S.I. No. 152/1973:

FACTORIES (PRESERVING OF FRUIT) REGULATIONS, 1973.

FACTORIES (PRESERVING OF FRUIT) REGULATIONS, 1973.

I, MICHAEL O'LEARY, Minister for Labour, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 6 , 8 , 56 , 67 and 71 of the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1955), and the Labour (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1966 ( S.I. No. 164 of 1966 ), after consultation with the Minister for Health and after due compliance with the provisions of the Third Schedule to that Act, hereby make the following regulations:--

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Factories (Preserving of Fruit) Regulations, 1973.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of October, 1973.

2. In these Regulations--

"the Act" means the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1955);

"process" means any of the following processes, namely:

(a) the preparing and boiling of fruit for preservation,

(b) in relation to the preservation of fruit, the filling and finishing of vessels, the covering of filled vessels and the spinning on of tops on vessels, and

(c) any wet process used in the preservation of fruit.

3. These Regulations shall apply to every factory in which any process is carried on.

4. The occupier of a factory to which these Regulations apply shall provide and maintain in good condition suitable protective clothing for the use of the persons therein employed in a process.

5. (1) The occupier of a factory to which these Regulations apply shall provide and maintain, for the use of all persons therein employed in a process and remaining on the factory premises during the meal intervals, a suitable mess-room, which shall be furnished with (a) sufficient tables and chairs or benches with back rests, and (b) unless a canteen serving hot meals is provided in the factory for the use of those persons, adequate means for heating food and boiling water. The mess-room shall be sufficiently warmed for use during meal intervals.

(2) The mess-room shall be separate from the accommodation for clothing provided pursuant to section 54 of the Act and shall be placed under the charge of a responsible person and be kept clean.

6. The accommodation for clothing provided pursuant to section 54 of the Act shall be placed under the charge of a responsible person and be kept clean.

7. The following requisites shall be provided and maintained in the first-aid boxes to be provided and maintained under section 56 of the Act, namely:

(a) a sufficient supply of waterproof plastic wound dressings of a grade or quality not lower than the standards specified in the British Pharmaceutical Codex including any supplement thereto (being a supplement current at the date of commencement of these Regulations) or a standard approved by the Minister for the purposes of these Regulations. Each dressing shall be put up in an individual sealed pack marked clearly to indicate content, and

(b) a sufficient supply of waterproof plastic self-adhesive plaster of a grade or quality not lower than the standards specified in the British Pharmaceutical Codex including any such supplement thereto or a standard so approved.

The requirements of this regulation are in addition to, and not in substitution for, the requirements of the First-Aid in Factories Regulations, 1956 ( S.I. No. 166 of 1956 ).

8. The occupier of a factory to which these Regulations apply shall see that a cautionary notice as to the effects of the peeling of lemons and oranges on the skin, in the form set out in Schedule to these Regulations, is posted and kept posted in any part of the factory in which the peeling of lemons or oranges is carried on.

9. The Order, dated August 15, 1919, made under section 7 (1) of the Police, Factories, etc. (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1916, (S.R. & O. No. 1136 of 1919), for securing the Welfare of the Workers employed in Factories or parts of Factories in which the preserving of fruit is carried on, is hereby revoked.

SCHEDULE.

AN ROINN SAOTHAIR.

FACTORIES (PRESERVING OF FRUIT) REGULATIONS, 1973.

CAUTIONARY NOTICE.

The juice of lemons and oranges and their peel are irritating to a person's skin. Without proper precautions dermatitis may occur which is tedious to cure. The risk of dermatitis can be largely reduced by the preventive measures described at 1, 2 and 3 below and these are of especial importance where injury to the skin has occured from a cut or from "chapping" of the hands.

TO PREVENT SORE HANDS AND ARMS DO AS FOLLOWS:

1. Before Work:

(a) Hands and arms should be examined daily and all cuts and scratches should be treated with a waterproof plastic wound dressing or a first-aid dressing covered by a waterproof plaster. Ordinary plaster is useless.

(b) *Ointment or olive oil should be applied to the skin before work.

(c) The wrists should be protected before work if chapping is likely to occur.

2. During Work:

If the skin becomes broken or chapped, it should first be bathed with bicarbonate of soda (1 oz. to a pint of water) and then a waterproof plastic wound dressing should be applied.

3. After Work:

The hands and arms should be washed with soap and water. Ointment, olive oil or a conditioning cream should be applied and any first-aid dressing changed.

4. General:

Report any sign of skin trouble and get treatment at once. A quick and permanent cure is then much more likely. Delay in obtaining treatment will certainly delay a cure.

*The Ointment.

Paraffin molle 3 parts, Lanolin 1 part.

Rub a little well into skin and wipe off.

This Notice is required to be posted and kept posted in any part of a factory in which the peeling of lemons and oranges is carried on by Regulation of the Factories (Preserving of Fruit) Regulations, 1973 ( S.I. No. 152 of 1973 ).

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 13th day of June, 1973.

MICHAEL O'LEARY,

Minister for Labour.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations prescribe that occupiers of factories where fruit preserving is carried on must provide suitable protective clothing and mess-rooms for the use of workers. They further oblige occupiers to make available specified first-aid requisites and to keep on display a cautionary notice about the effects on the skin of orange and lemon peeling.