Powers of factory inspector

STUDY UNIT
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After having worked through this study unit, students are expected to:

• understand the sources of power for an inspector
• be knowledgeable on the provision of the Act regarding Health: General Provisions

POWERS OF FACTORY INSPECTORS

7.    Inspectors shall, for the purposes of the Act, have powers-
(a)       to enter, inspect and examine, by day and night, any factory, and every part thereof, when he has reasonable cause to believe that any person is employed therein, and to enter, inspect and examine by day any place which he has reasonable cause to believe to be a factory and any part of any building of which a factory forms part and in which he has reasonable cause to believe that explosive or highly inflammable materials are stored or used;
(b)       to take with him a police officer if he has reasonable cause to apprehend any serious obstruction in the execution of his duty;
(c)        to require the production of the registers, certificates, notices and documents required under the provisions of this Act to be kept and to inspect, examine and copy any of them;
(d)       to make such examination and inquiry as may be necessary to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act are complied with in respect of any factory and of any persons employed therein;
(e)       to require any person whom he finds in any factory to give such information as it is in his power to give as to who is the occupier of the factory;
(f)        to examine, either alone or in the presence of any other person, as he thinks fit, with respect to matters under this Act, the occupier, or any person whom he finds in a factory or whom he has reasonable cause to believe to be or to have been within the preceding three months employed in a factory, and to require every such person to be so examined and to sign a declaration of the truth of the matters respecting which he has been so examined:       
Provided that no person shall be required under this paragraph to answer any question or to give any evidence tending to incriminate himself;
(g)       in the case of an inspector who is a medical practitioner, to carry out such medical examinations as may be necessary for the purposes of his duties under this Act; and
(h)       to exercise such other powers as may be necessary for carrying this Act into effect. The occupier of every factory and his agents and servants do furnish the means required by an inspector as necessary for an entry, inspection, examination, inquiry, the taking of samples, or otherwise for the exercise of his powers under this Act in relation to that factory.

OBSTRUCTION OF FACTORY INSPECTORS AS AN OFFENCE
Under the factories act,  no person shall obstruct an inspector in the execution of his duties under this Act. If any person wilfully delays an inspector in the exercise of any power under this Part, or fails to comply with the requisition of an inspector in pursuance of this Part, or to produce any register, certificate, notice or document which he is required by or in pursuance of this Act to produce, or wilfully withholds any information as to who is the occupier of any factory or conceals or prevents, or attempts to conceal or prevent, a person from appearing before or being examined by an inspector, that person shall be deemed to obstruct an inspector in the execution of his duties under this Act. Any person who obstructs an inspector shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding three hundred penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one month.
(As amended by Act No. 13 of 1994)                 

NON-DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION BY INSPECTORS
Under the act   no inspector shall, save in the performance of his duty, publish or disclose to any person the details of any manufacturing, commercial or working process which may come to his knowledge in the course of his duties.  Unless authorised by the complainant, an inspector shall not divulge to any person the source of any complaint bringing to his notice any defect or breach of the provisions of this Act and shall give no intimation to any owner, occupier or employer or a representative of such owner, occupier or employer that a visit of inspection was made in consequence of the receipt of such a complaint.  Any inspector who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence.                  

REGISTRATION OF FACTORIES                    
According to this piece of  law  the Commissioner maintains a register of factories, in which he shall cause to be entered such particulars in relation to every factory as may be prescribed. Every person who on the commencement of the Act occupied a factory was  within three months required  thereafter  to apply to the Commissioner, by written notice containing the particulars prescribed under section eleven, for the registration of the factory. Upon receipt of an application under subsection (1), the Commissioner shall cause the factory to be registered and shall issue to the occupier thereof a certificate of registration.    No person shall occupy or use as a factory any premises which were not so occupied or used on the commencement of this Act and in respect of which a certificate of registration under this section has not been issued.  Upon written application supported by the particulars prescribed under section eleven being made to the Commissioner for the registration of any premises to which subsection (1) refers, the Commissioner -               

(a)       if he is satisfied that the premises comply with the provisions of this Act or any orders or regulations made there ,under, cause the premises to be registered and a certificate of registration to be issued; or                     

(b)       if he is not so satisfied, refuse to register the premises and shall state in writing the grounds for such refusal.                 

14.    The occupier of any factory registered under this Part shall forthwith notify the Commissioner in writing of any material change in the particulars last notified in relation to that factory under section twelve or thirteen.   

15.  Drawings of factories 

(1)  No building shall be erected or converted for use as a factory and no extension shall be added to any existing factory save in accordance with drawings showing plans and sections of the proposed erection, conversion or addition which have been approved by the Commissioner under subsection (2).     

(2)  Upon written application supported by such particulars as may be prescribed being made to the Commissioner for the approval of any drawings described in subsection (1), the Commissioner shall-                       

(a) if he is satisfied the drawings provide for suitable premises for use as a factory of the type proposed, issue a certificate of approval of such drawings; or              

(b)   if he is not so satisfied, refuse to issue any certificate of approval of the drawings and shall state in writing the grounds for such refusal.                    

APPEALS AND ESTABLISHMENT OF BOARDS

16. 
(1)  For the purpose of hearing and determining appeals in accordance with the provisions of the act or any proceedings incidental thereto or connected therewith, there is hereby established an Appeals Board (hereinafter in this Part called "the Board"). The chairman and members of the Board shall be appointed from time to time by the Judicial Service Commission for such period as the said Commission may think fit.    Any person aggrieved by a decision of the Commissioner under the provisions of section thirteen or fifteen may appeal to the Board there from.          
Every notice of appeal shall be in writing stating the grounds of the appeal and shall be lodged with the chairman of the Board who, on receipt of such notice, shall appoint a day and place for the hearing of the appeal and shall notify the parties accordingly.  The procedure for the institution and hearing of appeals to the Board shall be in accordance with the provisions of this Part and any rules which may be made by the Chief Justice, by statutory instrument, under this section for the purpose of regulating such procedure.                      
(4)  On the hearing and determination of any appeal under this Part-                    

• the Commissioner shall be a party to the proceedings;              

• any party to the proceedings may appear in person or by counsel or any agent thereunto authorised by him in writing.                    

