Health and safety of the employees is an important aspect
of a company's smooth and successful functioning. It is a decisive factor
in organizational effectiveness. It ensures an accident-free industrial
environment. Companies must attach the same importance towards achieving
high OH&S performance as they do to the other key objectives of their
business activities. This is because, proper attention to the safety and
welfare of the employees can yield valuable returns to a company by improving
employee morale, reducing absenteeism and enhancing productivity, minimizing
potential of work-related injuries and illnesses and increasing the quality
of manufactured products and/ or rendered services.
The Constitution of India has also specified provisions
for ensuring occupational health and safety for workers in the form of
three Articles i.e. 24, 39(e and f) and 42. The regulation of labour
and safety in mines and oil fields is under the Union list. While the
welfare of labour including conditions of work, provident funds, employers'
invalidity and old age pension and maternity benefit are in the Concurrent
list.
The Ministry of Labour ,
Government of India and Labour Departments of the States and Union Territories
are responsible for safety and health of workers. Directorate
General of Mines Safety (DGMS) and Directorate
General Factory Advice Services & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI)
assist the Ministry in technical aspects of occupational safety and health
in mines and factories & ports sectors, respectively.
DGMS exercises preventive as well as educational influence
over the mining industry. Its mission is the reduction in risks of occupational
diseases and casualty to persons employed in mines, by drafting appropriate
legislation and setting standards and through a variety of promotional
initiatives and awareness programmes. It undertakes inspection of mines,
investigation of all fatal accidents, grant of statutory permission, exemptions
and relaxations in respect of various mining operation, approval of mines
safety equipment, appliances and material, conduct examinations for grant
of statutory competency certificate, safety promotional incentives including
organization of national awards and national safety conference, etc.
DGFASLI is an attached office to the Ministry of Labour
and relates to factories and ports/docks. It renders technical advice
to the States/Union Territories in regard to administration and enforcement
of the Factories Act. It also undertakes support research facilities and
carries out promotional activities through education and training in matters
concerning occupational safety and health.
Major Initiatives undertaken by DGFASLI
during the Xth Five Year Plan are:-
Legislations
The statutes relating to OH&S are broadly divided into three:-
- Statutes for safety at workplaces
- Statutes for safety of substances
- Statutes for safety of activities
At present, safety and health statutes for regulating OH&S of persons at work exist only in four sectors:-
- Mining
- Factories
- Ports
- Construction
The major legislations are:-
The
Factories Act, 1948
Mines
Act, 1952
Dock
Workers (Safety, Health & Welfare) Act,
1986
- It contains provisions for the health, safety and welfare
of workers working in ports/docks.
- It is administered by Director General Factory Advice
Service and Labour Institutes, Directorate General FASLI as the Chief
Inspector there are inspectorates of dock safety at 10 major ports in
India viz. Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip, Kandla,
Mormugao, Tuticorin, Cochin and New Mangalore
- overall emphasis in the activities of the inspectorates
is to contain the accident rates and the number of accidents
at the ports.
Other legislations and the rules framed thereunder:-
National Safety Council of India (NSCI)
The National
Safety Council of India (NSCI) was set up to promote safety consciousness among workers
to prevent accidents, minimize dangers and mitigate human suffering, arrange
programmes, lectures and conferences on safety, conduct educational campaigns
to arouse consciousness among employers and workers and collect educational
and information data, etc. It has launched new initiatives in three sectors:-
- Road Transportation Safety
- Safety of Health in Construction Sector
- Safety, Health and Environment in Small and Medium Scale
Enterprises(SMEs)
At the international level, NSCI has developed close collaboration
with International Labour Organisation (ILO); United Nations Environment
Programmes (UNEP); World Bank ; Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC),Bangkok;
World Environment Centre (WEC), New York; and the member organizations
of Asia Pacific Occupational Safety and Health Organisation (APOSHO) of
which NSCI is a founder-member.
The National
APELL (Awareness and Preparedness for Emergencies at Local Level) Centre
(NAC) has been established since April 2002 in the NSCI Headquarters
under the MoU with the Division of Technology, Industry & Economics
(DTIE) of UNEP, Paris. It is the first APELL Centre in the world. It has
the technical support and information from UNEP and other international
sources and the Ministry of Environment & Forests, Government of India
and the stakeholders. It is dedicated primarily to strengthen chemical
emergency preparedness and response in India through the use of the internationally
accepted APELL process.
