Indians immune to occupational health risks?

Occupational health risks is the tenth leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Occupational Safety and Health Audit has neither been done nor does the government has the capacity to undertake it. Therefore, a systematic, objective and documented evaluation of the occupational safety and health systems and procedures does not get the priority it deserves.

Directorate General Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), Ministry of Labour, Government of India serves as a technical arm to assist the Ministry in formulating national policies on occupational safety and health in factories and docks. It also advises factories on various problems concerning safety, health, efficiency and well - being of the persons at work places.

DGFASLI claims to be a multi-disciplinary organization with 129 Technical officers comprising of 92 engineers, 7 medical doctors, 19 industrial hygienists, 3 industrial physiologists, 4 industrial psychologists and 4 commercial artists for more than 300,000 registered industrial factories and more than 5,000 chemical factories employing half a million workers as per DGFASLI Report of 1998 that employs approximately 8.8 million persons were employed in various factories. Of course, this does not include the the workers who are in the unorganised and informal sector.

There is no legally enforceable occupational health right for any one who does not work in a "factory" as defined in Section 2(m) of the Factories Act, 1948. It means that in any premises if 10 or more workers are engaged in a manufacturing process with aid of power or if 20 or more workers are engaged in the manufacturing process without aid of power such premises will be covered under the Factories, 1948. The Factories Act and the rules framed thereunder are enforced by respective states/UTs. through the office of Chief Inspector of Factories under the Labour Department of the State Government/UTs but most of these institutions are nearly defunct.

In India, on paper workers general safety, health and conditions of work are covered under the following legislations: Model Rules under the Factories (Amendment) Act - 1987 and The Factories Act, 1948, as amended by Act 20 of 1987 - with exhaustive notes, Atomic Energy (Factories) Rules, 1996, The Insecticides Act, 1968, Control of Industrial Major Accident Hazards Rules, 1990, Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemicals Rules, 1989, Atomic Energy (Control of Irradiation of Food) Rules, 1996, Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazarous Chemical (MSIHC) Rules, 1989, The Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, The Workmen's Compensation (Amendments) Act, 2000,
The Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948, The Building & Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, The Dock Workers (Safety, Health & Welfare) Act, 1986, The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, The Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act, 1970, The Contract Labour Regulation Rules, The Motor Transport Workers Act, 1961, The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees’ (Conditions of Service and Misc. Provisions) Act, 1955, The Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees’ (Conditions of Service and Misc. Provisions) Rules, 1957, The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, The Trade Unions Act, 1926, The Trade Unions (Amendments) Act, 2001, The Mica Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1946, The Limestone & Dolomite Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1972, The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines & Chrome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Fund Act, 1976, The Iron Ore Mines, Manganese Ore Mines & Chrome Ore Mines Labour Welfare Cess Act, 1976, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry latrines Prohibition Act, 1993 etc.

These acts do not guarantee any health security to workers and their family who too suffer secondary health risks because the occupational health infrastructure in the country is still born in a scenario where the general health infrastructure has been allowed to decay so that a rationale for corporatisation can be built up. Occupational health needs create a compelling logic to ensure public funding for all aspects of health.