Are workers’ rights being eroded?

Why is it in News ?

• A series of fatal industrial accidents between June–September 2025 has highlighted India’s persistent failure in ensuring workplace safety:
  • June 30, 2025 (Telangana): Chemical reactor burst at Sigachi Industries killed 40 workers, many unregistered.
  • July 1, 2025 (Tamil Nadu): Explosion at Gokulesh Fireworks, Sivakasi killed 8 workers.
  • September 30, 2025 (Chennai): Collapse of a 10-metre-high coal-handling plant at Ennore Thermal Power Station killed 9 workers.
• The British Safety Council estimates that 1 in 4 fatal workplace accidents worldwide occur in India, a figure likely underreported due to informal employment and data concealment.
• Triggered a nationwide debate on dilution of labour protections, corporate accountability, and state oversight.

Relevance:

• GS-2 (Polity & Governance): Labour law enforcement, regulatory failures, government accountability.
• GS-3 (Economy): Industrial safety, informal workforce, labour market reforms, impact on productivity.

Basic Facts

• India’s industrial base employs a large informal workforce: ~80–85% of industrial labour is either contract-based or unregistered.
• Underreporting: Many deaths and injuries go unrecorded because of lack of registration, falsified records, and absence of inspections.
• ILO data: Industrial accidents are rarely random — they result from systemic neglect, poor enforcement, and cost-cutting by employers.

Why Do Workplace Accidents Occur

• Negligence and poor prevention:
  • Outdated or unsafe machinery (as in Sigachi Industries).
  • Lack of alarms, maintenance, or trained safety officers.
  • Operating equipment at twice permissible limits.
• Regulatory failure:
  • Missing inspections or corrupt inspection systems.
  • “Self-certification” replacing independent oversight.
• Unsafe practices:
  • Long working hours, low wages, and excessive workloads.
  • Use of unregistered labour to avoid accountability.
  • Absence of on-site medical facilities and rescue mechanisms.

Legal Framework for Worker Safety

1. Factories Act, 1948
   1. Cornerstone of India’s industrial safety law.
   2. Covers factory licensing, machinery maintenance, working hours, rest breaks, and welfare (canteens, crèches).
   3. Amended in 1976 and 1987 (post-Bhopal Gas Tragedy) to tighten safety norms.
2. Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923
   1. Ensures compensation for injury or death due to workplace accidents.
3. Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948
   1. Provides medical benefits and income protection for industrial workers.
4. Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code, 2020
   1. Aims to consolidate 13 existing laws.
   2. Criticism: Shifts safety from statutory right to executive discretion, allowing dilution of worker protections.
   3. Still in abeyance (not yet implemented).

Structural Weaknesses in Enforcement

• Post-1990s reforms: Shift from labour protection to “labour flexibility”.
• Ease of Doing Business policies:
  • States allowed self-certification (e.g., Maharashtra, 2015).
  • Reduced physical inspections to promote business ease.
• COVID-era relaxations:
  • Some States (e.g., Karnataka, 2023) extended working hours and reduced rest periods, permanently weakening safeguards.
• Criminal accountability gap:
  • Employers rarely prosecuted for preventable deaths.
  • Governments use public funds for compensation, absolving corporate liability.

Consequences

• Human cost: High death tolls in hazardous sectors (chemical, mining, thermal, fireworks).
• Economic cost: Lost productivity, medical expenditure, and reputational damage to Indian industry.
• Moral cost: Systemic disregard for the right to safe work — a constitutional right under Article 21 (Right to Life).

Way Forward

• Reinstate workplace safety as a legal right, not an administrative favour.
• Mandatory inspections — a mix of scheduled and surprise checks by independent authorities.
• Criminal liability for negligent employers under IPC and labour laws.
• Transparent reporting of workplace accidents and public access to safety audits.
• Strengthen union representation and whistleblower protection for labour complaints.
• Incentivize safety compliance — linking tax benefits or contracts to verified safety performance.
• Technological monitoring — use of AI-driven safety sensors, digital attendance and exit logs for factories.

Conclusion

• India’s unsafe industrial ecosystem mirrors the post-liberalisation erosion of labour rights.
• The pattern of profit over protection shows that India’s growth narrative often sidelines worker welfare.
• Without reform, India risks both international censure (ILO, BSC) and domestic social unrest over labour exploitation.