By Dr Arun Mitra
Occupational Health and safety has been an issue of serious concern of health personnel as well as the workers’ organizations since long. During the industrial revolution in England, even the children were made to clean chimneys and work in hazardous industry. As a result many would catch serious diseases and eventually die an early death. But since then England has moved far ahead. All the children go to school, get proper nutrition and healthcare required of them. We in our country are still much far from achieving this.
The 60th World Health Assembly held in Geneva in 2007 charted out ‘Workers Health: Global Plan of Action’. It recognizes that the ‘workers represent half the world’s population and are the major contributors to economic and social development. But only a small number of them have access to occupational health services.
As per the International Labour organization (ILO) estimates 2.02 million i.e 3.6% of total deaths each year occur from work-related accidents or diseases globally and 4% of the world’s annual GDP is lost as a consequence of occupational diseases and accidents.
According to Indian Population Clock in our country 9.7 million deaths occur every year. Out of this nearly 48000 workers ie 4.8 % of total deaths every year happen due to occupational accidents. The construction sector contributes 24.20 per cent of the fatalities. Many of these tragedies are preventable through the implementation of sound prevention, reporting and inspection practices.
India has a work force of about 54 crore people. Nearly 3% of them are in government departments and public sector enterprises. Only they are covered under social security. Among the rest work force only a small number are in formal economy while vast majority, 93%, are in the informal economy. Other than Government and public sector employees, only about 11% of the total work force is covered under the social security schemes. Thus occupational safety is an issue of utmost importance.
The WHO had suggested that mechanisms for inter-sectoral coordination of activities’ should be developed. This is important because the impact on health in different sectors is different. Those engaged in mining are more prone to the diseases related to exposure to particular substance they are surrounded by. Those in nuclear industry face hazard of radiation exposure. The hospital workers are exposed to infectious diseases. The construction workers are more likely to meet traumatic injuries. The sewer men are exposed to waste material and poisonous gases. The methods of prevention, treatment and compensation also vary accordingly. Particular attention has to be paid to high-risk sectors of economic activity, and to the under-served and vulnerable working populations, such as younger and older workers, persons with disabilities and migrant workers, taking account of gender aspects.
The Labour Code on Occupational Safety Health & Working Conditions (OSH & WC) 2020 notified on 21 November 2025 has completely negated various clauses for workers safety. It has failed to address the primary issues of effective enforcement as also coverage of the larger sections of the Indian workforce. This code consolidates 13 central laws that previously governed safety, health, and working conditions of workers across sectors such as factories, mines, docks, construction, transport, plantations, contract labour, and migrant labour thus ignoring the specifities of each sector.
This labour code over-looks the concerns of workers employed in the non-registered establishments which accounts for over 93 percent of the total establishments/workers. The supervisors and managers are excluded from its coverage which is unethical. The code should cover all workers irrespective of nature of employment, apprentice /trainee as they are also exposed to various risks; many a times they are even at a higher risk than regular employees because of lack of experience.
The interest of the other categories of workers, such as agriculture workers, domestic workers, sewerage workers, salt workers, security guards, forest workers, Information Technology (IT) workers, courier workers, Aanganwadi workers, etc. have been largely overlooked. Because of obvious reasons interests of the women work force have to be given priority.
OSH Code weakens multiple legal safeguards that existed under earlier sector-specific laws such as the Factories Act, Mines Act, Contract Labour Act, and Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act. Many of these older laws had detailed chapters specifically crafted for high-risk sectors. The new framework gives excessive flexibility to employers and governments while depriving workers of clear, enforceable rights.
Moreover the Code applies only to establishments with 10 or more workers, with some exceptions for hazardous occupations. Many state draft rules have proposed redefining a “factory” to require 20 workers with power and 40 without power, compared to earlier thresholds of 10 and 20 respectively. This seemingly technical change has a profound impact on worker coverage. India’s manufacturing sector, particularly in textile, garment, metal, hosiery, and food-processing clusters, is dominated by small units employing fewer than 10 or 20 workers. Raising thresholds results in millions of workers in small-scale and micro-industrial units being excluded from the protections of the Code. Workers in these units face the greatest risks due to unsafe machinery, poor ventilation, long work hours, and lack of welfare facilities.
The Labour Inspection Mechanism has been diluted. Inspectors have been re-designated as “Inspector-cum-Facilitators,” shifting their role from strict enforcement to advisory facilitation. This will make the inspection literally meaningless.
There is inadequate Protection for Contract and Migrant Workers. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979, which ensured displacement allowance, journey allowance, and mandatory registration of contractors, has been repealed. Its strong safeguards have not been fully carried forward into the OSH Code.
Similarly, coverage for contract labour is weakened due to higher thresholds for applicability and simplified licensing for contractors. Critics argue that this allows employers to reduce their responsibilities toward contract workers, who often face the riskiest tasks but have the least protection.
The code gives excessive delegation of powers to the executive. Almost every major provision—from safety standards to welfare requirements, threshold definitions, and inspection norms—can be altered through executive rules.
There is Erosion of Sector-Specific Protections. Earlier, laws such as the Plantation Labour Act, Beedi and Cigar Workers Act, Motor Transport Workers Act, and Dock Workers Act contained detailed, context-specific provisions on working hours, welfare facilities, housing, medical care, and safety. The OSH Code merges these into a general framework that ignores the unique risks and circumstances of each sector.
The Grievance Redressal Mechanisms have been made poor. The Code does not create strong avenues for workers to file complaints or pursue remedies for unsafe working conditions. There is no independent authority for safety disputes, and workers must rely on a weakened inspection system. This discourages reporting of violations, especially among contract and migrant workers who fear retaliation.
There is strong provision of longer working hours and flexible work shifts. The OSH Code allows significant flexibility in working hours. Although it nominally retains the 48-hour workweek, state drafts and rules allow 12-hour daily shifts. This is a rollback of hard-won labour rights achieved over decades, especially the eight-hour workday principle championed since the early 20th century. No wonder the Infosys chairman Narayan Murthy had opined (presumably at the behest of the government) for 70 hours work a week. Subramanyam went further ahead asking for 90 hours work a week. The medical science through researches has reached conclusion that our organism is unable to be productive even for 8 consecutive hours, notably because of what is called the “circadian rhythm”, that is to say, our daily biological cycles. The scientists generally agree that the ideal working time is around 6 hours, and more concentrated in the morning.
In the lack of provision of clean, hygienic environment, potable drinking water and other such facilities the workers are unlikely to be healthy and contribute to their optimum potential.
It is high time the workers unions, social activists, concerned citizens and political parties should stand in defence of workers right for a healthy life and force the government to withdraw the OSH & WC code. (IPA Service)
