Through two committees and, behind them, an inspector. The OSH (Central) Rules 2026 let contract workers take grievances on health, working conditions and wages to a committee the principal employer sets up, which has thirty days to dispose of them. The Industrial Relations Code 2020 separately requires a Grievance Redressal Committee in every establishment of twenty or more workers, with a route on to conciliation.
The route through the principal employer
A committee at the site, then the Inspector-cum-Facilitator. Rule 184 of the OSH (Central) Rules 2026 says contract labour "may submit grievance relating to health, working conditions and wages, at the level of principal employer, who shall look into the matter and redress grievance". The rule is written specifically for contract workers, and it puts the site, not the contractor, at the front of the route.
| Step | Who | Time allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Worker raises a grievance on health, working conditions or wages | Contract worker, at the principal employer's level | No limit stated in r.184 |
| Committee hears and disposes of it | Chaired by the principal employer's authorised representative, with representatives of the principal employer and the contractor | Thirty days (r.184(3)) |
| Unresolved grievance forwarded electronically | Principal employer, to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator | Once the thirty days pass (r.184(4)) |
| Inspector inquires and takes action | Inspector-cum-Facilitator | Resolved within sixty days of receipt (r.184(5)) |
Two limits on the rule. It sits in the Central Rules, which govern establishments for which the Central Government is the appropriate government; a Tamil Nadu factory or warehouse follows the State's rules, and the State's 2022 draft OSH rules carry no equivalent [VERIFY: whether Tamil Nadu's final OSH rules add one]. And the committee as the rule describes it has no worker members: it is the principal employer and the contractor hearing the worker. Neither limit stops a site adopting the model, and a site in the State that wants a record of how it dealt with a contract worker's complaint has no better template.
The IR Code's Grievance Redressal Committee
Required in every industrial establishment of twenty or more workers, with equal employer and worker members. Section 4 of the IR Code sets the committee's shape: no more than ten members, a chairperson drawn alternately from the employer's and the workers' side each year, and women represented in at least the proportion they form of the workforce. Rule 6 of the Industrial Relations (Central) Rules 2026, notified on 8 May 2026, has the negotiating union or council nominate the worker members, or the workers choose from among themselves where there is none.
A decision needs a majority of the committee and the agreement of more than half the worker members; otherwise "it shall be deemed that no decision could be arrived at" (s.4(7)). A worker unhappy with the outcome, or left without one after thirty days, may apply within sixty days to the conciliation officer, through the trade union of which the worker is a member (s.4(8)).
Dismissal is treated differently. Section 4(9) makes a dispute over an individual worker's discharge, dismissal, retrenchment or termination an industrial dispute even though no other worker or union is a party, and sections 4(10) and (11) let the worker go directly to the Industrial Tribunal forty-five days after applying for conciliation, within two years of the termination. Whose committee a contract worker files with, the contractor's or the site's, depends on which establishment employs twenty or more workers and on who employs the worker; that is a question for the site's counsel.
Which route for which complaint
Most grievances fit one of the committees, but some have a statutory route of their own that the committee cannot replace.
| Complaint | First port of call | Statutory route behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Short or late wages, wrong deductions | Site committee (OSH r.184) or the contractor | Claim under Code on Wages s.45 within three years |
| Unsafe work, missing welfare facilities | Site committee (OSH r.184) | Inspector-cum-Facilitator |
| An individual dispute about work or treatment | Grievance Redressal Committee (IR Code s.4) | Conciliation officer within sixty days |
| Dismissal or termination | Grievance Redressal Committee or conciliation | Industrial Tribunal, within two years (s.4(9)–(11)) |
| Sexual harassment | The Internal Committee under the POSH Act 2013 | Not a matter for either grievance committee |
Larger sites have one more channel. Rule 57 of the OSH (Central) Rules requires a welfare officer in every factory, mine or plantation ordinarily employing 250 to 500 workers, with another for each further 500, and lists among the officer's duties bringing "the grievances of workers" to management's notice for "expeditious redressal".
What a site should have in place
A route a contract worker can use without going through the supervisor who caused the complaint. In practice that comes down to four things:
- A named committee with a named chair. The principal employer's representative chairs it, the contractor sits on it, and both names are on the notice board.
- A notice at the gate in the local language. What can be raised, how, to whom, and the thirty-day limit. A route nobody knows about is not a route.
- A register with dates. When each grievance came in, when it was heard, what was decided, and, if it went unresolved, the date it was forwarded to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator.
- A second door for harassment complaints. The Internal Committee's contact, displayed separately, so that nobody has to raise harassment in front of a grievance committee.
Grievances about wages and deductions are the ones a site most wants to hear first. Under section 55(3) of the OSH Code the principal employer is liable for wages a contractor fails to pay, so a complaint heard at the committee in week one costs less than the same complaint arriving as a claim a year later.
How Velura Services helps
Our on-site supervisors take grievances from the crew, log them and resolve what sits with us, such as pay, leave or rosters. Anything that needs your site, such as facilities or conduct, goes to your HR team through an agreed route within the Code's timelines.
Sources
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Central) Rules, 2026, G.S.R. 345(E) dated 8 May 2026 — r.57 (welfare officers, 250 to 500 workers; duty to bring grievances to management), r.184 (grievance redressal mechanism for contract labour; committee; thirty days; forwarding to the Inspector-cum-Facilitator; sixty days). Opened and read from a mirrored copy of the Gazette [VERIFY: against the e-Gazette original].
- The Industrial Relations Code, 2020 (Act 35 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment — s.4(1)–(8) (Grievance Redressal Committee: threshold, composition, chair, women's representation, one-year filing, thirty days, decision rule, conciliation within sixty days), s.4(9)–(11) (individual termination disputes; direct application to the Tribunal). Opened and read.
- Industrial Relations (Central) Rules, 2026, Gazette of India, 8 May 2026 — r.6 (worker members nominated by the negotiating union or council, or chosen by the workers). Read through PRS Legislative Research's review of the Rules, 13 July 2026 [VERIFY: rule number and wording against the Gazette text].
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (Tamil Nadu) Rules, 2022 (draft), G.O. Ms. No. 38, 11 April 2022 — searched for a contract-labour grievance provision; none found. Draft only.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 (Act 37 of 2020), Gazette text hosted by DGFASLI — s.55(3) (principal employer's liability for wages the contractor fails to pay). Opened and read.
- The Code on Wages, 2019 (Act 29 of 2019), Gazette text hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment — s.45 (claims; three-year limit). Opened and read.