India's occupational safety framework for informal workers remains incomplete

India's push to establish comprehensive occupational safety and health protections for workers in the unorganised sector has faltered, with key proposals remaining unactioned despite extensive consultations, health ministry officials have indicated.

The framework, intended to safeguard millions of informal workers across agriculture, construction, domestic work and other sectors, has seen numerous recommendations emerge from stakeholder discussions but fail to advance beyond preliminary stages. Officials acknowledged that translating these proposals into binding policies and enforcement mechanisms has proven slower than anticipated.

The unorganised sector comprises approximately 90 percent of India's workforce, yet remains largely uncovered by existing labour laws and occupational safety regulations. Workers in this segment face heightened exposure to workplace hazards, poor working conditions, and limited access to health and safety training.

Health authorities have not provided a timeline for when the comprehensive framework might be finalised and rolled out. The delay underscores the administrative and policy challenges in extending protections to India's sprawling informal labour base, which spans diverse work categories and geographic regions.

Efforts to strengthen occupational safety for unorganised workers have gained attention in recent years as worker advocacy groups and trade unions have pressed the government to address the protection gap between formalised and informal employment.