Section 41B of the Factories Act 1948 - Compulsory Disclosure of Information by the Occupier
Section 41B formed part of Chapter IVA of the Factories Act, 1948 and imposed special disclosure, health and safety, emergency-planning and hazardous-substance duties on the occupier of a factory involving a hazardous process.
Meaning and purpose of former Section 41B
The provision required an occupier of a factory involving a hazardous process to communicate information about dangers and health hazards, disclose waste-related information, maintain a health and safety policy, prepare an on-site emergency plan, notify the competent inspectorate before starting a hazardous process, and prescribe measures for safe handling, use, transport, storage and disposal of hazardous substances.
Key terms
Occupier: Under the Factories Act framework, the occupier was the person having ultimate control over the affairs of the factory, subject to the statutory rules applicable to firms, companies and government-owned factories.
Hazardous process: The Factories Act used this expression for specified industrial processes where, unless special care was taken, raw materials, intermediate or finished products, by-products, wastes or effluents could materially impair workers' health or pollute the general environment.
Disclosure: For Section 41B, disclosure extended beyond workers. Depending on the subsection, information was also required to reach the Chief Inspector, the local authority and the general public living in the vicinity.
Former Section 41B - statutory requirements
Sub-section (1): The occupier of every factory involving a hazardous process was required to disclose, in the prescribed manner, information regarding dangers, including health hazards, and measures to overcome hazards arising from exposure to or handling of materials or substances in manufacture, transportation, storage and other processes. The disclosure was to be made to workers, the Chief Inspector, the local authority and the general public in the vicinity.
Sub-section (2): At the time of registering a factory involving a hazardous process, the occupier had to lay down a detailed policy concerning workers' health and safety, intimate it to the Chief Inspector and local authority, and thereafter communicate changes at prescribed intervals.
Sub-section (3): Information furnished under sub-section (1) had to include accurate particulars regarding the quantity, specification and other characteristics of wastes and the manner of their disposal.
Sub-section (4): With the approval of the Chief Inspector, the occupier had to draw up an on-site emergency plan and detailed disaster-control measures and make the relevant accident-safety measures known to workers and the public living in the vicinity.
Sub-section (5): Factories already engaged in a hazardous process when the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1987 commenced had a thirty-day notification requirement. A factory proposing to begin a hazardous process thereafter had to inform the Chief Inspector about the nature and details of the process at least thirty days before commencement, in the prescribed form and manner.
Sub-section (6): Contravention of sub-section (5) could expose the factory licence issued under Section 6 to cancellation, in addition to any other penalty under the Act.
Sub-section (7): With previous approval of the Chief Inspector, the occupier had to lay down measures for handling, use, transportation and storage of hazardous substances inside the factory and their disposal outside the factory, and publicise those measures among workers and the general public living in the vicinity in the prescribed manner.
Section 41B compliance at a glance
| Requirement | Former Section 41B duty |
|---|---|
| Hazard communication | Disclose dangers, health hazards and protective measures. |
| Health and safety policy | Prepare and communicate a detailed policy and later changes. |
| Waste information | Disclose quantity, specifications, characteristics and disposal method. |
| Emergency planning | Prepare an approved on-site emergency plan and disaster-control measures. |
| Advance notification | Notify the Chief Inspector before commencement of a new hazardous process. |
| Hazardous substances | Lay down and publicise measures for handling, use, transport, storage and disposal. |
Penalty under the former Factories Act
Former Section 96A specifically dealt with contravention of Sections 41B, 41C and 41H and the rules made under them. The provision prescribed imprisonment and fine for failure or contravention, with additional consequences for continuing violations. Because the Factories Act has now been repealed by the OSHWC Code subject to savings, present-day liability should be examined under the Code, applicable rules and the saving provisions for earlier acts or omissions.
Current law: Section 84 of the OSHWC Code 2020
Section 84 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 carries forward the core concept of compulsory disclosure for factories involving hazardous processes. It addresses disclosure of dangers and health hazards, the health and safety policy, waste information, on-site emergency planning, advance information before commencement of a hazardous process, and measures concerning hazardous substances. References in the new framework are to the Chief Inspector-cum-Facilitator or Inspector-cum-Facilitator, as applicable.
Section 14 of the OSHWC Code also gives employees a right to obtain information from the employer relating to their health and safety at work and provides a mechanism for raising inadequate safety or health protection and imminent-danger concerns.
Repeal and savings
Section 143 of the OSHWC Code, 2020 repeals the Factories Act, 1948 from commencement of the Code. Its savings provisions preserve specified appointments and provide continuity for things done or actions taken under repealed enactments to the extent contemplated by the Code. Historical disputes and liabilities should therefore be examined with the repeal-and-savings provisions and the General Clauses Act principles in view.
Historical note
Section 41B was inserted by the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1987 (Act 20 of 1987) with effect from 1 December 1987 as part of the special statutory regime governing hazardous processes.