NEW DELHI: The labour ministry notified draft rules under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHWC) Code, 2020, on Thursday, inviting objections and suggestions from stakeholders within 45 days.
Key provisions of the code include capping the maximum number of working hours per day at 12 hours, with a maximum of 4 hours worth of overtime, not exceeding 48 hours per week. The code also says that even 15 minutes of overtime above the mandated 8 hours of work per day will be counted as overtime of 30 minutes. In the earlier provision, less than 30 minutes of overtime did not make a worker eligible for overtime wages.
Labour minister Santosh Gangwar said the draft rules provide for operationalisation of provisions in the OSHWC Code relating to safety, health and working conditions of dock workers, building and other construction workers, mine workers, inter-state migrant workers, contract labourers, working journalists, audio-visual workers and sales promotion employees. Key provisions include mandatory appointment letters for every category of employee. It mandates an annual health checkup of every worker who has completed 45 years of age, to be facilitated by the employer.
In a crucial learning from the distress faced by migrant workers during the pandemic-induced lockdown, the rules provide for one to-and-fro journey allowance a year, and toll-free helpline numbers for inter-state migrant workers.