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Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 · XI

Section 66: Prohibition of employment of audio-visual worker without agreement

Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026

Section 66 — Sets the statutory prohibition and conditions governing employment of audio-visual worker without agreement. Key operative text: (1) No person shall be employed as an audio-visual worker in or in connection with production of any audio-visual programme unless,— (a) an agreement in writing is entered into— (i) with such person by the producer of such…

Full official textSource checked: 20 August 20262 direct Central Rule link(s)

Current-law status

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.

Primary sources

Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗

Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does

Operative clauses

(1) No person shall be employed as an audio-visual worker in or in connection with production of any audio-visual programme unless,— (a) an agreement in writing is entered into— (i) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme; or (ii) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme with the contractor, where such person is employed through such contractor; or (iii) with such…
(b) specify the name and such other particulars as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government with respect to, such person to be employed under the agreement as audio-visual worker;
(c) include, where such audio-visual worker is employed through a contractor, a specific condition to the effect that in the event of the contractor failing to discharge his obligations under the agreement to the audio-visual worker with respect to payment of wages or any other matter, the producer of the audio-visual programme shall also be liable to discharge such obligations and shall be entitled to be…
(3) A copy of the agreement referred to in sub-section (1) with respect to the employment of the audio- visual worker shall, if such audio-visual worker is covered under the provision of an enactment for the time being in force for providing the benefit of provident fund to him, also be forwarded by the producer of the audio-visual programme to such authority as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in Chapters V, VI and VII, the agreement referred to in sub-section (1) shall include,— (i) nature of assignment;

Provisos, explanations & qualifications

Provided that in case of failure of the resolution of the dispute in such dispute resolution process or mechanism, either party in the dispute may invoke the jurisdiction of the Industrial Tribunal established by the appropriate Government under section 7A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) and for such purpose such dispute shall be deemed…

Thresholds and timelines in the text

(v) hours of work;

Actors expressly appearing in the text

Employee / worker, Worker, Appropriate Government, Authority / officer, Tribunal

Full statutory text — Section 66

Official English text transcribed from the current India Code consolidation; page headers/line breaks are normalised for web reading. The Gazette/India Code PDF remains authoritative for typography, amendment footnotes and schedules.

66. Prohibition of employment of audio-visual worker without agreement.—(1) No person shall
be employed as an audio-visual worker in or in connection with production of any audio-visual
programme unless,—
      (a) an agreement in writing is entered into—
         (i) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme; or
        (ii) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme with the contractor,
      where such person is employed through such contractor; or
         (iii) with such person by the contractor or other person through whom such person is employed;
      and
     (b) such agreement is registered with the competent authority, to be notified by the appropriate
   Government, by the producer of such audio-visual programme.
   (2) Every agreement, referred to in sub-section (1) shall,—
         (a) be in the prescribed form;
        (b) specify the name and such other particulars as may be prescribed by the appropriate
      Government with respect to, such person to be employed under the agreement as audio-visual
      worker;
         (c) include, where such audio-visual worker is employed through a contractor, a specific
      condition to the effect that in the event of the contractor failing to discharge his obligations under
      the agreement to the audio-visual worker with respect to payment of wages or any other matter, the
      producer of the audio-visual programme shall also be liable to discharge such obligations and shall
      be entitled to be reimbursed with respect thereto by the contractor.
    (3) A copy of the agreement referred to in sub-section (1) with respect to the employment of the audio-
visual worker shall, if such audio-visual worker is covered under the provision of an enactment for the
time being in force for providing the benefit of provident fund to him, also be forwarded by the producer
of the audio-visual programme to such authority as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
   (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in Chapters V, VI and VII, the agreement referred to in
sub-section (1) shall include,—
         (i) nature of assignment;
         (ii) wages and other benefits (including provident fund, if covered under the Employees’
      Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (19 of 1952));
         (iii) health and working conditions;
         (iv) safety;
         (v) hours of work;
         (vi) welfare facilities; and
         (vii) dispute resolution process or mechanism, the constitution and other details of which shall
      be prescribed by the appropriate Government:
      Provided that in case of failure of the resolution of the dispute in such dispute resolution process or
   mechanism, either party in the dispute may invoke the jurisdiction of the Industrial Tribunal
   established by the appropriate Government under section 7A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14

   of 1947) and for such purpose such dispute shall be deemed to be industrial dispute within the
   meaning of that Act and it shall be the responsibility of the producer of the audio-visual programme to
   provide the facilities specified in the agreement to the audio-visual worker and the payment of wages
   shall be through electronic mode.
                                                     PART IV
                                                       MINES

How to apply this provision

Primary statutory test — (1) No person shall be employed as an audio-visual worker in or in connection with production of any audio-visual programme unless,— (a) an agreement in writing is entered into— (i) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme; or (ii) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme with the contractor, where such person is employed through such contractor; or (iii) with such…
Additional operative limb — (b) specify the name and such other particulars as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government with respect to, such person to be employed under the agreement as audio-visual worker;
Qualification / exception to test — Provided that in case of failure of the resolution of the dispute in such dispute resolution process or mechanism, either party in the dispute may invoke the jurisdiction of the Industrial Tribunal established by the appropriate Government under section 7A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) and for such purpose such dispute shall be deemed…
Numerical or timing control — (v) hours of work;
Central Rule mapping — 105, 106. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
Prescribed-form link recorded in the corpus — XXIV. Confirm the current notified form/version before filing.

Why this is section-specific: the operative-clause, exception, threshold and cross-reference panels above are extracted from Section 66 itself rather than a generic “trigger/control/evidence” template.

Rules, forms and cross-references

Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping

Rule 105 Rule 106

Forms mapped

XXIV

Other sections cited in this text

None expressly mapped in the current concordance.

Related Labour Hub resources

State overlays Forms Labour litigation

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 prohibition of employment of audio-visual worker without agreement, 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: “(v) hours of work;” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result. Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 105, 106. Use the current notified XXIV where the process requires it.

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 66

What does Section 66 of the OSHWC Code cover?

What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 66?

The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) No person shall be employed as an audio-visual worker in or in connection with production of any audio-visual programme unless,— (a) an agreement in writing is entered into— (i) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme; or (ii) with such person by the producer of such audio-visual programme with the contractor, where such person is employed through such contractor; or (iii) with such…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.

Does Section 66 contain a proviso or explanation?

Yes. A qualification extracted from the official text is: “Provided that in case of failure of the resolution of the dispute in such dispute resolution process or mechanism, either party in the dispute may invoke the jurisdiction of the Industrial Tribunal established by the appropriate Government under section 7A of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (14 of 1947) and for such purpose such dispute shall be deemed…”

What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 66?

The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “(v) hours of work;” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.

Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 66?

The current concordance maps Section 66 to Central Rule(s) 105, 106.

Is a prescribed form mapped to Section 66?

The current corpus records: XXIV. Confirm the current notified version before filing or service.

Is Section 66 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.

Reliance note: This page is an educational legal-reference layer. Verify the current official text, the applicable Central/State rules, notifications, schemes and judicial decisions before acting on a live matter.