are half the normal wage irrespective of what they truly deserve. Although, the legislature has taken several measures and steps to overcome this problem. Yet, we can see that these benefits are available only on papers and writing that is not yet implemented in a real-life scenario. Through the serious measures adopted by the United Nations Welfare schemes as well as the women's care bodies and NGOs for women, the females of India are marching forward towards a better world where they are getting what they truly deserve. The government should keep a timely check on such laws and keep them implemented now and then for the overall welfare of women.
References
https://blog.ipleaders.in/employment-women-factories-factories-act-1948/?amp=1