Human Rights of Workers in Hazardous Process
The foundation stone of modern history was laid down in 18th century with the invention of the steam engine and installation of the same in the industries. This replaced the man power with the mechanical power in the industries. The golden era of the Industrial Revolution was incepted. Now Industrialists looking for the fastest production units producing accurate yield of the products with the assured quality. Technology increased the production capacities which ultimately resulted in the national progress of the country. In England, industrialization effects drastically in the progress of the nation. Many of the countries of the world inspired to use the mechanical energy in their production units to replace the man efforts to get the benefits of the fastest growing economies in the world.
Industrialization effect raises need for the regulations to implement in the production units for the improvement of functioning and safety standards, labour welfare activities. Now a days the use of hazardous substances including acidic chemicals, radiations, carcinogenic materials likely to cause permanent disabilities to the labour which results in the economical and social troubles to the labours. The labors’ tragic have always been a cause of worry and are thought provoking in the world. There are many international and national organizations looking after this issue, including International Labour Organization (ILO).
Employee welfare, safety and health problems at work have been engaging attention of the psychologists, sociologists and industrial engineers. Psych are concerned with the theoretical considerations of accident causation and research into accident control , through proper selection, training and education of the employee; and the social and psychological factors that influence the individual’s behaviour in general. Engineers and safety officers usually render necessary practical advice on certain aspects of safety in industry.
They look upon prevention of accidents basically as an engineering problem to be tackled through proper designing of mechanical safety devices. In fact, accidents prevention and safety are inter related and, therefore, require a multidimensional approach. Its importance has increased because of large scale industrialization in which human beings are subject to mechanical, chemical, electrical and radiation hazards. Besides, modern industry is characterized by complicated mechanisms, intricate job requirements, and fast moving production lines. One of the important consequences of all this is increased dangers to human life, through accidents.
Industrial Accidents and Injury:
The life of industrial workers is in full of risks and hazards. Every year lacks of employees are injured in factories, mines, railways, ports and docks, leading to acute ailments or permanent handicaps. The injuries may be caused as a result of any unsafe activity, or act their part or chance occurrences or as a result of some unsafe work condition or unsafe acts of employee themselves, or defective plants or shop lay out, inadequate ventilation, unsafe and insufficient lighting arrangements, or insufficient space for movement inside the plant or shop etc.
An individual accident may be defined as ‘an occurrence which interrupts or interferes with the orderly progress of work in an industrial establishment.’ According to factories act accidents is ‘an occurrence in an industrial establishment causing bodily injury to a person which makes in an industrial establishment causing bodily injury to a person which males him unfit to resume his duties in the next 48 hours.’ In other words, it is an unexpected event neither anticipates an accident. Moreover event or occurrence should be so to which a definite time, data and place can be assigned. It must arise in the course of employment in a factory or an industrial establishment.
An industrial injury has been defined as ‘Personal injury employee which has been caused by an accident or an occupational disease, and which arises out of, or in the course of, employment and which entitles such employee to compensation under Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.’
In India, the subject of labour being on the concurrent list, here is a list of Central labour laws and there are several associated rules.
To sustain efficiency of factories workers in the process of production, the provision of health of the workmen are most important. So long as, the workmen are not physically fit and mentally healthy, they can not perform their duties efficiently, moreover there arises defects in such duties or they could not perform duty efficiently.
These things are required for maintaining health of workmen at the industrial unit. The environment where they are performing their duty must be reasonably clean and free from infections, such place must have the best sanitation facilities, the site of factory musty be free from dust and fume, and artificial humidification facilities must be inclusive in it. Overcrowding of the workmen at a particular process of manufacturing must be avoided and more over they should be kept free from the factors which are harmful to health of workers, directly or indirectly. The most important fact as stated under the Article 42 of the Indian Constitution emphasizes that the state should make provision for securing just and human condition of work and rules for that must be observed strictly by the relevant authorities.
One should not disregard that the workers employed in the hazardous process are also human being, the provisions of Universal Declaration of the Human Rights (UDHR) are applicable to them, Humanitarian Approaches, and Fundamental Rights of the Indian Constitution should not be violated by any one for the workers employed in the Hazardous Process.
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Prof. (Dr.) Hiren Patel
LL.M. (Gold Medalist), Ph.D.
Asst. Professor
Maneklal Nanavati Law College
Ahmedabad, Gujarat State
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