Risk, Responsibility, And Resilience Managing Occupational Hazards Through Corporate Oversight In India
Rajaalan A & Thirumudhukundran V
ABSTRACT
Safety and health in the workplace are core labour rights and pillars of sustainable development. Safe conditions are central decent work issues for the International Labour Organisation. In many jurisdictions, notably India, OSH is generally considered a peripheral compliance task rather than a strategic governance priority. This article discusses the systemic misalignment between corporate governance and workplace risk management. The central problem is the lack of board-level accountability; the Companies Act, 2013, and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, both place responsibility on employers, but implementation remains operational rather than strategic. This lack of accountability leads to superficial compliance that leaves vulnerable groups, such as migrant and contract labourers, exposed to systemic hazards in high- risk sectors. The purpose is to investigate the nexus between corporate governance and occupational safety management, evaluate the efficacy of extant regulations, and suggest approaches to reconcile OSH with risk management and sustainability strategies, which are being developed in line with corporate governance. The research adopts a doctrinal and analytical approach and examines statutes, international labour standards, judicial interpretations, and corporate governance considerations. The paper has been divided into five sections: an overview of the conceptual framework of occupational risk and corporate governance, legislative and regulatory framework governing workplace safety, an examination of governance failures and compliance challenges, the significance of board-level control and corporate accountability, and solutions through which OSH can be incorporated into corporate governance, building organisational resilience and security of the workforce.
Keywords: Occupational Safety and Health, Labour Rights, Corporate Governance, Systemic Hazards, Regulatory Compliance.