18.  Powers of Board
(1)       The Board may confirm, vary or reverse the decision of the Commissioner with which the appeal is concerned.                    

(2)       The Board shall not make any order as to costs unless it considers the decision of the Commissioner to have been unreasonable or the grounds of appeal to have been frivolous.              

(3)       Any decision by the Board under this Part shall be final and shall not be challenged in any proceedings whatsoever.             

HEALTH: GENERAL PROVISIONS                 

(1)       Every factory shall be kept in a clean state, and free from effluvia arising from any drain, sanitary convenience or nuisance.                    

(2)       Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)-             

• accumulations of dirt and refuse shall be removed daily from the floors and benches of workrooms, and from the staircases and passages;              

• the floor of every workroom shall be cleaned at least once in every week by washing or, if it is effective and suitable, by sweeping or other method; 

• where any process is carried on in circumstances which render the floor liable to be wet to such an extent that the fluid is capable of being removed by drainage, effective means shall be provided and maintained for draining off the fluid;

• all inside walls and partitions, and all ceilings or tops of rooms, and all walls, sides and tops of passages and staircases shall-
• where they have a smooth impervious surface, at least once in every period of fourteen months be washed with hot water and soap or other suitable detergent or cleaned by other suitable method;
• where they are kept painted in a prescribed manner or varnished, be repainted in a prescribed manner or revarnished at such intervals of not more than seven years as may be prescribed, and shall at least once in every period of fourteen months be washed with hot water and soap or other suitable detergent or cleaned by other suitable method;
• in all other cases, be kept whitewashed or colourwashed and the whitewashing or colour washing shall be repeated at least once in every period of fourteen months.                  

(3)       Where it appears to the Commissioner that in any factory or class or description of factory or parts thereof any of the foregoing provisions of this section are by reason of special circumstances inappropriate or unnecessary, he may, if he thinks fit, by order direct that those provisions shall not apply to that factory or to factories or parts of factories of that class or description, or shall apply as varied in the order.         

Overcrowding
A factory shall not, while work is carried on, be so overcrowded as to cause risk of injury to the health of the persons employed therein.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the number of persons employed at a time in any workroom shall not be such that the amount of cubic space allowed for each is less than twelve cubic metres.           

In calculating for the purposes of this section the amount of cubic space in any room, no space more than four metres from the floor shall be taken into account and, where a room contains a gallery, the gallery shall be treated for the purposes of this section as if it were partitioned off from the remainder of the room and formed a separate room. Every workroom shall not be less than three metres in height measured from the floor to the lowest point of the ceiling or, where there is no ceiling, to the lowest point of the roofing material.    Effective and suitable provision shall be made, by natural or artificial means, for securing and maintaining by the circulation of fresh air in each workroom the adequate ventilation of the room, and for rendering harmless, so far as practicable, all such fumes, dust and other impurities generated in the course of any process or work carried on in the factory as may be injurious to health.           

Effective provision shall be made for securing and maintaining sufficient and suitable lighting, whether natural or artificial, in every part of a factory in which persons are working or passing.   All glazed windows and skylights used for lighting of workrooms shall, so far as practicable, be kept clean on both the inner and outer surfaces and free from obstruction:
Provided that this subsection shall not affect the whitewashing or shading of windows and skylights for the purpose of mitigating glare or heat.    Sufficient and suitable sanitary conveniences for the persons employed in the factory shall be provided, maintained and kept clean, and effective provision shall be made for lighting the conveniences and, where persons of both sexes are or are intended to be employed, the conveniences shall afford proper separate accommodation for each sex.   The provisions of section twenty-three shall, in such areas of Zambia as the Minister may by order direct, be enforced by such local authority as may be specified in such order.   Where an inspector finds any act or default in relation to any drain, sanitary convenience, water supply, nuisance or other matter in a factory which is liable to be dealt with by a local authority by reason of any order made under section twenty-four or under any written law relating to public health, he shall give notice thereof in writing to the local authority.   Where it appears to the Minister-                      

(a)       that in any factory or class or description of factory-
(i)        cases of illness have occurred which he has reason to believe may be due to the nature of a process or other conditions of work; or
(ii)       by reason of changes in any process or in the substances used in any process, or by reason of the introduction of any new process or new substance for use in a process, there may be risk of injury to the health of persons employed in that process; or

(iii)      young persons are or are about to be employed in work which may cause risk of injury to their health; or                  

(b)       that there may be risk of injury to the health of persons employed in a factory-
(i)        from any substance or material brought to the factory to be used or handled therein; or
(ii)       from any change in the conditions of work or other conditions in the factory;
he may make regulations requiring such reasonable arrangements to be made for the medical supervision (not including medical treatment other than first-aid treatment and medical treatment of a preventive character) of the persons, or any class of the persons, employed at that factory or class or description of factory as may be specified in the regulations.                 

(2)  Where the Minister proposes to exercise his powers under this section in relation to a particular factory and for a limited period, he may exercise those powers by order instead of by regulations, and any such order shall, subject to subsection (3), cease to have effect at the expiration of such period as may be specified in the order.            

(3)  The Minister may by subsequent order or orders extend the said period, but if the occupier of the factory by notice in writing to him objects to any such extension, the original order shall cease to have effect as from one month after the service of the notice, without prejudice to the making of regulations in relation to the factory.