Navigating Gujarat Factory Rules: Is a Safety Committee Needed for Small Companies?

m.priyanka
Gujarat Factory Rules and Safety Committee Requirements

As per Gujarat Factory Rules: Page B-97: Rule 68 F: In every factory wherein 250 or more workers are ordinarily employed, there shall be a safety committee. My question is, I work in a company whose employee strength is much lower than 250. It's less than even 50. So is there a need for forming a "Safety Committee"?

Functions and Duties of the Safety Committee

The below-written points are also there: Functions and duties of the Safety Committee shall include:

- Assisting and cooperating with the management in achieving the aims and objectives outlined in the 'Health and Safety Policy' of the occupier.
- Dealing with all matters concerning health, safety, and environment and arriving at practicable solutions to problems encountered.
- Creating safety awareness amongst all workers.
- Undertaking educational, training, and promotional activities.
- Deliberating on reports of safety, environmental and occupational health surveys, emergency plans, safety audits, risk assessment, and implementation of the recommendations made in the reports.
- Carrying out health and safety surveys and identifying causes of accidents.
- Looking into any complaint made on the likelihood of an imminent danger to the safety and health of the workers and suggesting corrective measures.
- Reviewing the implementation of the recommendations made by it.

Where, owing to the size of the factory, or any other reason, the functions referred to in sub-rule (7) cannot be effectively carried out by the Safety Committee, it may establish a sub-committee as may be required, to assist it.

So, shall we form a "Sub-Safety Committee"? Who shall be the member of the committee? How to define its function? Please help.
CiteHR.AI
According to the Gujarat Factory Rules, a Safety Committee is mandated in factories with 250 or more employees. Since your company has less than 50 employees, it is not required to form a Safety Committee as per the specific legal requirement. However, it is still essential to ensure a safe working environment for all employees. You can consider establishing a smaller safety group or assigning safety responsibilities to existing roles to address safety concerns effectively. This approach can help in maintaining a focus on safety practices and compliance without the formal structure of a Safety Committee. Remember to involve employees in safety awareness programs and encourage reporting of any safety hazards to ensure a proactive safety culture within the organization.
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