The Ministry of Labour and Employment (MoLE) on November 19, 2020 has issued the Draft Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2020 by suspending the following rules namely:-
• The Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Rules, 1990;
• The Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services) Rules, 1998;
• The Model Factories Rules;
• The Mines Rules, 1955;
• The Mines Rescue Rules, 1985;
• The Mines Vocational Training Rules, 1966;
• The Pithead Bath Rules, 1959;
• The Mines Crèche Rules,1966;
• The Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Central Rules, 1971;
• The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Central Rules, 1979.
• The Working Journalists (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Rules, 1957;
• The Cine-Workers and Cinema Theatre Workers (Regulation of Employment) Rules, 1984;
• The Sales Promotion Employees (Conditions of Service) Rules, 1976.
The draft rules provide for operationalization of provisions in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 relating to safety, health and working conditions of the Dock Workers, Building or other construction workers, Mines workers, Inter-State Migrant worker, Contract labour, Working journalist, Audio-visual workers and Sales promotion employees.
The draft Rules are aimed at enhancing safety, health and working conditions in establishments, simplifying the procedures and protocols, allowing electronic mode of maintaining registers, records and furnishing returns, thus ensuring safe, healthy and decent working conditions. The salient features of the draft rules include:
• No employee shall be employed without issuing an appointment letter in a format that includes designation, category of skill, wages, etc.
• Annual health examination shall be conducted free of cost for every worker of factory, dock, mine and building or other construction work, who has completed 45 years of age.
• Journey allowance once in a year for to & fro journey
• Single electronic registration, license and annual integrated return for an establishment.
• An all India single license for contractor supplying or engaging contract labour in more than one State for five years.
• Prohibition of employment of contract labour for core activity of an establishment.
• Payment of wages to contact labour (a) the contractor shall fix the wage periods and no wage period shall exceed one month. (b) The wages of every person employed as contract labour in an establishment or by the contactor shall be paid before the expiry of seventh day after the last day of the wage period. (c) The wages shall be disbursed through bank transfer or electronic mode only.
• Safety committees have been made mandatory for every establishment employing 500 matters and rules have been provided for composition and functions of safety committees.
• The rules relating to safety of women employment in all establishments for all type of work before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m. with their consent.
• Mines rules have been integrated with the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions rules.
[Notification No.: G.S.R. 729(E)]
