Prof. Sunil Goyal
Organizations such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the United Nations (UN) actively promote the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28 every year. The International Labour Organization (ILO) started observing the World Day for Safety and Health at Work on April 28, 2003. The ILO is devoted to advancing opportunities for people to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity. It aims to promote rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, boost social protection, and strengthen dialogue in work-related issues.
HISTORY OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH DAY
Regulation and research in occupational safety and health are relatively recent developments. In response to worker concerns, labor movements emerged in the years after the industrial revolution. The health dangers caused by chemicals, dust, metals, and other disease-causing variables that workers in more than 50 different vocations must contend with were discussed in “De Morbis Diatriba,” which was published in 1700. Early 19th-century concerns about the poor health of children working in cotton mills led to the enactment of the Factory Acts in the United Kingdom.
The Factory Inspectorate Act of 1833 established a dedicated professional factory inspection service. In 1844, a new act was passed in response to the factory inspectorate’s request, limiting the number of hours that women in the textile industry might work. Machine guarding was mandated by industry, but only in the textile sector and in areas where women or children might be present.
When a Royal Commission’s findings on the working conditions for miners were published in 1840, they made clear the dangerous working conditions and high accident rates. The 1842 Mines Act was enacted as a result of the public outcry the commission caused. The statute created a mining inspectorate, leading to prosecutions and increased security. By 1850, inspectors were free to enter and inspect locations as they pleased. Both the first worker’s compensation law and the first social insurance law in the Western world were signed by Otto von Bismarck in 1883 and 1884, respectively.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH INSTITUTIONS
The National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) was established in 1970 at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, as a WHO collaborative and reference centre for occupational health, and it works closely with the Ministries of Labour, Health and Family Welfare, Environment and Forests, Agriculture etc. Some thrust areas of the Institute are: occupational and environmental epidemiology, toxicology, environmental pollution, women’s health, agricultural health and human resource development. The objectives of NIOH are: to promote intensive research to evaluate environmental stresses/factors at the workplace, to promote the highest quality of occupational health through fundamental and applied research, to develop control technologies and health programmes through basic and fundamental research and to generate human resources in the field. Two Regional Occupational Health Centres (ROHCs) have been set up in Bangalore and Calcutta. The National Safety Council of India (NSCI) was established to promote safety consciousness among workers to prevent accidents, minimise dangers and risks and arrange related education and awareness programmes. The three main activities of the NSCI are: road transportation safety; safety of health in the construction sector; safety, health and environment in small – to medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). Other public institutes include the Central Labour Institute (and its associated institutes) and the All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. The Indian Association of Occupational Health (IAOH) is an association of over 3000 members comprising health professionals, industrial hygienists, safety professionals, social workers and others. It aims to promote occupational health by various measures including conducting training courses, workshops and conferences, producing a journal with scientific articles, conducting research activities, collaborating with international agencies in the field and preparing a national registry of occupational health.
NATIONAL POLICY ON OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
The Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, approved the national policy on safety, health and environment at workplaces in February 2009. It provides guidelines for developing and maintaining safety culture and environment at workplaces for all stakeholders. It also deals with provision of a statutory framework, administrative and technical support services, providing incentives (both financial and non-financial) to employers and employees, developing research and development capabilities, prevention strategies and their monitoring and providing required technical manpower and inclusion of safety, health and environment improvement in other national policies.
An action programme for policy implementation is part of the documented policy. It includes eight specific working areas for action – enforcement, development of national standards, ensuring compliance, increasing awareness, promoting research and development, occupational safety, health skills development and data collection. The government of India is committed to implementing the national policy on safety, health and environment at workplaces through tripartite consultations and mobilisation of resources and expertise of all concerned stakeholders. The guidelines of the policy are helpful since it envisages total commitment and demonstration by all concerned stakeholders such as governments and social partners through well-set goals and objectives. Through dedicated and concerted efforts, India will steadily march towards economic prosperity consistent with the requirements of OSHE, thereby improving the people’s standards of living.
A policy review was done initially to determine the status of health, safety and environment at the workplace. Subsequent reviews of the policy and action programme is planned for once in five years.
NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR CONTROL AND TREATMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
A grouping of major occupational disorders in India according to the etiological factors includes – occupational injuries: ergonomics related; chemical occupational factors: dust, gases, acid, alkali, metals etc.; physical occupational factors: noise, heat, radiation etc.; biological occupational factors; behavioural occupational factors; and social occupational factors.
NATIONAL LIST OF OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES IN INDIA
As per The Indian Factories Act 1948 3rd Schedule, Sections 89 and 90 – list of notifiable diseases, there are 29 enlisted diseases. They include poisoning by metals and compounds such as lead, tetra-ethyl lead, phosphorous, mercury, manganese, arsenic, nitrous fumes, carbon bisulphide, benzene, their nitro or amido derivatives or its sequelae, chrome ulceration, anthracosis, silicosis, radium or other radioactive substances, halogens or halogen derivatives, cancer of the skin, toxic anaemia, jaundice, oil acne or dermatitis due to mineral oils, byssionosis, asbestosis, contact dermatitis, noise-induced hearing loss, beryllium, carbon monoxide, coal miners’ pnoumoconiosis, phosgene, isocyanates, occupational cancer and toxic nephritis.
