Section 22: Safety Committee and safety officers
Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Section 22 — Governs safety committee and safety officers and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and…
All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.
Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗
Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does
Operative clauses
- (1) The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workers engaged in such establishment in such manner that the number of representatives of workers on the Committee shall not be less than the number of representatives of the employer and the…
- (2) In every establishment which is a— (a) factory wherein five hundred workers or more; or (b) factory carrying on hazardous process wherein two hundred fifty workers or more; or (c) building or other construction work wherein two hundred fifty workers or more; or (d) mine wherein one hundred workers or more, are ordinarily employed, the employer shall also appoint such number of safety officers, who shall…
Provisos, explanations & qualifications
- No proviso/explanation was separately extracted from this section text.
Thresholds and timelines in the text
- No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in this section text.
Actors expressly appearing in the text
Employer, Worker, Appropriate Government
Full statutory text — Section 22
22. Safety Committee and safety officers.—(1) The appropriate Government may, by general or
special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a
Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workers engaged in such establishment
in such manner that the number of representatives of workers on the Committee shall not be less than the
number of representatives of the employer and the representatives of the workers shall be chosen in such
manner and for such purpose as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
(2) In every establishment which is a—
(a) factory wherein five hundred workers or more; or
(b) factory carrying on hazardous process wherein two hundred fifty workers or more; or
(c) building or other construction work wherein two hundred fifty workers or more; or
(d) mine wherein one hundred workers or more, are ordinarily employed,
the employer shall also appoint such number of safety officers, who shall possess such qualifications and
perform such duties, as may be prescribed by appropriate Government.
CHAPTER V
HEALTH, SAFETY AND WORKING CONDITIONSHow to apply this provision
- Primary statutory test — (1) The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workers engaged in such establishment in such manner that the number of representatives of workers on the Committee shall not be less than the number of representatives of the employer and the…
- Additional operative limb — (2) In every establishment which is a— (a) factory wherein five hundred workers or more; or (b) factory carrying on hazardous process wherein two hundred fifty workers or more; or (c) building or other construction work wherein two hundred fifty workers or more; or (d) mine wherein one hundred workers or more, are ordinarily employed, the employer shall also appoint such number of safety officers, who shall…
- Central Rule mapping — 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
- Evidence file — retain facts and records proving the role/status of: Employer, Worker, Appropriate Government.
Rules, forms and cross-references
Forms mapped
No prescribed form is directly mapped in the current concordance.
Other sections cited in this text
Related Labour Hub resources
A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.
Worked example
For an establishment affected by safety committee and safety officers, the compliance owner should identify the applicable sector and authority, document the prescribed control/notice/record and retain inspection or training evidence. A text point to test is: “(1) The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workers engaged in such establishment in such manner that” Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.
Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.
Q&A — Section 22
What does Section 22 of the OSHWC Code cover?
Section 22 — Governs safety committee and safety officers and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and…
What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 22?
The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) The appropriate Government may, by general or special order, require any establishment or class of establishments to constitute in the prescribed manner a Safety Committee consisting of representatives of employers and workers engaged in such establishment in such manner that the number of representatives of workers on the Committee shall not be less than the number of representatives of the employer and the…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.
Does Section 22 contain a proviso or explanation?
No standalone proviso or explanation was extracted from this section text. Check the full text below for clause-level qualifications.
What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 22?
No explicit day/month/year/hour/percentage/rupee expression was detected in the official section text.
Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 22?
The current concordance maps Section 22 to Central Rule(s) 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.
Is Section 22 currently operative?
All provisions were brought into force from 21 November 2025 under S.O. 5321(E), subject to the Central/State appropriate-Government split and provision-specific appointments/notifications.
Source & verification trail
Act: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗
Central Rules: Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 345(E), 8 May 2026 ↗
Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗
Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.