Updated: 26 September 2026
Section 41G of the Factories Act - Workers Participation in Safety Management
Section 41G of the Factories Act, 1948 required worker participation in safety management through a Safety Committee in factories involving hazardous processes or hazardous substances. The Factories Act has since been repealed, and workplace Safety Committees are now governed principally by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the rules made under it.
What did Section 41G of the Factories Act provide?
Section 41G formed part of Chapter IVA of the Factories Act, 1948, which dealt with provisions relating to hazardous processes. Its purpose was to involve workers directly in workplace safety and health management.
Section 41G - Workers participation in safety management
Sub-section (1): In every factory where a hazardous process took place, or hazardous substances were used or handled, the occupier was required to establish a Safety Committee with an equal number of representatives of workers and management. The Committee was intended to promote cooperation in maintaining workplace safety and health and to periodically review the measures taken for that purpose.
The State Government could, by a written order recording reasons, exempt an occupier of a factory or a class of factories from the requirement to constitute the Committee.
Sub-section (2): The composition of the Safety Committee, tenure of its members, and their rights and duties were to be prescribed by rules.
Meaning and scope of the old Section 41G
The provision placed responsibility on the occupier of a covered factory to create a formal mechanism for worker-management participation in safety. In the Factories Act framework, an occupier was generally the person having ultimate control over the affairs of the factory. The Section 41G duty was specifically connected with factories involving hazardous processes or the use or handling of hazardous substances.
The requirement of equal representation was important because it gave workers a formal role in reviewing workplace safety and health measures rather than leaving safety management exclusively to management representatives.
Current law: Section 22 of the OSHWC Code, 2020
Section 22 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 now provides the statutory framework for Safety Committees. It authorises the appropriate Government, by general or special order, to require an establishment or class of establishments to constitute a Safety Committee in the prescribed manner. The Committee must include representatives of the employer and workers, and the number of worker representatives cannot be less than the number representing the employer.
The Code uses the broader expression establishment, rather than limiting the Safety Committee concept to the hazardous-process factory formulation previously used in Section 41G.
Safety Committees under the OSHWC Central Rules, 2026
For establishments for which the Central Government is the appropriate Government, Rules 14 and 15 of the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 provide detailed requirements for Safety Committees. State rules should be checked where the State Government is the appropriate Government.
- Rule 14 requires every establishment employing 500 or more workers to constitute a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workers, subject to the Central Government's power to specify different thresholds for different classes of establishments.
- The Committee has a three-year tenure and ordinarily meets at least once every quarter. Mines have a separate monthly meeting requirement.
- The Committee must receive suitable information about workplace safety and health hazards, accident data, working-environment surveillance and employee health surveillance.
- The employer is required to take action on the Committee's recommendations within 15 days of receiving them.
- Rule 15 requires equal numbers of employer and worker members, with the total membership not exceeding 20, and provides for worker representation, including adequate representation of women.
- The Committee's functions include safety awareness, training, review of safety and occupational-health reports, risk assessment, emergency planning, identifying dangers and reviewing implementation of its recommendations.
Section 41G and current law - key change
| Point | Earlier Section 41G, Factories Act | Current OSHWC framework |
|---|---|---|
| Parent law | Factories Act, 1948 | Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 |
| Status | Repealed from 21 November 2025, subject to savings | In force |
| Main provision | Section 41G | Section 22 of the OSHWC Code |
| Committee representation | Equal number of worker and management representatives | Worker representatives cannot be fewer than employer representatives; Central Rule 15 provides equal numbers for covered Central-sphere establishments |
| Detailed Central rules | Rules prescribed under the earlier statutory framework | Rules 14 and 15 of the OSHWC (Central) Rules, 2026 |
Why worker participation in safety management matters
A Safety Committee creates a structured forum in which workers and management can identify hazards, review accidents and occupational-health information, discuss risk controls and recommend corrective measures. The present Central Rules expressly include safety awareness, training, safety audits, risk assessment, emergency and disaster-management planning and review of recommendations among the Committee's functions.
Official legal resources
Note: This page is for legal information and reference. Applicability may depend on whether the Central Government or a State Government is the appropriate Government and on rules, orders and notifications applicable to the particular establishment.