Fill in the blank:
The Factory Act 1881 primarily regulated ______.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: A
Explanation
The correct answer is option 1 i.e. working hours of women and children.
The Factories Act of 1881 was the first of its kind in British India, introduced during Lord Ripon’s tenure. It primarily focused on child labor, prohibiting the employment of children under 7 years and limiting the working hours for children aged 7 to 12 to 9 hours per day. It also mandated four holidays a month and required dangerous machinery to be fenced. While the Act was a landmark in labor welfare, it largely ignored adult workers' conditions.
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Industrial pollution and working conditions: These aspects were not addressed in 1881; environmental regulations and broader sanitary conditions were introduced in much later amendments.
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Night shifts hours for men only: The 1881 Act did not regulate the working hours or shifts for adult men; these were largely addressed in the 1891 and 1911 Acts.
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Minimum wage for women and children: The Act focused on safety and hours, not compensation; the concept of a statutory minimum wage appeared much later with the Minimum Wages Act of 1948.