Extension of Occupational Safety and Health Measures for the Protection of Beedi Workers in India.

Beedi workers in India, working in unorganized pockets with poor working conditions, suffer severe health impacts due to long-term exposure to the chemicals involved in beedi-making. Beedi rollers are piece-rated workers who undertake work from home. These workers lack occupational safety and protective mechanisms at home, and establishing accountability of the employers towards these workmen has also been challenging. Legislations like the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Condition of Employment) Act, 1966 (BCWA), and the Beedi Workers Welfare Fund Act, 1971 (BWWFA), have addressed various aspects of beedi workers' working conditions; however, they have failed to extend the protections relating to occupational health and safety to beedi workers working at home instead of industrial premises. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code (OSHWC) of 2020, which is proposed to be implemented in India, also fails to address this issue. As laws dealing with the health and safety of beedi workers only apply to "establishments," the beedi manufacturing should be taken out of homes (through legislative amendment) to industrial premises, by declaring beedi-making as a hazardous process. Legislative amendments are needed to avoid engaging children in beedi rolling. Livelihood diversification needs to be prioritized to provide alternative employment to beedi workers.