FACTORIES (AMENDMENT) BILL

Ordered for Second Reading read.

3.03 p.m.

The Minister for Labour and Law (Mr K. M. Byrne): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

The Factories Ordinance provides for the regulation and supervision of health, safety and welfare of persons employed in factories and other workplaces. An amendment to section 6, subsection (4) of this Ordinance is now considered necessary to provide that small factories employing less than ten persons will only be exempted from the provisions of the Ordinance if no mechanical power, steam boiler, steam container, steam receiver, cast iron underfired vulcaniser, air receiver, refrigerating plant pressure receiver, or gas plant is used, or where no highly inflammable or noxious substance is manipulated, used or created.

Mr Speaker, Sir, as the Ordinance stands, no legal action can be taken against a small factory employing less than ten persons even though it uses the kind of machinery mentioned above. It has been found that there are a large number of factories having less than ten persons using out-of-date machinery which did not originally have safety guards incorporated, or where they have had safety guards, these could easily be removed, Sir.

The Government is merely seeking power to take preventive action against serious accidents to life and limb in small factories employing less than ten persons where dangerous machinery of the type mentioned above is used, and which are now excluded from the Factories Ordinance, Sir.

In a recent case, a locally assembled grinding machine burst its grinding wheel, a piece of which hit the operator in the face, killing him instantly.

The present amendment to the Factories Ordinance is designed to enable proper control to be exercised in respect of such activities where dangerous machinery is used in small factories employing less than ten persons.

Mr Speaker, Sir, you will remember that the original Factories Bill provided that premises in which there were less than six employees should be exempted from the provisions of the Ordinance. This Bill was later referred to a Select Committee of the House, and was discussed in Select Committee on the 15th September, 1958. It was first proposed to the Select Committee that the exemption should be extended to premises in which there were less than 16 employees, and the Chief Minister, Tun Lim Yew Hock, agreed to a compromise by which premises with less than ten employees were to be exempted from the provisions of the Factories Ordinance. It was thought that such an exemption would make it unnecessary for a lot of small businesses to comply with the onerous provisions of the Ordinance.

There was a lot of confusion of thought as to what the Bill was designed to do when it was last before this House. Members who spoke in the Select Committee mentioned that great hardship would be caused to small businesses, in which no machinery was used, if they were not exempted from the provisions of the Ordinance. I would refer you, Mr Speaker, to the proceedings of the 15th September, 1958, in Select Committee, and I will quote extracts from speeches which were made by hon. Members at that time.

This is what one hon. Member had to say:

This Bill is bringing in, for the first time, certain trades within the definition of "factory", trades which do not use any mechanical devices or machinery.'

In fact, all factories use mechanical devices or machinery, Sir. For instance, this is what the same Member said:

"The shoe makers and garment manufacturers have, on analysis, more than six workers in their premises. With the trades which are not using any mechanical or electrical machinery, what is important are the conditions of work from the health point of view of the workers, and I do not think the original intention of this Bill was to bring these trades within its provisions. Consequently, I think an increase to the number would automatically exempt most of these trades from the provisions of the Bill."

It was not realised at the time that premises using the type of machinery mentioned in the Ordinance would be just as dangerous to safety even if a single workman was employed to tend the machinery. I have just mentioned the case of the grinding machine which burst its grinding wheel, and which instantaneously killed the person operating it. It is therefore considered essential that factories employing less than ten persons and which are operated by mechanical power or which use highly inflammable, or noxious substances should also be brought under the provisions of the Factories Ordinance for the reasons which I have stated above. I do move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.-[Mr Byrne].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read the Third time and passed.