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The Central government is likely to include least 50 amendments in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code bill.

The bill is awaiting Parliament’s approval but the standing committee on labour has suggested 56 amendments to it, Hindustan Times reported.

The government has reportedly expressed its willingness to include at least 50 recommendations given by the panel.

The panel, led by Biju Janata Dal leader Bhartruhari Mahtab submitted its report on the bill on February 11.

The proposed changes also include penalties for non-payment of wages and abdication of other duties.

The government is also likely to modify some clauses of the bill to cater to the specific needs of women workers employed in the ship-breaking, software, and textile industries.

The panel’s report has also highlighted the need to review the eight-hour work day stipulated in the first ILO convention in 1913.

It has pointed out that in several businesses including software people work for more than eight hours. However, the officials said it isn’t clear whether the government will sign off on changing the duration of the work-day.

But in a key policy shift, the ministry may remove the difference between workers and employees in so far as welfare facilities are concerned, the officials confirmed.

The government may make no discrimination between workers and employees while providing canteen, rest room or crèche facilities, they said.

It may also allow common crèche facilities, as against the current norm of individual crèche in factories, to allow a cluster of small scale industries to pool their resources for setting up of a common crèche.

The government may also make an explicit provision to notify appointment of a Safety Officer in all establishments, especially dealing with hazardous processes including Building and Construction activities, even with less than the stipulated 500 workers, the officials said.