Policy
Announcement of the
National
Policy On Safety, Health And Environment At Work Place was also a
step towards improvement in safety, health and environment at workplace
performance.
Objectives of the policy were:-
- Continuous reduction in incidence of work related injuries,
fatalities, diseases, disaster and loss of national assets.
- Continuous reduction in the cost of work place injuries
and diseases.
- Extend coverage of work related injuries, fatalities,
and diseases for a more comprehensive data base as a means of better
performance and monitoring.
- Continuous enhancement of community awareness regarding
safety, health and environment at workplace related areas.
Awards
In order to encourage occupational health and safety, certain
awards have also been instituted by the Government:-
- The National
Safety Awards for factories and docks, were instituted in 1965,
to give recognition to good safety performance on the part of the industrial
undertakings and to stimulate and maintain the interest of both management
and workers in accident prevention programmes.
- The National
Safety Awards for mines were instituted in 1983, to give recognition
to outstanding safety performances of mines of national-level which
comes within the purview of the Mines Act, 1952.
- The Shram Vir Awards, now known as Vishwakarma
Rashtriya Puraskar were instituted in 1965. These are meant for
workers of factories, mines, plantations and docks and are given to
them in recognition of their meritorious performance, which leads to
high productivity or economy or higher efficiency.
Indian Standard on OH&S management systems
Occupational Health and Safety demands adoption of a
structured approach for the identification of hazards, their evaluation
and control of risks in the organisation. Hence, Bureau
of Indian Standards has formulated an Indian Standard on OH&S
management systems. It is called as the IS
18001:2000 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. This
standard prescribes the requirements for an OH&S Management Systems,
to enable an organization to formulate a policy, taking into account the
legislative requirements. It also provides information about significant
hazards and risks, which the organization can control in order to protect
its employees and others, whose health and safety may be affected by the
activities of the organization.
Organizations interested in obtaining licence for OH&S
Management System as per IS 18001 should ensure that they are operating
the system according to this standard. The organization should apply on
the prescribed proforma ( Form
IV ) at the nearest Regional Office of BIS along with Questionnaire
( Form
X ) and the prescribed application fee. The application shall be signed
by the proprietor or the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the organization
or any other person authorised to sign on behalf of the organization.
The name and designation of the person signing the application must be
recorded legibly in a space set apart for the purpose in the application
form. Each application must be accompanied by a documented Occupational
Health and Safety Management System Documentation (such as OHS manual
etc.)
India and International Labour Organisation (ILO)
India is a founder member of International
Labour Organization. The principal means of action in ILO is the setting
up the 'International Labour Standards' in the form of Conventions and
Recommendations. Conventions are international treaties and are the instruments
which create legally binding obligations on the countries ratifying them.
Recommendations are non-binding guidelines which orient national policies
and actions. ILO has so far adopted 182 conventions and 190 recommendations,
encompassing subjects such as worker's fundamental rights, worker's protection,
social security, labour welfare, occupational safety and health, women
and child labour, migrant labour, indigenous and tribal population, etc
The approach of India with regard to International Labour
Standards has always been positive. India has accordingly evolved legislative
and administrative measures for protection and advancement of the interests
of labour in India. The practice followed by India so far has been that
a Convention is ratified only when the national laws and practices are
in conformity the provisions of the Convention in question. India has
so far ratified 41 ILO Conventions. The unratified Conventions of the
ILO are also reviewed at appropriate intervals in relation to our National
laws and practices.
