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Section 54: Rest rooms for contract labour

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act No. 37 of 2020) • Official Statutory Text & Plain English Practice Guide

Statutory Mandate
Chapter IX: Contract Labour & Inter-State Migrant Workers
Competent Labour Forum
Act No. 37 of 2020
Section 53 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 55

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 54

Section 54 of the Code obligates contractors employing fifty or more contract workers in an establishment where work requires halting at night or where work continues for prolonged shifts to provide and maintain sufficiently lighted, ventilated, and clean rest rooms or alternative suitable accommodation.

  • Fifty-Worker Night Halt Threshold: Operates where fifty or more contract workers are required to halt at night in connection with the work of an establishment, mandating dedicated sleeping and rest accommodations.
  • Structural & Sanitary Habitability Requirements: Prescribes that rest rooms must be clean, sufficiently ventilated, properly illuminated, maintained in a habitable condition, and separated by gender to preserve privacy and dignity.
  • Employer Duty of Maintenance & Access: Mandates uninterrupted accessibility to water, clean bedding, and sanitization protocols, making regular inspection by Inspector-cum-Facilitators mandatory.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Bandhua Mukti Morcha v. Union of India (1984) 3 SCC 161: Supreme Court held that the right to live with human dignity under Article 21 encompasses basic shelter, clean drinking water, and rest facilities for migrant and contract workers at project sites.
  • Gammon India Ltd. v. Union of India (1974) 4 SCC 396: Upholding statutory mandates requiring contractors to furnish rest facilities, the Apex Court held that industrial efficiency is inextricably linked with basic worker well-being.
  • People's Union for Democratic Rights v. Union of India (1982) 3 SCC 235: Asiad Workers case: Non-provision of statutory living and rest amenities to contract laborers violates their fundamental constitutional protections against exploitation under Article 23.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Site engineers and facility directors must ensure that temporary labor accommodations on infrastructure and building projects are pre-inspected for structural integrity and gender-segregated sanitation before workforce deployment, preventing immediate stop-work notices during web-based inspections.

Section 53 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 55