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Section 55: First-aid facilities 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 54 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 56

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 55

Section 55 of the Code requires every contractor to provide and maintain readily accessible first-aid boxes or cupboards equipped with prescribed life-saving contents, under the charge of trained personnel, at all workplaces where contract labour is employed.

  • Uninterrupted Workplace Accessibility: Mandates the positioning of first-aid boxes at easily accessible locations throughout all operational shifts, ensuring that no worker is distanced from immediate trauma relief.
  • Mandatory Certified First-Aid Personnel: Requires that first-aid facilities must remain under the custody of a trained person who has completed certified first-aid training recognized by the appropriate Government.
  • Statutory Ratio & Replenishment Protocols: Directs that not less than one first-aid box must be maintained for every prescribed headcount of workers, with strict periodic audit of expiry dates and surgical supplies.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Consumer Education & Research Centre v. Union of India (1995) 3 SCC 42: Supreme Court ruled that occupational health and safety facilities are integral facets of the right to life under Article 21, mandating immediate trauma care availability in industrial settings.
  • Bhilwara Dugdh Utpadak Sahakari Samiti Ltd. v. Vinod Kumar Sharma (2011) 15 SCC 209: Supreme Court reaffirmed that statutory safety protocols cannot be evaded by interposing multiple layers of petty intermediaries.
  • National Campaign Committee for CL v. Union of India (2018) 5 SCC 434: Strict judicial enforcement directed toward ensuring trauma medical kits and ambulance facilities across hazardous construction and project sites.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Trial counsel defending management against fatal accident inquiries must immediately produce first-aid training logbooks and inventory audit registers to disprove negligence or penal non-compliance under Chapter XII.

Section 54 All 143 Sections of OSH Code, 2020 Section 56