Labour unions and experts have come out strongly against the draft rules under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020.
The new rules that aim to consolidate and amend all the laws regulating occupational safety, health and working conditions of dock workers, factory workers, construction workers and mines workers, among others, are being criticised for being heavily supportive of the employer and neglectful of the rights of employees.
For instance, the current draft rules allow shift timings to be increased from eight hours to up to 12 hours, which some say when added to the time that it takes to travel to and from the workplace, will significantly increase the time employees end up spending on work.
Health checkups have been made free for employees above 45 years of age. This provision has been criticised by some who believe that employers will constantly look for younger workers and do away with those approaching the specified age.
The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) recently issued a statement expressing its shock “at the audacity of this government in suggesting a 12-hour shift in spite of the recent Supreme Court judgement striking down a similar provision introduced by the Gujarat BJP government. It is also a contravention of the very first ILO convention ratified by the government back in 14.7.1921 and which is in force”.
Rahul Suresh Sapkal, an assistant professor at the Centre for Labour Studies, School of Management and Labour Studies, TISS, said this was a step in the direction that many states have previous taken in drafting pro-employer laws hoping to attract industry’s attention.
“First, many such laws, as we saw in the case of Gujarat, were overturned by the high court. Secondly, we have empirical evidence to show that in every place where a heavily pro-employer laws are drafted, the business activity in general actually goes down. So, such measures prove to be counter-productive for the state. In materialistic terms then, it is imperative for the state to draft laws that take care of the rights of the workers,” Sapkal said.
Speaking to a business magazine, KR Shyam Sundar, professor (HRM Area) of XLRI, Xavier School of Management, said increasing shift timings might actually reduce the number of workers that a firm employs, since equal work could now be managed by fewer people.
He also criticised the age bar that was set in the draft rules on free health check-up of employees. “This not only constitutes an ‘age discrimination’ practice, but also segments the workforce in an establishment by age.”
To demonstrate against what labour unions have described as ‘anti-labour codes’, all the major trade unions have joined forces with the farmers, who called a strike on November 26 to protest against the farm bills passed in the last Parliament session, and have called for an all-India bandh on the day.
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