Parliamentary Panel may seek changes in Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code
A Parliamentary board may look for key changes in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code after it was overwhelmed with requests by different associations and exchange bodies to be increasingly adaptable over rules for little and medium undertakings and to enable them to work longer hours, and have shared offices, for example, crèches. The parliamentary council on work is looking into the OSH code, 1 of the 4 codes planned for redesigning India's age-old work segment laws to make them more industry-and laborer benevolent. Out of the 4 codes, the pay code has just been cleared by Parliament. Another, the code on mechanical relations, has been cleared by the Union bureau. The OSH code has endorsed that "occasions and working hours or some other condition to be seen by the business might be recommended by the suitable Govt."
According to prevailing laws & international norms, up to 8 hours of work is allowed following the first International Labour Organization (ILO) convention in 1919. A 6 time MP from the Biju Janata Dal and labour panel chief Bhartruhari Mahtab said that “Many organisations who deposed before us feel that the eight hour-schedule was sacrosanct in the backdrop of the Industrial Revolution. But now, a hundred years after the first ILO convention, the world has changed. So, there is an opportunity to look into the issue". Another panel member added on condition of anonymity that at least in some sectors such as textiles & information technology, the Govt. can think of extending working hours.
Panel members also said that the extended fixed hours would be at higher wages. Trade unions affiliated to the Left parties submitted a memorandum to the panel & are vehemently opposed to any such plan. Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) General Secretary Tapan Sen said that “The historic May Day is a result of the workers’ demand for fix working hours. International conventions have divided the day into eight hours of sleep, eight hours for work & eight hours for recreation for workers". The code puts the onus on the employers to provide a crèche & other facilities for women workers who are allowed to work in night shifts. These provisions, many members said, are capital-intensive & place a burden on people who run small & medium sector enterprises. The panel may consider asking the Govt. to allow common facilities for workers in a particular sector & area which can be maintained by a group of enterprises. “As it is the MSMEs (micro, small, & medium enterprises) work on slender profit margins amid tough competition. Individual enterprises may find it difficult to maintain their separate facilities. So a joint facility can be a feasible idea,” said a third panel member, also on condition of anonymity.
The labour committee has so far met the Indian Film & TV Producers Council, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Federation of Medical & Sales Representatives’ Associations of India, Action Aid Association, National Labour Law Association, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Joint Forum of Plantation Workers Unions, Darjeeling Planters Association, Tea Association of India & several trade unions. “The panel will now meet a few states before finalising its report,” Mahtab added.
During the debates, many members & different organisations have also shown out that the OSH Code is applicable only for establishments with ten or more workers, excluding a large number of workers who work in micro, family-run establishments. The panel may ask the Govt to devise a mechanism to ensure safety & good health of a worker in such establishments as health & safety of all workers are important
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