Ministry of Labour & Employment on Important Steps for Safety of the Workers in Private Companies
The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 mandates the employers in industrial establishments to define with sufficient precision the conditions of employment under them and to make the said conditions known to workmen employed by them.
Further, the Government has enacted various Acts for the occupational safety, health, welfare and protection of the interests of labourers working in different sectors viz., factories, ports, mines, construction etc., including private sectors.
The important Acts are Factories Act, 1948, the Mines Act, 1952, the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986 and the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
As and when any incidence relating to the deprivation of entitled benefits under the various Acts is reported or identified during inspections, the enforcement machinery of Central/ State Government takes action as per the applicable laws within their jurisdiction.
Schedule IB of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central Rules, 1946, mandates the employers to make satisfactory arrangements for immediate and necessary medical aid to the workman injured in an accident in the course of or arising out of his employment.
Further, the Employees State Insurance (ESI) Act, 1948 encompasses certain health-related eventualities that the workers are generally exposed to; such as sickness, temporary or permanent disablement, Occupational disease or death due to employment injury, resulting in loss of wages or earning capacity-total or partial.
Medical Benefit and disablement benefits as provided under ESI Act are provided to the workers covered under the Act from first day of their entering insurable employment in case they suffer accident or disability during work.
In case of those employees who are not covered under the ESI Act, the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 provides for the payment by their employers of compensation for personal injury/death / occupational disease arising out of and in the course of their employment.
The Act, which is administered by the State Governments, aims to provide financial protection to employees and their dependents through compensation in case any accidental injury occurs during employment which results in either death or disablement of the worker.
Life and disability cover is also provided by the Central Government, through Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna (PMSBY) to the unorganised workers depending upon their eligibility.
A total of 11,29,37,095 and 25,83,92,169 members have enrolled under PMJJBY and PMSBY respectively as on 27.10.2021.
Further, 5,12,915 numbers of claims amounting to Rs 10,258 crore and 92,266 numbers of claims amounting to Rs 1,797 crore have been disbursed under PMJJBY and PMSBY respectively as on 27.10.2021.
The Government enacted Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which came into force on 19.04.2017. The Act provides various rights and entitlement for persons with disabilities and also encourages the employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector.
The Government has also launched National Career Service Centres for Differently Abled which evaluates residual capacities of persons with disabilities (PwDs) and facilitates vocational rehabilitation services.
National Career Services portal also facilitates employment-related services to all categories of job-seekers, including PwDs, across the country.
This information was given by Shri Rameswar Teli, Minister of State, Ministry of Labour & Employment in Rajya Sabha.
