There is legitimate concern over worker safety issues across the world, as well as an international thrust to make the workplace safer. In this context, organizations such as the International Labour Organization and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration have published several important documents that provide guidelines to ensure the maximum safety at work in different environments. Whereas, implementing these international provisions and standards in different countries could be desirable, it should be remembered that the ground realities in terms of existing national standards, local laws and customs, technology levels, and availability of implementation protocols across the world are quite different. Therefore, certain changes will need to be made before such guidelines can be adopted as part of the legal framework in any country. By undertaking a literature survey, this paper reviews some of the existing international conventions and then examines the relevant legislative applications in the Indian context, with an aim to see what would be suitable for India. It was found that the loopholes in laws and lack of regular inspections for various reasons, result in widespread ignorance of occupational safety across different stakeholders. From the study, it is recommended that setting up a national task force and central regulatory body, improvement of awareness levels, streamlining of inspections and audits and fast-tracking legal proceedings would be critical for developing and implementing improved industrial safety standards.
Consideration on the Covid-19 Pandemic and the New Challenges of Organizational Management
