SCHEDULE III

Rules relating to the appointment of Safety Officers

(See Regulation 93)

• Number of Safety OfficersWithin six months of coming into operation of these Regulations every Port Authority, Dock Labour Board and every other employer shall appoint Safety Officers, as laid down in the scale given below:
  • Upto 2000 dock workers-One Safety Officer
  • Upto 5000 dock workers.-Two Safety Officers
  • Upto 10000 dock workers.-Three Safety Officers
  • For every additional five thousand dock workers or part thereof.- One Safety Officer.

  Any appointment, when made shall be notified to the Inspector giving full details of the qualifications and terms and conditions of service.

• Qualifications.-
  
  • A person shall not be eligible for appointment as Safety Officer unless he:
    
    • Possesses a recognised degree in any branch of engineering or technology and had practical experience of working in a port or similar place in a supervisory capacity for a period of not less than two years; or possesses a recognised degree in physics or chemistry and has had practical experience of working in a port or similar place in a supervisory capacity for a period of not less than five years; or possesses a recognised diploma in any branch of engineering or technology and has had practical experience of working in a port or similar place in a supervisory capacity for a period of not less than five years; and
    • possesses a degree or diploma in industrial safety recognised by the Central Government in this behalf; and
    • has adequate knowledge of the language spoken by majority of the workers in the Port in which he is to be appointed.
  • Notwithstanding the provisions contained in Cl. (a), any person who:
    
    • possesses a recognised degree or diploma in engineering or technology and has had experience of not less than five years in a department of the Central Government which deals with the administration of the Indian Dock Labourers Act, 1934 and or the Dock Workers (Safety, Health and Welfare) Act, 1986
    • possesses a recognised degree or diploma in engineering or technology and has had experience of not less than five years, full time, or training, education, consultancy, or research in the field of accident prevention in industry or in any port or any institution; shall also be eligible for appointment as a Safety Officer:

    Provided that, in the case of a person who has been working as a Safety Officer in industry or any institution for a period of not less than three years on the date of commencement of these regulations, the Chief Inspector may, subject to such conditions as he may specify, relax all or any of the above said qualifications.

• Conditions of service.-
  
  • Where the number of Safety Officers appointed exceeds one, one of them shall be designated as the Chief Safety Officer and shall have a status higher than that of the others. The Chief Safety Officer shall be in overall charge of the safety functions as envisaged in sub-clause (4) as also the other Safety Officers working under his control.
  • The Chief Safety Officer or the Safety Officer where only one Safety Officer is appointed, shall be given the status of a senior executive and he shall work directly under the control of his Chief Executive. All other Safety Officers shall be given appropriate status to enable them to discharge their functions effectively.
  • The scale of pay and the allowances to be granted to the Safety Officers including the Chief Safety Officer, and the other conditions of their service shall be the same as those of the other officers of corresponding status in the Port, Dock Labour Board or firm as the case may be.
• Duties of Safety Officers.-
  
  • The duties of a Safety Officer shall be to advise and assist the management in the fulfilment of its obligations, statutory or otherwise, concerning prevention of personal injuries and maintaining a safe working environment. These duties shall include the following, namely-
    
    • to advise the concerned departments in planning and organising measures necessary for the effective control of personal injuries;
    • to advise on safety aspects in all dock work, and to carry out detailed job safety studies of selected dock work;
    • to check and evaluate the effectiveness of the action taken or proposed to be taken to prevent personal injuries;
    • to advise the purchasing and stores departments in ensuring high quality and availability of personal protective equipment;
    • to carry out safety inspections of dock work in order to observe the physical conditions of work and the work practices and procedures followed by workers and to render advice on measures to be adopted for removing the unsafe physical conditions and preventing unsafe actions by workers;
    • to investigate all fatal and other selected accidents;
    • to investigate the cases of occupational diseases contracted and reportable dangerous occurrences;
    • to advice on the maintenance of such records as are necessary relating to accidents, dangerous occurrences and occupational diseases;
    • to promote setting up of safety committees and act as advisor and catalyst of such committees;
    • to organise in association with the concerned departments, campaigns, competitions, contests and other activities which will develop and maintain the interest of the workers in establishing and maintaining safe conditions of work and procedures;
    • to design and conduct either independently or in collaboration with the training department, suitable training and educational programmes for the prevention of accidents to dock workers;
    • frame departmental safety rules and safe working practices in consultation with the various departments or authorities; and
    • supervise and guide in respect of safety precautions to be taken while handling dangerous cargo.
• Facilities to be provided to Safety Officer-The Management shall provide each Safety Officer with such facilities, equipment and information as are necessary to enable him to discharge his duties effectively.
• Prohibition of performance of other duties.-No Safety Officer shall be required or permitted to do any work which is inconsistent with or detrimental to the performance of the duties prescribed in sub-clause (4).
• Exemptions.-The Chief Inspector may in writing exempt any Port Authority, Dock Labour Board or any other employer or a group of employers from any or all provisions of this regulation subject to compliance with such alternative arrangements as may be approved by him.