3. Introduction:
Management and planning is one way of avoiding
hazardous events on a site. Accidents and events are direct
results of unsafe activities and conditions, both of which can
be controlled by management. Nearly 8.5 million labourers
are employed in India on construction sites. The
construction industry in India is important as it generates
employment in large numbers and also creates investment
opportunities for various related sectors. The causes of the
accidents are mainly poor safety measures, unskilled
labourers, poor equipment, lack of training, uncontrolled
operations, lack of safety regulations, unwillingness to input
resources for safety, unsafe conditions, improper use of
equipment, etc. The government has enacted various
legislations to improve the working condition in India like the
Minimum Wages Act, the Workmen’s Compensation Act
(1923) and the Contractor Labour Act (1970).
4. Need of Safety Legislation:
•In construction industry legislation is needed for
•Improving the work condition.
•Determining terms of employment.
•Providing social security i.e, compensation
•Regulate relationship between employers and
employees.
•Safe guarding the life of work for welfare of
workers.
•To ensure healthful working conditions for both
men and women.
5. Objective:
The main objective of the clauses is to state the legal
safety measures that are available to the labourers and
workers on the construction site and these safety
measures clauses ensure their right to have a safe
environment to work in with utmost diligence. The safety
of the workers is mostly ignored despite having so many
rules and provisions.
6. Safety Legislation In India
There are several safety laws in India, which are
constituted for being applicable to all private &
government sectors throughout India. Employers
are primarily responsible for implementation of
such safety law to their vicinity.
And there are different central & state level
authorities to execute the implementation. There
are provision under such law to penalize or take
legal action against the employer in case of any
violation.
7. To assure safety to workers and elimination of damage to
machinery and equipments, Indian standards institute has
done considerable job. It lays down
•Safety precautions to be taken during working operations.
•Requirements for effective maintenance of tools and
equipments.
•Guidance on safe welding and cutting, use of powered
industrial trucks, belt conveyors and fire-fighting equipments.
•Standards and specifications of safe industrial operations
and practices.
•Safety requirements for personal protective equipments.
•Standards for fire safety in workshop and safety procedures
to be followed in electrical work and use of electrical
appliances in hazardous area and explosives atmosphere.
•Specifications for protective clothing, safety helmets, face
shields and safety equipments for eyes, ears, lungs, hands,
feet and legs. These include eye and ear protectors, gas
9. The Contract Labour (Regulation and
Abolition) Act, 1970
The Act No. 37 of 1970
Contract labour is the system of employing
labourers through a contract by a contractor for a
specified period. A workman is known as a
contract labourer when they are assigned to a
work of an establishment for a specific period
through a contract by a contractor with or without
the knowledge of the principal employer. Contract
workmen are indirect employees; a contract
worker is a daily wager or the daily wages are
accumulated and given at the end of the month. It
is the responsibility of the contractor to hire,
supervise and remunerate contract laborers’.
10. Objective and scope of the Act:
To prevent exploitation of contract labour.
To provide proper and habitable working
conditions.
To regulate the functioning of the advisory
boards.
To lay down the rules and regulations
regarding the registration procedure of the
establishments employing contract labour.
To state the necessary requirements and the
procedure of licensing of contracts.
To provide the penal provisions in case of
violation of offences under the act.
11. Applicability of Act:
•Any establishment where twenty or more workmen are employed or
were associated as contract labour on any day during the preceding
twelve months.
•Any contractor who employs or employed twenty or more workmen as
contract labour on any day of the preceding twelve months.
•The Act is also applicable to every establishment if the workmen are
employed in the establishment as ‘contract labour. Section 2b of the Act
states that a workman is deemed to be employed as contract labour
when he is hired in or in connection with such work by or through a
contractor with or without the knowledge of the principal employer.
•The Act does not apply to any organization or establishments where
any work of intermittent or casual nature is performed. The Act states
that a work is deemed to be of intermittent nature if it is performed for
less than 120 days in the preceding twelve months or it is of non-
seasonal character and is performed for less than 60 days in a year.
•The Act is not applicable to a person who is appointed in an advisory
or managerial capacity.
12. The Employees Compensation Act, 1923, The Act No. 8
of 1923
Employees Compensation Act, 1923 is one of the important
social security legislation. The act aims to provide financial
protection to employees and their dependents through
compensation in case of any accidental injury occurs during
employment which results in either death or disablement of
the worker.
13. Applicability of Act:
It applies to employees working in factories, mines, docks,
construction establishments, plantations, oilfields and other
establishments listed in Schedule II of the Employee’s
Compensation Act.
It applies to persons recruited for working abroad and who
is employed outside India as in Schedule II of the Act.
It applies to a person recruited as the driver, helper,
mechanic, cleaner or any other in connection with a motor
vehicle and to a captain or other member of the crew of an
aircraft.
Also, the act does not apply to the members of armed
forces of the Union & Workmen who are covered under ESI
(Employee State Insurance) Act.
14. The Mines Act, 1952, The Act No. 35 of 1952
It contains provisions for measures relating to the health,
safety, and welfare of workers in the coal, metalliferous
and oil mines. The Act prescribes the duties of the owner
to manage mines / mining operation and the health,
safety in mines. It also, prescribes the number of working
hours in mines, the minimum wage rates, and other
related matters. The Act is administered by the Ministry
of Labor and Employment.
15. Objective:
The Mines Rules, 1955, were formulated according to the
powers conferred under Section 58 of the Mines Act,
1952. The Rules give detailed and specific provisions for
the maintenance of health, safety and welfare of the mine
workers and the schedules for necessary filings of the
industry.
16. Applicability:
The Act and Rules are applicable to ‘Mine’ and governs all:
•Borings, bore holes, oil wells
•Shafts
•Opencast workings, underground working
•The protective work carried out in or adjacent to the mines
•Workshops and stores in the precincts of the mine
•Power stations/ transformers/ sub stations which are
solely or mainly supplying electricity to the mines.
