Special Protection and Provision of Rest during Work and Occupational Health Hazards: A Survey among Steel and Power Industry Workers in Odisha, India

Abstract

Introduction: In India, there are many labour laws implemented for the legal provision of working hours, services, and employment conditions of workers. Special protection and rest provision plays a pivotal role in occupational injuries and illness. Aim: To determine the special protection and various provision of rest at the workplace. Materials and Methods: A survey was conducted among steel and power industry workers in Odisha, India. The study was conducted with 425 male respondents by adopting the population proportion sampling technique. The primary data was taken from a Steel and Power limited industry situated in Angul district of Odisha from February 2019 to October 2019. Statistical Package for Social Sciences software (SPSS version 25.0) was used in the analysis process by using the univariate and bivariate models to assess the objectives. Results: The study showed 92.5% of respondents were provided rest, and 59.1% of respondents were in the employment contract. More than 43.3% of respondents reported they received compensation during occupational injury and diseases, whereas 45.6% didn’t get any compensation in the event of occupational diseases. Out of the 393 workers got rest, a vast majority (95.4%) of respondents reported that they were allowed night rest, and 84.5% were allowed for meal breaks during work. More than 59% of respondents receive short breaks during work, and 52.9% were entitled to weekly breaks/rest. Religion, caste, education, technical education, occupation, type of work, and the number of working hours were strongly associated with the respondent’s characteristics. Conclusion: Special protection provisions are critical factors for the treatment of occupational health hazards. It has been confirmed that night rest and meal break rest were provided to the workers. Except for the shift work rest and extended workload rest, the provision of rest was sufficiently provided at the workplace. Special protections are expected to strengthen the occupational health of workers and stay away from medical expenses.

Keywords

• employment contract
• industrial accidents
• workmen compensation
• workplace hazards