List
of ILO Conventions ratified by India
|
Sl.No . |
No. and Title of Convention |
Date of ratification |
|
|
1. |
No.1 Hours of Work (Industry) Convention, 1919 |
14.07.1921 |
|
|
2.* |
No.2 Unemployment Convention, 1919 |
14.07.1921 |
|
|
3. |
No.4 Night Work (Women) Convention, 1919 |
14.07.1921 |
|
|
4. |
No.5 Minimum Age (Industry) Convention, 1919 |
09.09.1955 |
|
|
5. |
No.6 Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) Convention,
1919 |
14.07.1921 |
|
|
6. |
No.11 Right of Association (Agriculture) Convention,
1921 |
11.05.1923 |
|
|
7. |
No.14 Weekly Rest (Industry) Convention, 1921 |
11.05.1923 |
|
|
8. |
No.15 Minimum Age (Trimmers and Stokers) Convention,
1921 |
20.11.1922 |
|
|
9. |
No.16 Medical Examination of Young Persons (Sea)
Convention, 1921 |
20.11.1922 |
|
|
10. |
No.18 Workmen's Compensation (Occupational Diseases)
Convention, 1925 |
30.09.1927 |
|
|
11. |
No.19 Equality of Treatment (Accident Compensation)
Convention, 1925 |
30.09.1927 |
|
|
12. |
No.21 Inspection of Emigrants Convention, 1926 |
14.01.1928 |
|
|
13. |
No.22 Seamen's Articles of Agreement Convention,
1926 |
31.10.1932 |
|
|
14. |
No.26 Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery, Convention,
1928 |
10.01.1955 |
|
|
15. |
No.27 Marking of Weight (Packages Transported by
Vessels) Convention, 1929 |
07.09.1931 |
|
|
16. |
No.29 Forced Labour Convention, 1930 |
30.11.1954 |
|
|
17. |
No.32 Protection Against Accidents (Dockers) Convention
(Revised), 1932 |
10.02.1947 |
|
|
18.@ |
No.41 Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1934 |
22.11.1935 |
|
|
19. |
No.42 Workmen's Compensation (Occupational Diseases)
Convention (Revised), 1934 |
13.01.1964 |
|
|
20 |
No.45 Underground Work (Women) Convention, 1935 |
25.03.1938 |
|
|
21. |
No.80 Final Articles Revision Convention, 1946 |
17.11.1947 |
|
|
22. ** |
No.81 Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 |
07.04.1949 |
|
|
23. |
No.88 Employment Services Convention, 1948 |
24.06.1959 |
|
|
24. |
No.89 Night Work (Women) Convention (Revised), 1948 |
27.02.1950 |
|
|
25. |
No.90 Night Work of Young Persons (Industry) (Revised),
1948 |
27.02.1950 |
|
|
26. |
No.100 Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 |
25.09.1958 |
|
|
27. |
No.107 Indigenous and Tribal Population Convention,
1957 |
29.09.1958 |
|
|
28. |
No.111 Discrimination (Employment & Occupation)
Convention, 1958 |
03.06.1960 |
|
|
29. |
No.116 Final Articles Revision Convention, 1961 |
21.06.1962 |
|
|
30.# |
No.118 Equality of Treatment (Social Security) Convention,
1962 |
19.08.1964 |
|
|
31.@@ |
No.123 Minimum Age (Underground Work) Convention,
1965 |
20.03.1975 |
|
|
32. |
No.115 Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 |
17.11.1975 |
|
|
33. |
No.141 Rural Workers' Organisation Convention, 1975 |
18.08.1977 |
|
|
34. |
No.144 Tripartite Consultation (International Labour
Standards) Convention, 1976 |
27.02.1978 |
|
|
35. |
No.136 Benzene Convention, 1971 |
11.06.1991 |
|
|
36.## |
No.160 Labour Statistics Convention, 1985 |
01.04.1992 |
|
|
37. |
No.147 Merchant Shipping (Minimum Standards), 1976 |
26.09.1996 |
|
|
38. |
No.122 Employment Policy Convention 1964 |
17.11.1998 |
|
|
39. |
No.105 Abolition of Forced Labour, 1957 |
18.05.2000 |
|
| 40. |
P89 Protocol of 1990 to the Night Work (Women) Convention
(Revised), 1948 |
|
|
| 41. |
No.108 Seafarers' Identity Documents Convention, 1958 |
|
* Later denounced, The Convention requires, internal furnishing
of statistics concerning unemployment every three months which is considered
not practicable.
@ Convention denounced as a result of ratification of
Convention No.89.
** Excluding Part II.
# Branches (c) and (g) and Branches (a) to (c) and (i).
@@ Minimum Age initially specified was 16 years
but was raised to 18 years in 1989.
## Article 8 of Part - II.
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