EMERGING
ISSUES
General
Legislation on Occupational Safety and Health
At
present, separate statutes are enacted covering safety and health aspects of
workers employed in some sectors such as factories, mines, ports and docks and
construction. Many branches of economic activities are out of coverage of OSH
Legislation. There is a need for enactment of a general legislation to secure
safety and health of persons at work as well as other persons, against the
risks arising out of or in connection with the activities at all places of work(software development firm in ahmedabad).
National
Board for Accreditation in Occupational Safety and Health
The
existing statutes on safety and health require regulation, recognition,
certification, approvals etc. in respect of many of the requirements. Since
there are multiple agencies namely, CIFs of various States/UTs, it is felt that
there should be a single agency.
Self-Certification
and Third Party Certification
In order
to reduce the burden of inspection, a system of self-certification regarding
compliance with OSH standards can be introduced. The factories employing less than
50 workers could be required to furnish the Annual Return on the compliance
with the certain provisions of the Factories Act, 1948. These Returns can be
accepted as a self-certification and no inspection may be undertaken in respect
of such factories. However, inspections can be carried out in case of
complaints, accidents, etc. Any non-compliance detected during such inspection
should be taken very seriously and the occupier and manager of such factories
can be severely punished. A system of self-certification in respect of
compliance with labour laws has been introduced by certain States such as
Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, etc.
Protection
of Women Workers vis-à-vis Equal Opportunities
In the
era of globalization and liberalization, equal opportunities to male and female
workers have become essential feature of any business enterprise. At
international level also women employees are contributing significantly in the
growth of business. Therefore, the restrictive provisions under the statutes seem
to be discriminating and many women organizations(Empowring Woman worker in Software development company in india) have taken up the issue at
social, political and judicial levels.
Conclusion
In India,
a national system on Occupational Safety and Health in the form of policy,
statutes and regulatory mechanism exists in respect of certain branches of
economic activities namely, factories, mines, ports and docks and construction.
However, there is a need to extend the OSH coverage to all other sectors,
through appropriate means. Further, with the phenomenal growth in the
industrial sector, a system of self-certification and third party certification
in the field of OSH is essential in order to reduce the burden of inspection.
References
1.
Constitution of India
2. The
Factories Act, 1948
3. The
Model Rules under the Factories Act, 1948;
DGFASLI
1998
4. Annual
Report 2007-2008; Ministry of Labour &
Employment
5.
DGFASLI Standard Reference Note 2006; DGFASLI
April
2007
6.
www.ilo.org
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