This Act specifies that a child is one who has not completed his 14th birthday. All children are banned from working in the occupations and process set forth in Part A, or in any workshop wherein any process set forth in Part B is carried on. The exception is family work or any school established by, recognized by and aided by government.
Part A is any occupation connected with transport of passengers, goods or mails by railway; cinder picking, clearing of an ash pit or building operation in the railway premises; work in a catering establishment at a railway station involving movement from platforms, and trains; work relating to the construction of a railway station or any other work near railway lines; a port authority within the limits of any port.
Part B includes beedi-making, carpet-weaving, cement manufacture, including its bagging cloth printing, dyeing and weaving, manufacture of matches, explosives and fireworks, mica-cutting and splitting, shellac manufacture, soap manufacture, tanning, wool cleaning and the building and construction industry.
Under Section 7 the hours and period of work regulated such as; in any other occupation, the period of work in each day should be such that it is less than 3 hours following rest for at least one hour. The period of work, inclusive of the interval of rest, should not exceed 6 hours a day. No night work (7pm-8pm) and no overtime is allowed.
Any one employing children in the prohibited processes is liable with punishment with imprisonment of 3 months to 1 year, or fine Rs.10, 000 to 20,000 or both.
The competent inspectors are the assistant labour officers of the area. They can make a complaint, in a court of the first class magistrate.