Labour Laws
OSH Code: Special Provisions for Particular Sectors
General duties of safety and health do not fit every workplace equally. A newsroom, a film set, a chemical plant, a coal mine, a beedi rolling unit and a tea estate each carry risks and working patterns of their own, and each once had its own Act. The OSH Code keeps their distinctive protections as special provisions within one statute. This note sets out the provisions for each sector and the background that explains them.
1. Sector by Sector
Figure 1: Special provisions in Chapter XI
- Journalists widened. The definition of working journalist now covers those in digital and electronic media, not only newspapers.
- Producers' liability. In audio-visual production, the producer remains liable for wages and other dues if the contractor fails.
- Docks, motor transport, sales promotion. Provisions of the repealed Acts for dock workers, motor transport workers and sales promotion employees are carried into the Code's general framework and rules.
2. Factories and Hazardous Processes
Figure 2: Duties of the occupier in hazardous processes
- Background. The Bhopal gas disaster of December 1984 led to the Factories (Amendment) Act, 1987, which introduced the hazardous process provisions now carried into the Code.
- Site approvals. Applications for permission to construct or extend a factory are deemed approved if not decided within the prescribed time.
3. Mines and Children
- Age bar. No person below 18 may work in a mine, except apprentices and trainees of at least 16 under proper supervision.
- Article 24. No child below 14 may be employed in any factory, mine or hazardous employment.
- Separate law. The Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 was not subsumed in the Codes and continues to apply.
- M.C. Mehta v State of Tamil Nadu (1996). On child labour in Sivakasi, the Court directed employers to pay ₹20,000 per child employed in hazardous work into a welfare fund, and the State to provide alternative support for families.
4. Plantations and Construction
- Plantations. Employers provide housing with water, kitchen and toilets, a creche, education where there are enough children of school age, medical facilities and recreation; plantation workers may also use ESI medical services.
- Construction. Building workers' safety is governed by the OSH Code, while their welfare and cess fall under the Social Security Code (Topic 25)
⚠ Exam trap Working journalists: not more than 144 hours in four consecutive weeks and at least 24 hours of rest a week; the definition now includes digital media. Mines: nobody below 18, except supervised apprentices and trainees of 16. Hazardous processes trace back to the 1987 amendments after Bhopal. The Child and Adolescent Labour Act, 1986 remains a separate law. |
5. Frequently Asked Questions
What are the working hours of a working journalist under the OSH Code?
A working journalist may not be required to work more than 144 hours in any period of four consecutive weeks, and must get rest of at least 24 consecutive hours in every week. Journalists are also entitled to earned leave of not less than one-eleventh of the period spent on duty, and to medical leave.
Can a person below eighteen work in a mine?
No. The OSH Code bars any person below eighteen from working in a mine, but apprentices and trainees of at least sixteen may work under proper supervision with the permission prescribed. Article 24 separately prohibits the employment of children below fourteen in any mine.
6. Related Topics
- Topic 29: Duties of Employers and Employees. The general duties that apply to all sectors.
- Topic 25: Building and Other Construction Workers. Cess and welfare for construction.