The Chandigarh Labour Department on 29th December 2021 has published the Draft Chandigarh Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2021. The draft Rules are aimed at enhancing safety, health and working conditions in establishments, simplifying the procedures and protocols, allowing electronic mode of maintaining registers, records and furnishing returns, thus ensuring safe, healthy and decent working conditions.
Key highlights from the Draft Rules are as follows:
- Every employer of an factory, beedi or cigar work and building or construction work shall arrange to conduct free of cost medical examination for all the employees above the age of forty-five years annually within 120days from the commencement of the year.
- No employee shall be employed without issuing an appointment letter in a format that includes designation, category of skill, wages, etc.
- When any accident which results in the death of any person, the employer of the establishment, shall inform the Registering Officer or Designated Authority as the case may be, and the Chief Inspector-cum-Inspector within twelve hours from time of accident.
- There shall be displayed and correctly maintained in every establishment , a notice of periods of work for adults, showing clearly for every day the periods during which workers may be required to work in Form-15.
- Any person desirous of obtaining common licence in respect of a factory, industrial premises for beedi and cigar work and for engaging contract workers or any combination thereof or single licence for any one of them under the Code shall make an application in Form-51 to the designated authority on portal.
- Every employer of an establishment shall send annually, a return relating to such establishment in Form-21 on the portal not later than 28th February following the end of each calendar year with a copy to the Director General, Labour Bureau, electronically.
- Every employer shall provide for worker and his family residing in a plantation, housing accommodation as near as possible to the place of work.
- Safety committees have been made mandatory for every establishment employing 500 matters and rules have been provided for composition and functions of safety committees.
- In any factory carrying on hazardous process, there shall be provided and maintained in good condition, a suitably constructed ambulance van equipped and manned by a full- time Driver-cum-mechanic and helper trained in first aid for the purposes of transportation of serious cases of accidents or sickness.
The Labour department has invited comments from the public which shall be addressed to the Labour Commissioner, Labour Welfare Centre Building,Sector30-B,UT,Chandigarh in writing or on email alc-ld-chd@chd.nic.in and alc.lc30@gmail.com within 45 days.
