Women workers well-being and workplace standards in textile mills of Kashmir (India): A socio-legal investigation under the Indian Factories Act of 1948.

The Kashmir valley, which is largely located in the Himalayan mountain range, lacks a solid industrial foundation since its geographical location presents a significant barrier to planners and administrators in terms of establishing large-scale enterprises. The absence of all-weather permanent connectivity exacerbated by the harsh winter has placed the Kashmir valley in an economically disadvantageous position. We investigated numerous aspects of the Indian Factories Act, 1948 regarding the welfare of women workers employed in the Kashmir Valley (India) textile factories, and found that these establishments lacked many welfare and safety provisions, putting women worker's health and productivity at risk. For example, all respondents stated that they were only granted two months of maternity leave despite being entitled to 26 weeks and several employees reported being dismissed after requesting maternity leave. These enterprises also lacked internal complaints committees, special trade unions, grievance, or works committees to settle sexual harassment accusations and other disputes between employers and women workers. No health examinations or nursing facilities existed for women workers. Employers were seen as completely disinterested in appointing a welfare officer, and 91% of respondents stated that the government also ignored the authorization of inspectors to monitor and enforce workplace rules. We discovered that women workers did not engage in conciliation committees because they were unaware of their rights, less educated, and were threatened by their employers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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