Health Provisions — Labour Law II Notes

Health Provisions

Walk into a badly-run factory and you can smell the problem — dust, fumes, no ventilation, filthy floors. The health provisions are the law’s checklist for a workplace fit to breathe in, carried almost intact from the Factories Act into the OSH Code.

The health checklist (Section 23 and Chapter III)

Every employer must maintain health standards in the establishment. The measures, drawn from the old Factories Act and continued by the OSH Code, are:

Cleanliness — floors, walls, benches kept clean; accumulated dirt removed; drainage maintained.
Disposal of wastes and effluents — safe treatment and disposal of trade waste and effluents.
Ventilation and temperature — adequate ventilation and a reasonable temperature for comfort and to prevent injury to health.
Dust and fume — control of dust, fume and impurity that may harm workers, by exhaust or other means.
Artificial humidification — where used, water must be clean and standards maintained.
Overcrowding — a minimum space per worker to avoid overcrowding.
Lighting — sufficient and suitable natural or artificial lighting.
Drinking water — wholesome drinking water at convenient points, cool in hot weather.
Latrines and urinals — clean, separate for men and women, adequate in number.
Spittoons — provided and maintained, with a penalty for spitting elsewhere.

Section 23, OSH Code 2020 (in brief): “The employer shall be responsible to maintain in his establishment such health … including cleanliness and hygiene, ventilation, … adequate standard of humidification, … potable drinking water … as may be prescribed by the Central Government.”

In Simple Terms: Keep the place clean, aired, lit and not overcrowded; give clean drinking water and toilets; control dust, fumes and waste. It is a health-and-hygiene checklist for the workplace.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — a dusty, airless workshop

Facts. Workers complain of a workshop thick with dust, no exhaust, poor lighting and no drinking water.

Rule. The employer must control dust and fume, provide ventilation and lighting, and supply wholesome drinking water (health provisions, s.23 & Ch III).

Apply. Each complaint maps to a breached health duty — dust control, ventilation, lighting, drinking water.

Conclusion. The employer is in breach of the health provisions and can be directed to comply and penalised.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Health provisions (s.23)"]:::root
    ROOT --> A["Cleanliness & waste disposal"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> B["Ventilation, temperature, humidity"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> C["Dust & fume control"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> D["Lighting; no overcrowding"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> E["Drinking water; latrines; spittoons"]:::leaf
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:1px,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

Case Laws

M.C. Mehta v Union of India (1987) — health and safety of workers is a facet of Article 21; hazardous processes carry strict duties.
Bandhua Mukti Morcha v Union of India (1984) — humane, healthy working conditions are a constitutional entitlement of workers.

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