Which of the following statements regarding Indian Factory Act, 1891 is/are correct?

1. It increased the minimum and maximum age limit for children.

2. Fixing maximum working hours for men at 12 hours per day.

3. The act provided for a weekly holiday to women and children only.

Select the answer using the code given below:

Solution

· Statement 1 is correct: It raised the minimum age of children from 7 to 9 years and the maximum age limit was also increased to 14 years. It also reduced the maximum working hours for children to 7 hours a day. · Statement 2 is incorrect: Working hours for men were unregulated whereas working hours for women were fixed at 11 hours a day with a break of one-and-a-half-hour. · Statement 3 is incorrect: It also provided for a weekly holiday for all the workers. But, British-owned tea and coffee plantations were exempted from application of these laws because maximum workers were exploited in these factories. This was the second such Act towards the welfare of workers. First labour legislation was passed in 1881. It prohibited children below 7 years of age to work in factories. It also provided 4 holidays in a month to the children.