National Policy on Safety, Health, and Environment at Workplace: A Comprehensive Overview

Preamble:

• Constitutional Mandate: The Constitution of India provides detailed provisions for citizens’ rights and lays down the Directive Principles of State Policy, which guide the state’s activities.

• Directive Principles: These principles emphasize securing the health and strength of employees, preventing the abuse of children, ensuring that citizens are not forced into unsuitable work, providing humane working conditions, and securing employee participation in management.

• Government Commitment: Based on these principles and international instruments, the government is committed to regulating economic activities for managing workplace risks and ensuring safe and healthy working conditions.

• Positive Impact: The government recognizes that worker safety and health positively impact productivity, economic development, and social progress.

• Prevention: Prevention is considered an integral part of economic activities, and high safety and health standards are seen as crucial for good business performance.

Policy Formulation:

• National Authorities: The formulation of policies, priorities, and strategies for occupational safety, health, and environment is undertaken by national authorities in consultation with social partners.

• Stakeholder Roles: The government, social partners, and professional safety and health organizations play a critical role in ensuring prevention, treatment, support, and rehabilitation services.

• Fundamental Human Right: The government believes that a safe and healthy working environment is a fundamental human right, essential for social justice and economic growth.

• Education and Training: Education, training, consultation, and information exchange are considered essential for prevention and promotion of safety and health.

Addressing Modern Challenges:

• Changing Job Patterns: The policy acknowledges the challenges posed by changing job patterns, such as self-employment, sub-contracting, outsourcing, homework, and remote work, which create new safety and health risks.

• New Technologies: It recognizes that new safety hazards and health risks will emerge with the adoption of new technologies, while conventional hazards will persist.

• Hazardous Operations: Particular attention is needed for hazardous operations and employees in risk-prone conditions, such as migrant workers and vulnerable groups.

• Chemical Exposure: The increasing use of chemicals, exposure to physical, chemical, and biological agents, and the indiscriminate use of agro-chemicals pose serious safety, health, and environmental risks.

Fundamental Purpose:

• Eliminate Work-Related Issues: The primary goal is to eliminate work-related injuries, diseases, fatalities, disasters, and loss of national assets.

• Achieve High Standards: The policy aims to achieve a high level of occupational safety, health, and environmental performance through proactive approaches.

• Enhance Well-being: It also aims to enhance the well-being of employees and society at large.

• Coordinated National Effort: Necessary changes will be based on a coordinated national effort focused on clear national goals and objectives.

Goals of the Policy:

The government aims to build and maintain a national preventive safety and health culture. Key goals include:

• Statutory Framework: Providing a statutory framework for occupational safety and health in all sectors, including construction, with suitable compliance and enforcement systems.

• Administrative and Technical Support: Providing administrative and technical support services.

• Incentives: Providing a system of incentives to employers and employees for achieving higher health and safety standards.

• Non-Financial Incentives: Providing non-financial incentives for improvement in safety and health.

• Research and Development: Establishing and developing research capabilities in emerging areas of risk.

• Prevention Strategies: Focusing on prevention strategies and monitoring performance through improved data collection.

• Technical Manpower: Developing technical manpower and knowledge in safety, health, and environment.

• Inclusion of Safety: Promoting the inclusion of safety, health, and environment in national policy documents.

• Occupational Health as Integral Part: Including safety and occupational health as an integral part of every operation.

• Green Jobs: Improving safety, health, and environment by creating “green jobs” that contribute to sustainable development.

Objectives of the Policy:

The policy seeks to achieve the following objectives:

• Continuous Reduction: Continuous reduction in the incidence of work-related injuries, fatalities, diseases, disasters, and loss of national assets.

• Improved Coverage: Improved coverage of work-related issues and a comprehensive database for better monitoring.

• Community Awareness: Continuous enhancement of community awareness regarding safety, health, and environment at workplaces.

• Increased Expectations: Continually increasing community expectations for workplace health and safety standards.

Action Programme:

To achieve the goals and objectives, the policy outlines the following action program:

• Enforcement:

  • Providing an effective enforcement machinery and compensation for affected persons.

  • Enforcing applicable laws and regulations through an adequate labor inspection system.

  • Establishing schemes for subsidies and loans to enable effective implementation.

  • Ensuring that employers and employees have separate but complementary responsibilities.

  • Amending existing laws to align with international instruments.

  • Monitoring national standards through regulatory authorities.

  • Facilitating the sharing of best practices between national and international authorities.

  • Developing new enforcement methods, including financial incentives.

  • Creating enabling legislation on safety, health, and environment.

  • Setting up safety and health committees.

• National Standards:

  • Developing standards, codes of practice, and manuals for uniformity at the national level.

  • Ensuring stakeholder awareness and accessibility to applicable policies and standards.

• Compliance:

  • Encouraging the government to assume responsibility for enforcement and provide assistance.

  • Promoting cooperation among social partners.

  • Continuously improving occupational safety and health management systems.

• Prevention:

  • Providing specific measures to prevent catastrophes.

  • Recognizing best safety and health practices.

  • Providing adequate penal provisions for violations.

  • Encouraging “Responsible Care” and “Corporate Social Responsibility.”

  • Ensuring a suitable accreditation machinery.

  • Encouraging employers to establish occupational safety and health management systems.

  • Focusing on occupational diseases like pneumoconiosis and silicosis.

  • Promoting safe and clean technology.

• Awareness:

  • Increasing awareness through appropriate means.

  • Providing forums for consultations among employers, employees, and the community.

  • Encouraging joint labor-management efforts.

  • Raising community awareness through structured approaches.

  • Evaluating the impact of awareness initiatives.

  • Incorporating safety and health inputs into educational programs.

  • Securing good liaison with international organizations.

  • Providing medical criteria to ensure no diminished health or capacity due to work and to ensure compensation for occupational diseases.

  • Providing practical guidance to employers and employees to reduce occupational risks.

• Research and Development:

  • Providing for research in safety, health, and environment.

  • Exploring ways to discover latent diseases and establish causal connections.

  • Establishing research priorities and improving communications with research bodies.

  • Ensuring a coordinated research approach.

• Occupational Safety and Health Skills Development:

  • Building upon existing initiatives for safe working conditions.

  • Providing training programs to increase the competence of personnel.

  • Providing information and advice to employers and employees.

  • Establishing occupational health services.

Review:

• The policy and action program will be reviewed at least once in five years or earlier if necessary.

Conclusion:

The National Policy on Safety, Health, and Environment at the Workplace provides a comprehensive framework for creating a safe and healthy work environment in India. By focusing on prevention, enforcement, and collaboration, the policy aims to protect workers, enhance productivity, and promote sustainable development. It is a crucial step towards recognizing a safe and healthy working environment as a fundamental human right.