Historyof OSHin India

Introduction:
My research on History of Occupational Health & safety in my county “India” which is

very old from (1500 BCE to present OSH Code 2020) with rich cultural History to Vedic (Rugved 6-
76-14), This is before 1000 BC (Before Crist).Few quotes specified about safety during olden days
are
Many terms like these have been quoted in the History of India. Some important quotes on
occupational safety and Health are.
In Kautilya’s (fig 01) “Arthshashtra” 2000BC (book on economics with 180 chapters)
ruler Vishnugupta Chanakya wrote “Fire, water, diseases, scarcity, rats, wild animals,
serpents, and demon are eight great dangers. To protect people from these is the duty
of the king.' Kautilya has explained problems as well as solutions.
With suck great history I would like to brief you more on the important calendar event
Fig 01
Timeline of OSH in India:

During the British rule voice were heard for the first time for safety in 1873, from a report by Major
Moore describing factory Cotton Department, Bombay presently know as Mumbai, talking about
long working hours, child labor and women with no breaks and less holiday. Based on the report a
committee was setup and the commission in 1875 prohibited children under the age of 9 and a
work shift not exceeding 12 hours a day for adults.
The Factories Act, 1881: The first Indian Factories Act,1881 (15th of 1881) was enacted. The
most important aspects were prohibition of children under 7; 4 days holiday; fencing of dangerous
machine; reporting accidents.
There were subsequent challenges in amending, The Factories Act 1891, The Factories Act 1911,
The Factories Act 1922, The Factories Act 1934 they saw minor reforms but not fully followed, till
the end of year 1947. In 1948 there was a major amendment and still followed to the present called
The Factories Act 1948 (The present Act). The act consisted of 120 section 11 chapter and
schedule on the list of Notifiable Diseases.
Ratification of ILO Convention No. 89 & 90 which prohibited employment of woman & young
person was done in The FA 1954 as an Amendment in (25th of 1954) with 66, 70 and 71.
During the recent year of OSH 2020 new code has been announce in India which came out as a
recommendation of a committee, In which the codes combines and covers 13 existing Labour
Laws and forming a single code called “Occupation safety and health working conditions code
2020”
Milestone & Facts relating to OSH in India
In the year 1984 a major & the worst chemical disaster in the world till date happened in the city
of Bhopal, India at Union carbide factory, A chemical name methyl isocyanate (MIC) used in
manufacturing plastic leaked on 2nd December 1984 killing 2,259, and in 1991, 3,928 deaths had
been officially certified.
This accident opened the eye of the world and was declared the worst chemical disaster in the
history of the world. This created reforms in the Factories act 1948 and amendment and new
chapter was added Chapter -4A :
Hazardous Process "Hazardous process" means any process or activity in relation to an industry
specified in the First Schedule where, unless special care is taken, raw materials used therein or
the intermediate or finished products, by-products, waste or effluents thereof would (1) cause
material impairment to the health of the persons engaged in or connected therewith, or (2) result in
the pollution of the general environment.
PROVISIONS RELATING TO HAZARDOUS PROCESSES – Reference “The Factories Act 1948”
41A. Constitution of Site Appraisal Committee;41B. Compulsory disclosure of information by the
occupier.41C. Specific responsibility of the occupier in relation to hazardous processes;.41D.
Power of Central Government to appoint Inquiry Committee;41E. Emergency standards.;41F.
Permissible limits of exposure of chemical and toxic substances; 41G. Workers’ participation in
safety management.41H. Right of workers to warn about imminent danger.
The First Schedule of the Factories Act lists 29 hazardous industries. Permissible limit of exposure
– this definition was added to act. In 1987.
The Indian National Policy on OSH:

The Convention on Occupational Safety and Health (No. 155) and its Recommendation (No. 164)
was ratified by India in 2009. in February 2009 after consultations with partners. The Action
Programme to implement the Policy is part of the document. India has not ratified all the
conventions & Recommendations
The role of Trade Union employers in India:

The first organized Trade Union in India named as the Madras Labour Union was formed in the
year 1918. Suitable for organizations for balancing and improving the relations between the
employer and the employees.
The trade unions of India The Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), helped in enforcement of existing
standards on hazardous cargo dumped, India had become the center for illegal hazardous wastes
imported under the pretext of “recycling”, The union played a major role in identifying.
The Trade union in India are mostly associated are voluntary organization of workers as well as
Employers formed to protect and promote the interest of their members.
Employer roles are clearly defined in the factories act 1948. This included proving safe equipment
environment training welfare facility and the training and qualification related to safety officer, and
duties of inspecting staff.
In India the acts are prepared by the central Government and implemented at national level and
the state Government (31 states) have to prepare their rules complying to the central act such as
The Maharashtra factory rule; Karnataka state factory rule & Tamil Nadu state factory rule.
REFERENCES:
Before the research, I have contacted my lectures from The Directorate General of
Factory Advice Service & Labour Institutes (DGFASLI) during my course of Advance Diploma
in Industrial Safety 2022-23 at DGFASLI under Ministry of Labour & Employment at Central labor
Institute, Mumbai This gives me access to library and faculty and research done at the Institute.
Some books referred by me was Fundamentals of Industrial Safety and Health Dr. K.U. Mistry KU
Mistry
Mr. S. N. Borkar Dy. Director DGFASLI (Staff Training/ Productivity ) [email protected]

Mr. Satyendra Singh Director DGFASLI (Staff Training/ Productivity ) (ST/P)
[email protected]
The Factories Act 1948 - Chapter 4A Section ( 41A – 41H ).
Fundamentals of Industrial Safety and Health Dr. K.U. Mistry M.E., L.L.M., Ph.D. Part5 of Chapter-
1, Part-1 of Chapter-7 and Part-1 of Chapter-27
INVESTIGATION OF LARGE-MAGNITUDE INCIDENTS:
BHOPAL AS A CASE STUDY https://www.bhopal.com/document/case-study.pdf
Fundamentals of Industrial Safety and Health 1- 36 The concept of Safety
Industrial Accident Prevention. H.W. Heinrich,
Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety, ILO, Geneva, Switzerland.
Accident Prevention Manual for Industrial Operations, NSC, USA.
Health and safety at work: A trade union priority Labour Education 2002/1 No. 126
https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_dialogue/@actrav/documents/publication/
wcms_111465.pdf
National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at Workplace: Government of India, Ministry of
Labour and Employment.
CHAPTER 41 TRADE UNIONS page No. 1
https://mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/Statistical_year_book_india_chapters/Trade_Union.pdf.
Source: ICFTU briefing document for the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, April
2001.

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Historyof OSHin India

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Introduction:

My research on History of Occupational Health & safety in my county “India” which is

Timeline of OSH in India:

The Indian National Policy on OSH:

The role of Trade Union employers in India:

Mr. S. N. Borkar Dy. Director DGFASLI (Staff Training/ Productivity ) [email protected]

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