Govt to ensure uniform safety and health standards for workers

New Delhi, Nov 22 The newly launched labour laws will ensure uniform safety and health standards for workers, said the government on Saturday.

The country has witnessed a major shift in its labour regulation framework with the implementation of the four consolidated labour codes.

The four Labour Codes include the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSH), 2020, is enacted to consolidate and simplify the existing complex web of labour laws. It replaces 13 Central Labour laws with a single comprehensive legislation, thereby reducing multiplicity and bringing uniformity across industries and States/ UTs.

“The Code was enacted as a part of the broader labour laws reforms to improve transparency, enhance worker welfare, and promote ease of doing business in India,” according to an official statement.

Under the code, every factory employing 500 or more workers, employers employing 250 or more Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW), and employers employing 100 or more mine workers will constitute a safety committee which will consist of representatives from employers and workers.

“This code provides health, safety, and welfare of workers in all sectors, which was previously limited to seven sectors, viz. factories, mines, plantations, beedi-cigar, dock workers, BOCW, and motor transport,” the statement said.

Every employee will be eligible for free annual health check-ups. Also, the plantation employer can now avail the ESI facility for medical services.

“This will enable early detection of diseases, reduce medical costs, and improve workforce health and productivity,” the statement said. It will also promote preventive healthcare, reduce long-term occupational risk, and provide industry benefits in terms of lower absenteeism and improved productivity.

Further, the National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board will set national standards for occupational safety, health, and working conditions that will be mandatory for states to follow, ensuring compliance with stringent quality standards for occupational safety, health, and working conditions across the country for all workers.

The Social Security fund aims to safeguard work-life balance, ensure fair compensation for extra work, encourage transparent overtime practices with worker consent, and provide an opportunity to earn more by doing overtime and get paid at a higher wage (double the normal wage rate).

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