¹[22A. No person shall be allowed to work in mine on more than six days in any one week.

22B.(1) A person employed above ground in a mine shall not be allowed to work for more than fifty-four hours in any week or for more than ten hours in any day. (2) The periods of work of any such person shall be so arranged that, along with his intervals for rest they shall not in any day spread over more than twelve hours, and that he shall not work for more than six hours before he has had an interval for rest of at least one hour. (3) Persons belonging to two or more relays shall not be allowed to do work of the same kind above ground at the same moment: Provided that for the purposes of this sub-section persons shall not be deemed to belong to separate relays by reason only of the fact that they receive their intervals for rest at different times.

22C.(1) A person employed below ground in a mine shall not be allowed to work for more the nine hours in any day. (2) Work of the same kind shall not be carried on below ground in any mine for a period spreading over more than nine hours in any day except by a system of relays so arranged that the periods of work for each relay are not spread over more than nine hours. (3) No person employed in a mine shall be allowed to be in any part of the mine below ground except during the periods of work shown in respect of him in the register kept under sub-section (1) of section 28.

22D. Where a worker works in a relay whose period of work extends over midnight, the ensuing day for him shall be deemed be to the period of twenty-four hours beginning at the end of the period of work fixed for the relay, and the hours he has worked after midnight shall be counted towards the previous day.]

23. No person shall be allowed to work in mine who has already been working in any other mine within the preceding twelve hours.

23A. [Repealed by section 8 of the Indian Mines (Amendment) Act, 1935 (Act No. V of 1935).]

²[23B.(1) The manager of every mine shall cause to be posted outside the office of the mine a notice in the prescribed form stating the time of the commencement and of the end of work at the mine and, if it is proposed to work by a system of relays, the time of the commencement and of the end of work for each relay. The notice shall also state the time of the commencement and of the end of the intervals for rest fixed for persons employed above ground. A copy of each such notice shall be sent to the Chief Inspector, if he so requires. (2) In the case of a mine at which mining operations commence after the 14th day of April, 1930, the notice referred to in sub-section (1) shall be posted not less than seven days before the commencement of work. (3) Where it is proposed to make any alteration in the time fixed for the commencement or for the end of work in the mine generally or for any relay or in the rest intervals fixed for persons employed above ground an amended notice in the prescribed form shall be posted outside the office of the mine not less than seven days before the change is made, and a copy of such notice shall be sent to the Chief Inspector not less than seven days before such change. (4) No person shall be allowed to work in a mine otherwise than in accordance with the notice required by sub-section (1).]

³[23C. No female shall be allowed to work in a mine either below ground or above ground between the hours of 7 P. M. and 6 A. M.]

24. Nothing in section 22B, section 22C, section 23, sub-section (4) of section 23B, or in section 23C shall apply to persons who may by rules be defined to be persons holding responsible positions of a managerial or technical character or employed in health and welfare services or employed in any confidential capacity.

25. In case of an emergency involving serious risk to the safety of the mine or of persons employed therein, the manager may, subject to the provisions of section 19, permit persons to be employed in contravention of section 22A, section 22B, section 22C, section 23 or sub-section (4) of section 23B on such work as may be necessary to protect the safety of the mine or of the persons employed therein: Provided that, where such occasion arises, a record of the fact shall immediately be made by the manager and shall be placed before the Chief Inspector or the Inspector at his next inspection of the mine.

26. No child shall be employed in a mine, or be allowed to be present in any part of a mine which is below ground.

⁴[26A. No person who has not completed his ⁵[eighteenth year] shall be employed in any part of mine, unless-(a) a certificate of fitness in the prescribed form and granted to him by a qualified medical practitioner is in the custody of the manager of the mine, and (b) he carries while at work a token giving a reference to such certificate.]

⁶[26B. No person who has not completed his ⁷[eighteenth year] shall be permitted to work in any part of a mine, either below ground or above ground, unless the hours of work of such person for any day are so fixed as to allow an interval of rest of at least twelve consecutive hours which shall include at least such seven consecutive hours between the hours of 7 P. M. and 7 A. M. as may be prescribed: Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to any such person while employed or permitted to work in any mine as an apprentice or for the purposes of receiving vocational training, in such circumstances and in accordance with such conditions as may be prescribed.]

27.(1) If any question arises between the Chief Inspector or the Inspector and the manager of any mine as to whether any person is a child or has not completed his ⁸[eighteenth year], the question shall, in the absence of certificate as to the age of such person granted in the prescribed manner, be referred by the Chief Inspector or the Inspector for decision to a qualified medical practitioner. (2) Every certificate as to the age of a person which has been granted in the prescribed manner and any certificate granted by a qualified medical practitioner on a reference under sub-section (1) shall, for the purposes of this Act, be conclusive evidence as to the age of the person to whom it relates.

28.(1) For every mine there shall be kept in the prescribed form and place a register of all persons employed in the mine showing, in respect of each such person,-(a) name, date of birth and the nature of his employment, (b) the periods of work fixed for him,(c) the intervals for rest, if any, to which he is entitled,(d) the days of rest to which he is entitled, and (e) where work is carried on by a system of relays, the relay to which he belongs. (2) The entries in the register prescribed by sub-section (1) shall be such that workers working in accordance therewith would not be working in contravention of any of the provisions of this Chapter. (3) No person shall be employed in a mine until the particulars required by sub-section (1) have been recorded in the register in respect of such person and no person shall be employed except during the periods of work shown in respect of him in the register. (4) For every mine to which the Government may, by general or special order, declare this sub-section to be applicable, there shall be kept in the prescribed form and place a register which shall show at any moment the name of every person then working below ground in the mine.