EMPLOYEE SAFETY AND HEALTH

Introduction

This paper’s focus is on employee safety and health. A growing concern is made up of people. People are the most vital part of enterprise in producing goods and the people do services, Selling of the product and making profit. Hence no business enterprise can exist without People .An organization’s quality of work and its effectiveness depends upon the employees who constitute its workforce. Of all the factors of production, human factor is by far the most important one; the success of a business depends on the human element.  The Factories Act (1948) lays important on the working condition in regards to various matters relating to the health, safety and welfare of the workers. These provisions impose upon the Employers certain obligations. That is.

• To protect workers, unwary as well as negligent from accidents.
• To secure for them employment condition conductive to their health, safety and welfare.

These provisions also acquires the  managers to maintain inspection staff and make provision for maintenance of health, cleanliness, prevention of overcrowding and amenities like lighting, ventilation, drinking water etc. The act requires the appointment of the welfare officer and safety officers in all establishment employing more than 300 workers in a factory. The Workman’s Compensation Act (1923) entitles workers to compensate any injury arising out due to his employment and certain industrial decreases, so the employers carry out the provision of the act for the well being of the workers.

EMPLOYEE SAFETY

Thousands of employees die everyday in factories due to accidents. Accidents are partial

or total, temporary or permanent. Safety, in simple term, means freedom from the occurrence or risk of injury or loss. Industrial safety or Employee Safety refers to the protection of workers from the dangers of industrial accidents. An accident, then, is an unplanned and uncontrolled event in which an action or reaction of an object, a substance, a person, or a radiation results in personal injury.

TYPE OF ACCIDENT

Accidents are of different types. They may be classified as major and minor ones, depending upon the severity of the injury.

TYPES OF ACCIDENT

Major

Minor

Internal

External

Accidents

Disability

Fatal

Temporary

Permanent

NEED FOR SAFETY

An accident free plant can save on cost, increase productivity, discharge moral commitment towards workers and comply with legal provisions. There are legal reasons too for undertaking safety measures. There are laws covering occupational health and safety, and penalties for non-compliance have become quite severe. The responsibility extends to the safety and health of surrounding community, too.

HEALTH

The well being of the employee in an industrial establishment is affected by accidents and by ill health-physical as well as mental. Health is wealth for employees, realizing these employers provide a large number of health service to their employees. Health protection is a legal requirement too. Sections 11 to 20 of the Factories Act, 1948 deal with the health of workers. Employee health has several dimensions such as  physical health, mental health, noise control, job stress, alcoholism, AIDS, drug abuse and violence at work place.

HEALTH SERVICES

A typical organization renders the following health services to its employee’s .It may be stated that these services, at best, offer first-aid treatment to the victims. For any major ailment, employees are advised to go to ESI or authorized clinics/nursing homes.

• Pre-hiring medical check up for all employees.
• Periodical physical, check up of all employees
• First-aid treatment following an accident. Training in first-aid to all employees.
• Treatment of minor complaints, such as cold, cough, fever and headaches.
• Rehabilitation and job placement of seriously injured workers who have been cured but suffer from some disability.
• Control of occupational health hazards.
• Special examination of eyes, teeth and ears, when needed.
• Adequate ventilation, good lighting and good residential quarters.

The Provision of the Factories Act, 1948

The Provision of the Factories Act, 1948 relating to safety, Section 21 to 41 of the Act deals with safety.

The Provisions are:

¨      Section 21 provides that dangerous part of every machinery must be securely fenced.

¨      Section 22 stipulates that a trained adult male worker must examine the machinery in motion.

¨      Section 23 states that that young persons should not be allowed to work on dangerous machines.

¨  Section 24 says that every factory must provide suitable striking gear. There should also be a locking device to prevent accidental starting of transmission machinery.

¨      Section 26 requires that casting should be done in such a way as to prevent danger.

¨      Section 27 stipulates that women and children should be prohibited from going near cotton openers.

¨      Section 34 says that no person shall be employed in any factory to lift or carry excess weight so as to cause physical injury.

¨      Section 36 prohibits entry of any worker into any chamber, tank, pit or pipe where any gas or fume is present.

¨      Section 41 stipulates that where a factory employs 1000 or more workers, there must be qualified safety officer(s) appointed to ensure compliance of all the safety provisions.

The Health amenities provided under the Factories Act, 1948 are:

¨      Washing Facilities (Section 42)

¨      Facilities for storing and dry clothing (Section 43)

¨      Sitting facilities for occasional rest for workers who are obliged to work standing (section 44)

¨      Canteens if employing more than 250 workers (Section 46)

¨      Shelters, rest rooms and lunchrooms, if employing over 150 workers (Section 47)

¨      Appointment of a Welfare officer, if employing 500 or more workers.

(Section 49)

Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923

The Workmen’s Compensation Act provides that compensation shall be provided to a workman for any injury suffered during the course of his employment or to his dependents in the case of his death. The Act provides for the rate at which compensation shall be paid to an employee.

IMPORTANCE OF EMPLOYEE SAFETY AND HEALTH

• Labour turnover and absenteeism are reduced to the minimum.
• Felling of oneness with the organisation.
• Minimizing industrial disputes and peace.
• Creating permanent and settled labour force.
• Improvement in the efficiency of workers.
• Reducing damages to equipment, machinery and workers.
• Medical inspection is provided to the employees.
• Worker’s efficiency is considerably enhanced when they feel safety in work environment.
• Workers begin to feel interested in their work when they find that they are being well looked after by their employers. Thus, their morale is raised and industrial relations improve.
• Labour turnover and absenteeism rates decline when the workers find the work-place congenial and the employer is sympathetic towards them.
• On humanitarian grounds too, employee safety and health is commendable, because it shows faith in the basic human values of life.
• From the social standpoint, employee’s health measures ensure healthier and more enlightened citizens.
• Employee will be able to concentrate on his work.

CONCLUSION

“Every year three-quarters of a million people take time off work because of what they regard as work –related illness. About 30 million work days are lost as a result.”

The study reveals that occurrence of accidents are mainly due to machine failure. the safety and health of employees will be increased substantially. To make health and safety policy effective organization needs to get its employees involved and committed in implementing safety and health policies. This will create a “positive health and safety culture” .The four C’s of positive culture being –competence, control, co-operation and communication.

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