Posted By Jay Joshi
CDM regulations are one of the 3 GB regulations implementing the EC Temporary & Mobile Construction Sites Directive --the 2 others being the Construction (Health Safety & Welfare) regulations 1996 and some parts of the Confined Spaces Regulations 1997. I would think that many of the developing and indeed some of the developed countries would not have the equivalent of CDM.
So far, India has not got an all-embracing equivalent of our HASAWA--its health & safety legislation is very much a legacy of it's past-and not much has been done to modernise it-which means there is a Factories Act. Otherwise there are millions of workers in the unorganized sectors--and construction has a very large proportion of them.
As a member of the ILO,it should have ratified & implemented those conventions conventions on Occupational Health & Safety etc, but is has not. You can find this on the ILO website.
There is the equivalent of the full text of India's Factories Act on the ILO Asian-Pacific Regional Network on Occupational Safety and Health Information --link below
http://www.ilo.org/publi...ional/india/indfctac.htmThe home page of Asian-Pacific Regional Network on Occupational Safety and Health Information is:-
http://www.ilo.org/publi...angkok/asiaosh/index.htmUnfortunately, it is a country of extremes in all respects--so one will find the top Indian & transnational companies implementing what is almost the equivalent of safety standards you may get in any developed country in the world. On the other hand, there are other companies that would not bother. Also, the organized sector amongst the employees i.e. trade unions is fairly well orgainised, usually in factories and government at all levels and state owned/run institutions. At the other end of the spectrum are worker who really need protection, but because they are "labourers". & not organised, not much is done. There is no specific construction legislation as far as I am aware.
The absence of comprehensive legislation is an obstacle, but even in activities where legislation exists, enforcement is neither consistent nor effective.
Governments, irrespective of the makeup in the context of political parties have not addressed this issue effectively. In fact in the case of Environmental Protection, the last bastion of protecting people & the environment has been the Supreme Court of India which has "forced" the government to implement some measures that were envisaged--one only has to look up the banning of the use of highly polluting diesel powered public transport buses in Delhi and substituting it with LPG. There are more of such examples--all as a result of what is known as Public Interest Litigation.
Hopefully, the situation will change in the future, especially since India has now embarked on a significant disinvestment programme of its government owned units--both at federal & state level.
Lastly, the enforcement of the Factories Act is a state-not a federal subject!