80 per cent workforce in India unsafe: UK-based body

Mumbai: Around 80 per cent of India’s workforce still works in an unsafe environment, a report by the British Safety Council (BSC) has revealed. The report also said that though the construction industry is known to be the second largest employer of workforce in India, it contributes to 24.20 per cent of occupational fatalities, the second highest in the country annually. According to the study, 48,000 workers die in India due to occupational accidents and 38 fatal accidents take place every day in the construction sector. The council has opened its office in Mumbai and will offer services to employees of construction firms like audit, training, e-learning, qualifications and memberships to raise awareness of health and safety.

The BSC is a non-profit organisation working towards the creating awareness in workplace health, safety and environmental management. “The British Safety Council office in Mumbai will function as the organisation’s wholly-owned subsidiary and work alongside with its UK head office in providing safety training, safety audit services to companies in Mumbai and also other parts India. It will also work with the Indian government in these areas to create safer workplaces for citizens,” said Lynda Armstrong, chair of trustees, BSC.

Citing the report, Mike Robinson, chief executive of the BSC said, “India with 1.25 billion population has a strong workforce of 465 million people. Only 20 per cent of them are covered under the existing health and safety legal framework. Though there are laws to address these health and safety concerns, their implementation is a big task due to inadequate manpower.” In comparison to the workplace deaths in the United Kingdom, it is 20 times higher in India, the report said. The report also stated that there is just one factory inspector for 506 registered factories.

In addition to building local delivery capability, the BSC has entered into a strategic partnership with NIST institute, a health, environment and safety organisation that is providing its training and auditing resources in Mumbai and other parts of the country.

“Through its Mumbai office, the British Safety Council hopes to bring about a culture change with regard to workplace health, safety and well being in workplaces. British Safety Council in Mumbai works with many of them that are on the India Fortune 500,” Ms Armstrong added.

Among the companies that the council works with are Indian Oil, Larson & Toubro, Mumbai International Airport, Reliance Industries and Tata.