The Directorate of Factories, under the Department of Labour, Govt. of West Bengal is mainly responsible for implementation and administration of the Factories Act in the State. It is primarily engaged in fulfilment of goals in respect of safety, health & welfare of the factory workers inside the factory premises by preventing possibility of accidents, and occupational health hazards such that any person can work inside the factory without fear. Mitigating deprivation of factory workers by attending complaints, elimination of occupational diseases and industrial disasters are also the major goals of this Directorate. It is the apex body for registration, approval of plan and issuance of licence for the factories in the state under the Factories Act. Besides, the Directorate also administers different labour related Acts & Rules, conducting seminars, safety related training programmes and industrial hygiene related surveys. This Directorate is also working hard for ensuring Safety and Health conditions of the Building and Other Construction Workers in the state of West Bengal under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
Activities
The Directorate is responsible for administration of the following Acts and Rules:
(1) The Factories Act, 1948 and the Rules framed there under (The West Bengal Factories Rules, 1958), [The West Bengal Factories (Exemption) Rules, 1982], [The West Bengal Factories (Welfare Officers) Rules, 1971], [The West Bengal Factories (Safety Officers) Rules, 1978].
(2) The Payment of Wages Act, 1936 and the West Bengal Payment of Wages Rules, 1958.
(3) The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 and the West Bengal Maternity Benefit Rules, 1965.
(4) The Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989.
(5) The Chemical Accidents (Emergency planning preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996.
(6) The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the West Bengal Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Rules, 1995.
(7) Rules under Part-III (Safety & Health) of the West Bengal Building & Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Rules, 2004.
Functions
1. Approval of factory plans.
2. Registration and Licensing of factories.
3. Inspection of factories in order to find out the compliance with the provisions of the Acts & Rules
4. Investigation of Accidents and Dangerous occurrences, complaints.
5. Identification of Major Accident Hazards factories (MAH) and advising these factories for preparing on - site emergency plans, safety reports etc.
6. Surveys of work environment to evaluate the occupational stress parameters.
7. Medical surveillance of the workers.
8. Safety training.
9. Helping the management in preparation of Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), safety reports,Hazards analysis reports and in holding mock drill to determine efficacy of on-site emergency plan.
10. Conduct off-site emergency drill in coordination with Local administration.