Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020
Context:
The OSH Code, 2020 was enacted to consolidate and simplify the complex web of existing labour laws
It replaces 13 Central Labour laws with a single comprehensive legislation.
The Code subsumes 13 Acts (including Factories Act, Mines Act, Contract Labour Act) into one.
It reduces 620 sections to 143 and multiple registrations/licenses to a single all-India license valid for five years.
Key Provisions:
The Code balances the twin objectives:
safeguarding worker rights and safe working conditions
creating a business-friendly regulatory environment spur economic growth and employment
Worker Welfare:
It mandates issuance of appointment letters to every employee to ensure transparency
It reduces the eligibility requirement for annual leave with wages from 240 days to 180 days of work
It widens the definition to cover those employed directly or through contractors.
It ensures journey allowance (to and fro) once a year and portability of benefits like PDS ration.
Women Empowerment:
Women are entitled to work in all establishments for all types of work.
They can work night shifts (before 6 a.m. and beyond 7 p.m.) with consent
This is subject to adequate safety and transportation arrangements
Crèche facilities are now gender-neutral and mandatory for establishments with over 50 workers
A national database to enroll unorganized workers including migrants.
Single National Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board in place of 6 different boards under different acts.
The board will set national standards for occupational safety, health and working conditions that will be mandatory for states
Ease of Doing Business: It introduces electronic single registration and single returns to create a centralized database.
It replaces criminal penalties with civil penalties for certain offences and enables compounding of offences