COMPENSATION
The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, has four chapters and the following schedules: Schedule I, Parts 1 (list of injuries deemed to result in permanent total disablement) and 2 (list of injuries deemed to result in permanent partial disablement), Schedule II (list of persons who are included in the definition of workmen) and Schedule III (list of occupational diseases). As per Chapter II, Workmen’s Compensation, clause 3, Employer’s liability for compensation, (1) If personal injury is caused to a workman by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, his employer shall be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.
If a workman employed in any employment specified in Part A of Schedule III contracts any disease specified as an occupational disease related to that employment or if a workman has been employed for a period of not less than six months in any employment specified in Part B of Schedule III contracts any disease specified in Part C of Schedule III for such period as the Central Government may specify, the disease shall be recognised as injury by accident and the accident shall be deemed to have arisen in the course of the employment.
Amount of compensation (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act the amount of compensation shall be as follows namely: where death results from the injury an amount equal to fifty per cent of the monthly wages of the deceased workman multiplied by the relevant factor; or an amount of fifty thousand rupees whichever is more; where permanent total disablement results from the injury an amount equal to sixty per cent of 5 monthly wages of the injured workman multiplied by the relevant factor; or an amount of sixty thousand rupees whichever is more.
5 INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT WORKPLACE SAFETY
Penalties of over $1,000
Businesses in breach of O.S.H.A. laws face an average penalty of $1,028.
Overexertion leads to injuries
Overexertion is responsible for around a quarter of all workplace injuries.
Get slinky for yourself
Businesses lose $12.75 billion each year due to injuries caused by pushing, lifting, tugging, carrying, and/or holding.
10% of skin cancer cases
Workplace exposure to hazardous materials is responsible for 10% of all skin cancer cases.
6,000 daily work-related injury death
6,000 people die daily as a result of work-related injuries.
CHALLENGES
The lacunae in Occupational Health system in India can be highlighted as follows:
1. A very large proportion of the workforce is in the unorganised sector (more than 90% vs. less than 10% in the organised sector). The occupational health management system, implementation and beneficiaries are limited largely to the organised sector, even today, after years of advancements in every field.
2. Though legislation exists to protect workers, ineffective and incomplete implementation of this legislation is a major constraint.
3. Lack of trained occupational health manpower with deficient institutions, qualification courses, training modules, infrastructure, facilities and budgetary provisions make the implementation of legislation a challenge. There is low priority and spending on public health, which is reflected in the field of occupational health as well.
4. India is a densely populated nation with a high unemployment level; as such, there is ready availability of labour at lower wages. In such situations, health and safety at the workplace is often compromised.
5. A huge extent of undiagnosed and unreported occupational illnesses lead to a lack of accurate information and data on the scope and extent of occupational diseases.
6. There is indifference and apathy of employers, employees, the general public and other stakeholders to occupational health issues.
7. There is a lack of awareness about occupational health issues among all stakeholders.
8. Segregation and alienation of the occupational health discipline from primary health care and general health services is itself a challenge to reach out to the unorganised sector.
9. The concept of occupational health nursing is new to India. It is non-existent in the unorganised sector. Even the public sector and private employers have not yet realised its importance.
10. Poverty is an additional risk factor with low-income youths more likely to work in high-risk occupations such as agriculture, mining and construction.
11. Child labour, though legally committed, leads to poverty-related health problems.
12. The national policy on safety, health and environment at workplaces, which was launched in 2009, is yet to be fully implemented.
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are the main present and future needs in occupational health in India:
1. Existing occupational health related legislation and facilities need to be expanded and extended to workers in the unorganised sector with immediate implementation and periodic review for improvement.
2. Further development of institutions and infrastructure of occupational health, with simultaneous training of professionals in the field.
3. Spreading awareness of occupational health related issues among all stakeholders such as employers, employees, lawmakers, workers’ organisations (e.g. trade unions), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the general public.
4. Integration of occupational health into primary health care and general health services through the concept of BOHS (basic occupational health services).
5. There is an urgent requirement of modern occupational health and safety legislation, adequate enforcement machinery and establishment of centres of excellence in occupational medicine in all states of the country controlled by a central institute, to catch up with the global pace.
6. There is a need to increase awareness about the concept of occupational health nursing among all stakeholders along with recruitment of adequately trained occupational health nurses for implementing basic occupational health services.
7. Basic issues which are barriers to economic development as well as implementation of occupational health policy like dense population, unemployment, poverty, illiteracy, ignorance and unskilled manpower need to be addressed urgently.
8. The national policy on safety, health and environment at workplaces (2009) needs to be implemented urgently in full swing with a detailed five-year review.
HOW TO OBSERVE OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH DAY
Participate in a workshop, organize a specialized workshop on various aspects of occupational health and safety, under the guidance of a qualified expert. If you can’t get one, try looking for a workshop you can attend. Host a themed a little get-together in honor of the day. Include activities that teach employees how to work in a productive but safe atmosphere. Make others aware of the situation – Learn about workplace accident statistics and the importance of occupational health and safety. Use the hashtags #WorldDayForSafety, #WorkSafety, and #HealthAndSafety to share this information on social media and help raise awareness.
CONCLUSION
Though legislation is in place for ensuring adequate delivery of occupational health and safety services, with supporting national programmes, policies and institutions, still there are many lacunae which impose challenges for attaining the aims and objectives.
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Author
Prof. Sunil Goyal
Author is an Eminent Social Scientist,