Introduction
Micro, Small, Medium and
Large Scale Enterprises and Informal sector are empowered by mass labour force
of India. Based on National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) conducted on 2011-12,
the Indian workforce is over 47.41 crores strong, which constitutes 35.40 % of
the total population of the country. India’s large proportion of workers
engaged in agriculture about 47.0%, the service sector which contributes
generates 28.64% of the employment and the share of manufacturing is 24.36%
employment. With GDP $2.972 trillion (estimated) contribution from Agriculture
15.87%, Industry 29.73%, Services 54.40%. The growth of every individual
industry in India is contributing to nations GDP. Since the beginning of
liberalisation in 1991, many regulations have been brought about to facilitate
economic growth and development but hardly any initiative has been taken to enhance
the working conditions of labourers even from health and safety angle.
The frequency of
work-related Injuries, number of injuries and fatalities reported at Factories
in India during 2009 were recorded as 0.85, 6651 and 668 respectively, while
the frequency of work-related injuries, number of injuries and fatalities
reported at Factories in India during 2013 recorded as 0.37, 2445 and 494, the
drop in numbers can be attributed to more focus on improving occupational
health and safety outcomes at all fronts including Central, State, professional
associations, Industry, Unions etc. However, there is lot of scope for
improvement and also the figures related Industrial injuries and fatalities
can’t be taken as conclusive that is reality the number are true
representations due to the gross underreporting and may present a false picture
of the scope of the problems.
Published Data
Indian Express, November
21, 2017 reports, there were about 48,000 workers die in India due to
occupational accidents of which 38 fatal accidents take place every day in the
construction sector. An estimate of fatal accidents in Indian construction
industry contributes to 24% of occupation fatalities, the highest in the
country annually.
It is true for a
substantial proportion of workers in the organized sector as well. Over half
the workers are self-employed, largely with a poor asset-base, and around 35.3
% are casual labourers seeking employment on a daily basis while 14.6% in the
urban areas. About 18 % of those employed are regular workers, and amongst them
less than 8 % have regular, full-time employment with social protection. (India
Labour and Employment 2014).
The ILO estimates that some
2.3 million women and men around the world succumb to work-related accidents or
diseases every year; this corresponds to over 6000 deaths every single day.
Worldwide, there are around 340 million occupational accidents and 160 million
victims of work-related illnesses annually. As per the ILO’s latest statistical
data on occupational accidents and diseases on a world-wide level, occupational
disease due to hazardous substances are 651,279 deaths a year while the
construction industry has a disproportionately high rate of recorded accidents.
Workplace deaths in India
are twenty times higher than UK. Merely 20 percentages of strong workforce in
India is covered under the existing health and safety legal framework. Though
there are laws to address health and safety concerns, their implementation is a
big task due to lack of adequate manpower,” Mike Robinson, CEO-British Safety
Council.
India, with 125 crores
populations, has a strong workforce of 47.41 crores. Based on report from
Institute for Human Development India, an overwhelmingly large percentage of
workers are engaged in Informal employment. Over half the workers are
self-employed, largely with a poor asset-base, and around 30 % are casual
labourers seeking employment on a daily basis. About 18 % of those employed are
regular workers, and amongst them less than 8 % have regular, full-time
employment with social protection. (India Labour and Employment 2014)
(Reference: Institute for Human Development India).
India added 66 lacs on to
the labour force per year between 2011-16. Whatever the figures about yearly
labour force, the India’s formal sector is not able to adjust such huge numbers
and end us in the informal sector with absolutely no safeguards. It is
estimated that unsafe work conditions are one of the leading causes of death
and disability among India’s working population. (Reference: World Bank
–Development Indicator).
Institute for Human
Development India, an overwhelmingly large percentage of workers are engaged in
Informal employment and the majority of them have low earnings with limited or
no social protection. The variable and insecure nature of the work means that
more and more workers are pushed into taking up hazardous and precarious
employment both in the informal economy as well as informal work in the formal
sector. For these workers, employment not only fails to bring about a
successful escape from poverty, it may contribute to existing vulnerabilities.
There is very little awareness about workplace hazards due to lack of access to
information, or even any kind of formal education. Informal workers give low
priority to occupational health and safety, as having work is more important
than the quality of the job.
Health and Safety
Professionals, why am I Important?
Health and Safety
Professionals create change at all levels of the organisation, at an individual
level, they influence employees to change the way they work, at a business
level they change the way the business unit operates and at an organisational
level they change the way the organisation carries out its business. In
addition, they need to be aware of and be able and willing to discuss the
safety impact of proposed changes initiated in other parts of the
business. They do consider Health, Safety and wellbeing in their
decisions. Change the behaviour of individual to achieve a positive impact on
personnel within our organisations.
Expectation from Health and
Safety Professional
The health and safety
professional are expected to perform various tasks which depends on the
industry and environment they are responsible. In broad terms, their
responsibility is to ensure the working environment is safe and as risk-free as
possible for all employees. These build the core of a safe workplace, as well
as fulfilling the legal minimum requirements.
