Over the past five years, at least three meetings involving all stakeholders were convened to address the occupational safety and health concerns faced by workers in the unorganised sector. However, despite these consultations and a plan for a dedicated policy or guidelines, a comprehensive framework to ensure their health and safety is still pending in Tamil Nadu, with health officials noting that a number of recommendations remained on paper.
With Tamil Nadu witnessing a steady increase in the migrant worker population across various sectors, the need for a comprehensive occupational safety and health (OSH) framework has become increasingly important.
On its part, the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services had created the Occupational, Social and Environmental Health Wing for screening, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and compensation of the unorganised sector workers including micro, small and medium enterprises and inter-State migrant workers nearly a decade ago. Based on its proposal, the Health department constituted State and district-level inter department co-ordination committees and 21 disease and speciality-specific expert (technical) committees. The wing was later made into the State Nodal Centre for Occupational Health and Safety of Unorganised Workers (SNC-OSH).
Health officials said that the State Planning Commission had convened meetings on OSH of unorganised sector workers during which various aspects were discussed. A wider stakeholder consultation with trade union representatives, employers, NGOs and unorganised workers was suggested. Based on the recommendations of these meetings, the need to formulate a policy was also planned but no headway was made.
Among the key focus areas was the health of the unorganised sector workers. Officials had raised the need for the inclusion of basic occupational health services and universal health coverage as per World Health Organisation/International Labour Organisation standards and mandatory health screening on job entry and regular check ups for all unorganised labourers. Maintenance of log book/health profile for all workers including inter-State migrants employed for over 30 years to track long-term illnesses like Silicosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, noise-induced hearing loss, contact dermatitis and occupational cancers to ensure health coverage was also put forward.
One of the key action points was that all departments must provide inputs to outline OSH guidelines for unorganised sector labourers. Industrial and economic units should be required to maintain log books, ensure mandatory health screening/check ups for workers. The need to integrate OSH components into all National Health Mission programmes was another key point.
Apart from these, the need for Tamil Nadu to notify 107 diseases/hazards under OSH for unorganised workers [ILO and WHO have notified 107 diseases/hazards under occupational safety and health administration], sensitisation of workers on NCD management and conducting medical camps for NCD screening were among the other discussion points.
A source privy to these meetings said that a series of discussions were held and one of the proposals was to have a slightly independent OSH cell. “It should have a broader perspective and a larger compass to operate on. This is an important area but least attended to. New industries are coming up and new problems will crop up. It is better to have a Standard Operating Procedure in the beginning to protect workers’ health,” he said.
