After the code on Wages Bill, Cabinet now moves to introduce the OHS Code
On 10 July 2019, the Union Cabinet approved introducing the Draft Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Bill, 2019 (2019 Code) in the Parliament during the current monsoon session. The official press release regarding the same can be accessed here. The 2019 Code seeks to merge 13 central labour laws into a single code, which inter-alia include the Factories Act, 1948, Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, Mines Act, 1952 and Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. The labour laws to be merged into the 2019 Code, relate to safety and health standards, health and working conditions, welfare provisions for the employees and leave and hours of work.
In the absence of a copy of the 2019 Code, it is difficult to ascertain and draw a comparison between the provisions of Code on Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions, 2018 (2018 Code) and the recently approved 2019 Code. However, it is likely that the provisions of the 2019 Code would be similar to those of the 2018 Code. Some of the salient features of the 2018 Code have been highlighted below:
Pursuant to the Code on Wages Bill, 2019 which was approved by the Union Cabinet on 3 July 2019, the approval of the 2019 Code signifies the Central Government’s efforts to consolidate and simplify the existing labour law regime. It appears to be a positive move geared towards enhancing the workers’ rights and protections while promoting ease of doing business in the country.
The above analysis is on the assumption that the 2019 Code bears similarity with 2018 Code. Once the 2019 Code is publicly available, a detailed update to this Ergo will follow.
- Anshul Prakash (Partner), Abhimanyu Pal (Senior Associate) and Kosheel Gupta (Associate)
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