Labour law awareness; worker falls from height

Why an engineer should know Labour Law

Labour law regulates the relationship between employer and worker: wages, working hours, safety, welfare, compensation and dispute settlement. In Nepal the main law is the Labour Act (the Labour Act 2048, now replaced by the Labour Act 2074) with its Rules. An engineer who manages a site is in practice the employer's representative, so he must know it because:

• Construction employs large numbers of labourers, and the engineer is responsible for their wages, working hours, leave and overtime.
• The Act makes the employer duty-bound to provide a safe workplace, safety equipment and first aid, so a site engineer who ignores it can be held liable.
• Wrong handling of labour matters causes strikes, disputes and delay, which raise the cost and time of the project.
• It protects the engineer from penalties, and the firm from compensation claims after accidents.
• It supports the engineering code of ethics: the safety and welfare of people is the first duty of an engineer.
• Contracts and tenders require compliance with labour law, including payment of the minimum wage and social security contributions.

Action when a worker dies by falling from height

1. Rescue first. Stop work in the area, give first aid, and take the injured worker to the nearest hospital. Call an ambulance and the police.
2. Secure the site. Do not disturb the accident spot, except to prevent further danger. Keep the evidence (scaffold, harness, photographs).
3. Report. Inform the police, the employer or head office, the client or consultant, and the labour office within the time the Act prescribes. Inform the family of the deceased respectfully.
4. Compensation. Make sure the family receives the compensation, funeral expenses and dues fixed by the Labour Act and Rules, and any insurance or social security benefit. Do not delay, or pressurise the family into settling for less.
5. Investigate. Form a small inquiry to find the cause: missing guard rails, no safety harness or helmet, a weak scaffold, no training, or pressure to work fast.
6. Correct. Provide fall protection, safety nets, scaffold inspection, welfare facilities and training, and enforce safety rules strictly. Stop similar work until the site is safe.
7. Honesty. Report the facts truthfully. Do not hide the death or blame the dead worker without evidence; that would break the code of ethics of the Nepal Engineering Council.