Over the last half‑decade, the State Planning Commission convened three meetings that brought together trade‑union representatives, employers, NGOs and unorganised workers to discuss OSH concerns, but officials acknowledge that the recommendations produced have not yet been translated into a binding framework.
The Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services had already created an Occupational, Social and Environmental Health Wing nearly ten years ago to screen, diagnose, treat, rehabilitate and compensate workers in micro, small and medium enterprises as well as inter‑state migrants; the wing was later upgraded to the State Nodal Centre for Occupational Health and Safety of Unorganised Workers (SNC‑OSH).
Based on the wing’s proposal, the health department set up state‑ and district‑level inter‑departmental coordination committees and 21 disease‑ and specialty‑specific technical committees, all tasked with shaping OSH policy for the unorganised sector.
Key points raised in the meetings included the need to embed basic occupational health services and universal health coverage in line with WHO and ILO standards, to make health screening mandatory at job entry and at regular intervals, and to require industrial units to keep log books or health profiles for each worker, especially long‑term migrants, to track illnesses such as silicosis, COPD, noise‑induced hearing loss, dermatitis and occupational cancers.
Officials also urged that OSH components be integrated into every National Health Mission programme, that Tamil Nadu formally notify the 107 diseases and hazards listed by the ILO and WHO for unorganised workers, and that workers receive sensitisation on non‑communicable disease management through regular medical camps.
A source close to the discussions said a proposal was put forward to create a slightly independent OSH cell with a broader mandate, arguing that new industries and emerging hazards require a standing standard operating procedure to protect workers’ health from the outset.
Despite these proposals, health officials stress that many of the recommendations remain on paper, leaving the growing migrant workforce in Tamil Nadu without the systematic occupational safety and health protections that the consultations envisioned.