An Outlook of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: A Critical Appraisal of the Factories Act, 1948

Workers are the backbone of our country, and a country's economic prosperity is largely dependent on them, however, the workers who work behind the scenes are often overlooked. Our legislative body has passed several labour laws for the benefit of workers, like the Factories Act of 1948, which was enacted with the goal of improving workers' working conditions. In this respect, the Factories Act of 1948 has specific provisions and rules relating to worker health, safety, and welfare. Although, there are various Labour Laws, which provided numerous provisions for the welfare of the workers but still it appears that certain lacunas are there and to cover up those lacunas the Legislative body has adopted the Code on Occupational Safety, Health, and Working (OSHW) Conditions, 2020, which replaces 13 labour laws, one of which being the Factory Act of 1948. This Code was created in order to integrate and harmonize workplace rules governing occupational safety, health, and working conditions across all work sectors in India. If the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020 is enacted, it will make business compliance easier for business owners while also benefiting workers. The Government had good intentions while drafting and creating this Labour Code but it failed to meet the majority of the worker's expectations as its execution remains an ongoing cause of concern.