Government notifies draft occupational safety rules

The Delhi Government has notified draft Delhi Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025, to ensure a safe working environment for workers employed in hazardous and accident-prone industrial activities.

The draft rules provide for the constitution of a 10-member Delhi Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board headed by the labour commissioner, and safety committees in establishments employing 250 or more workers.

The labour department has invited suggestions and objections on the draft rules, which will be considered by the Government after 45 days.

The draft rules state that every employer of a factory and building or other construction work will annually conduct, free of cost, medical examination of every worker aged 45 years and above, within 120 days from the commencement of every calendar year.

Every employer in the industry involving hazardous processes will arrange to conduct free-of-cost medical examination for every worker annually, within 30 days from the commencement of every calendar year, as mentioned in the draft rules.

Additionally, no employee will be employed in any establishment unless he has been issued a letter of appointment. Under sub-section (1), Section 10 and Section 11 of the draft rules, the employer or manager of an establishment will, as early as possible, send a notice to the labour department inspector cum facilitators, about the occurrence of any accident that results in the death of a worker or results in bodily injury likely to cause death.

 The dangerous occurrence will include the bursting of any plant or pipeline or equipment containing petroleum, steam, compressed air; collapse or failure of a crane, derrick, winch, hoist or other appliances, explosion due to explosives, fire, leakage or release of harmful toxic gases and such other incident.

Under sub-section (2) of section 17 of the draft Rules, the Delhi government will constitute the “Delhi Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Board”. The board members will include the chief inspector-cum-facilitator, labour department, member secretary, Delhi pollution control committee, director, Delhi health services, two representatives of employees and two members of the district crisis group having expertise in occupational safety and health.

Establishments involving hazardous processes and employing 250 or more workers will mandatorily form safety committees. The draft Delhi Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Rules, 2025, was notified earlier this month. The draft rules also lay down working conditions stipulating daily and weekly working hours, wages and overtime payments.

The weekly working hours under clause (b) of sub-section (1) of Section 25 for each worker will not be more than 48 hours. The periods of work of adult workers in an establishment each day, including intervals and spread-overs, will be fixed by the government through notification.

Under Section 27, no worker will be allowed to work overtime exceeding 144 hours in any quarter of a year. In calculating overtime on any day, a fraction of an hour between 15 and 30 minutes will be counted as 30 minutes, and in case of more than 30 minutes, it shall be rounded to an hour on an actual basis.