The Maximum Working Hours is permitted as per Factories Act 1948 is 9 hrs per day and 48 hrs per week. There is no doubt about it. The same Act exempts certain things. According to Sec 64 (2) (c) of the Act says about the Exemption from Sec 51,54,55 & 56 "when a workers engaged in work which is necessarily so intermittent that the intervals during which they do not work while on duty ordinarily amont to more than the intevals for rest required by or under Sec 55"
For Example A worker is engaged in a loading and unloading work and it purely depends on the vehicle movement. In case there is no vehicle he can take rest which is more than the time specified in Sec 55.
My question is whether a worker can be put in a 12 Hrs shift in the above circumstances? He may be worked for 5 days in week and he will be given 8 hrs reserve duty one day (Total shift hours will be 68 hrs per week including all his rest hours) but his nature of job will be intermittent and no continuous.