Development, documentation
and maintenance of a plan- It is the first and most important responsibility
for health and safety professionals. A strong, well-documented safety plan is
the foundation of any workplace that wants to avoid incident and injury.
Incident records- It should
be the job and responsibility of the health and safety professionals to
document each and every incident, its cause, and the actions that are being or
should be taken to prevent it their reoccurrence and use the data
appropriately.
Imparting Training- the
basic cause of incidents is lack of awareness, training of workers and lack of
skill necessary for the job they are assigned then the things can go wrong
fast.
Workplace assessment-
Workplace hazards are always developing as a result changes in the setup or new
systems, wear and tear of equipment’s, human factors, changes in materials,
product design, production rates etc., workplace assessments (by various means
& tools) is an important task safety professionals are responsible for.
The responsibilities don’t
always end there irrespective the environment is of lower risk or higher risk
(refining, petrochemicals, chemicals etc.), the duties and training
requirements of the professionals will likely be more stringent. Health &
Safety professionals work closely and liaising with management, unions, legal
and human resource departments, and external inspectors. Continual
self-development in order to remain updated with system and to acquire new
skills is prime responsibility, even though it is one of the legal requirements
for employer to arrange necessary trainings to its employees including health
and safety professionals.
Professional View
Health and safety
professionals being in the advisory role to the management and important link
between hazard and realization, they have a moral responsibility to take
necessary steps in order to create safer workplace. Apart from initial
credentials, continual self-development is a key for success, not only as an
individual but also for organization, it helps to elevate motivation levels in
the long run, the process helps in stay up to date, enhance the knowledge and
skills need to deliver a professional service, able to be more effectively
lead, manage, influence, communicate and convey, ultimately creating positive
safety culture.
In India, there has been
growth in almost all the sectors including in hazardous processes mining,
machinery and construction activities. However, the laws pertaining to health
and safety of workers at workplaces have remained static. Specialised manpower
and related infrastructure for dealing with health and safety aspects of
workers and surrounding populations have not been developed as per the desired
requirements. Even though, the National Policy 2010 on Safety, Health and
Environment at workplace was brought in to eliminate the incidence of work
related injuries, diseases, fatalities, disaster and loss of national assets.
Aiming to achieve a high level of occupational safety, health and environment
performance through proactive approaches and also to enhance the well-being of
the employee and society at large. Even though the policy was brought in to
regulate Workplace Health and Safety, it lacks guidance in implementation.
Legal framework for the
protection of workers in the formal units which employ only very small
percentage of the workforce, has been in existence for long but the
implementation has been lax. Number of safety professionals has remained below
optimal level and also their proficiency level as well as freedom of
practicing.
National Occupational
Safety and Health (OSH) Profile report Gap analysis mentioned in its report
that; suitable Training Institutes at National level on occupational health and
safety are not available for imparting the training to workers from formal and
informal sectors. Also, Inspectorates of Factories /Directorates of Industrial
Safety and Health under the labour department enforce the provisions of the Act
and the Rules. The manpower strength of these Inspectorates /Directorates is
insufficient to effectively enforce the Act and the Rules. Clause 4.6.6
requires adopting Occupational Safety and Health training programs in workplace
and industry programmes. Such training institutes are at present not identified
in the country. (Reference: National Occupation Safety & Health Profile by
DGFASLI and ILO -Labor Bureau of India, Total Number of Industrial Injuries in
Factories (2009-2013) Annexure – XIII).
As a Health and Safety
professional you cannot wait and continue to watch people die or suffer due to
occupational injuries & illness for any reason, being proficient, they need
to adopt professional approach instead of waiting. While there is obviously a
lot of work to be done to elevate workplace health & safety, professionals
at their individual level can take initiative to develop their own skills,
explore the option of acquire knowledge and stay updated with latest
developments not only in the field of health & safety but also about the
industry they engaged in. Actively engage themselves with local as well as
international professional association to stay updated. Take unified initiative
at national level and influence the Government to create necessary changes in
present labour policy in order to accommodate the all workers from all
categories including informal sector.
‘You cannot change your
future but you can change your habits and surely your habits will change your
future’ (Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam).
Inspired by the words of
nations beloved former president, we aspire to change our safety habits to
change the future of India into the safest and incident free nation of the
world.
Disclaimer
All views expressed on this
site are my own and do not represent the opinions of any entity whatsoever with
which I have been, am now or will be affiliated. This document may provide
guidance to Health and Safety Professionals. Nothing herein, however, is
intended to replace, amend, supersede or otherwise depart from any other legal
requirements.
References
1. Govt. data related to
industrial injuries at factories is available till 2012 at https://data.gov.in/catalog/industrial-injuries-factories
2. National Occupation
Safety & Health Profile by DGFASLI and ILO -Labor Bureau of India, Total
Number of Industrial Injuries in Factories (2009-2013) Annexure – XIII
3.TimesofIndia,http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/61725283.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst
4. National Policy 2010 on
Safety, Health and Environment at workplace
6. World Bank –Development
Indicator data
7. Institute for Human
Development India
Lavish Lokhande CIH CSP CHMM CMIOSH CFPS
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