81F. [ The Qualifications, conditions of service and duties of Safety Officers shall be as follows. [Inserted by G.O. (Rt) No.1567/79/L&H, dt. 03-11-1979]
- (1) Qualifications. - (a) A person shall not be eligible for appointment as a Safety Officer unless he-(i)possesses a recognized degree in any branch of engineering or technology and has had practical experience of working in a factory in a supervisory capacity for a period of not less than 2 years, ora recognized degree in Physics or Chemistry and has had practical experience of working in a factory in a supervisory capacity for a period of not less than 5 years, ora recognized diploma in any branch of engineering or technology and has had practical experience of working in a factory in a supervisory capacity for a period of not less than 5 years;(ii)possesses a degree or diploma in industrial safety recognized by the State Government in this behalf; and(iii)has adequate knowledge of the language spoken by majority of the workers in the region in which the factory where he is to be appointed is situated.[Provided that the provisions of this sub-clause shall not be applicable in the case of persons whose appointments are made on All India basis.](b)Notwithstanding the provisions contained in clause (a), any person who possesses -a recognized degree or diploma in engineering or technology and has had experience of not less than five years in a department of the Central or State Government which deals with the administration of the Factories Act, 1948 or the Indian Dock Laborers Act, 1934, ora recognized degree or diploma in engineering or technology and has had experience of not less than five years, full time, on training, education, consultancy, or research in the field of accident prevention in industry or in any institution.Shall also be eligible for appointment as Safety Officer:Provided that the Chief Inspector may, subject to such conditions as he may specify, grant exemption from the requirements of this sub-rule, if in his opinion a suitable person possessing the necessary qualifications and experience is not available for appointment:Provided further that, in the case of a person who has been working as a Safety Officer for a period not less than 3 years on the date of commencement of this rule, the Chief Inspector may, subject to such conditions as he may specify, relax all or any of the above said qualifications.(2)Conditions of service. - (a) Where the number of Safety Officers to be appointed in a factory as required by a notification in the Official Gazette exceeds one, one of them shall be designated as the Chief Safety Officer and shall have a status higher than that of the others. The Chief Safety Officer shall be in overall charge of the safety functions as envisaged in sub-rule (3), the other safety officers working under his control.(b)The Chief Safety Officer or the Safety Officer (in the case of factories where only one Safety Officer is required to be appointed) as the case may be, shall be given the status of a senior executive and he shall work directly under the control of the Chief Executive of the factory. All other Safety Officers shall be given appropriate status to enable them to discharge their functions effectively.(c)The scale of pay and the allowance to be granted to the Safety Officers including the Chief Safety Officer, and the other condition of their service shall be the same as those of the other officers of corresponding status in the factory.(d)(i)If the service of a Safety Officer is terminated otherwise than under the terms of contract, he shall have within 30days of such termination, a right of appeal to the Chief Inspector of Factories.Provided that the Chief Inspector of Factories, may on sufficient cause being shown for the delay, extend the aforesaid time-limit to a period not exceeding six weeks.(ii)On being satisfied that a Safety Officer intends to prefer an appeal under clause (i) of sub-rule (d), the Chief Inspector of Factories may stay the enforcement of the order of termination to be appealed against for such period and on such terms, if any, as he may think just and proper.(iii)The Chief Inspector of Factories, shall, after giving both the parties a reasonable, opportunity of being heard, by an order for reasons to be recorded in writing, dispose of the appeal as early as possible. While disposing the appeal, the Chief Inspector of Factories, may confirm, modify or set aside the order appealed against.(iv)The occupier or any Safety Officer, being aggrieved by the decision of the Chief Inspector of Factories may, within thirty days of the communication of such order to him, prefer a second appeal to the State Government; and the decision of the State Government thereon shall be final and binding on both the parties.(v)On being satisfied that the Occupier or a Safety Officer intends to prefer an appeal under clause (iv) of sub-rule (d), the State Government may stay the enforcement of the decision of the Chief Inspector of Factories, for such period and on such terms and conditions, if any, as the State Government may think just and proper.(3)Duties of Safety Officer. - The duties of a Safety Officer shall be to advise and assist the factory management in the fulfillment of its obligations, statutory or otherwise, concerning prevention of personal injuries and maintenance of a safe working environment. These duties shall include the following, namely:-(i)to advise the concerned departments in planning and organizing measures necessary for the effective control of personal injuries;(ii)to advise on safety aspects in all job studies, and to carry out detailed job safety studies of selected jobs;(iii)to check and evaluate the effectiveness of the action taken or proposed to be taken to prevent personal injuries;(iv)to advise the purchasing and stores departments in insuring high quality and availability of personal protective equipment;(v)to advise on matter related to carrying out plant safety inspections;(vi)to carry out plant safety inspections in order to observe the physical conditions of work and the work practices and procedures followed by workers and to render advice on measures to be adopted for re moving the unsafe physical conditions and preventing unsafe actions by workers;(vii)to render advice on matters related to reporting and investigation of industrial accidents and diseases;(viii)to investigate selected accidents ;(ix)to investigate the cases of industrial diseases contracted and dangerous occurrences re portable under Rule 123;(x)to advise on the maintenance of such records as are necessary relating to accidents, dangerous occurrence and industrial diseases;(xi)to promote setting up of safety committees and act as adviser and catalyst to such committees;(xii)to organize in association with the concerned departments, campaigns, competitions, contests and other activities which will development and maintain the interest of the workers in establishing and maintaining safe conditions of work and procedures; and(xiii)to design and conduct either independently or in collaboration with the training department, suitable training and educational programmes for the prevention of personal injuries.(4)Facilities to be provided to safety Officers. - An occupier of the factory shall provide each Safety Officer with such facilities, equipment and information as are necessary to enable him to discharge his duties effectively.(5)Prohibition of performance of other duties. - No Safety Officer shall be required or permitted to do any work which is inconsistent with or detrimental to the performance of the duties prescribed in sub-rule (3).]
