Structural Failures and the Normalisation of Occupational Hazard in Mumbai’s Construction Sector

Vollständiger Abstract

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Construction workers are one of the most marginalized and vulnerable workforces in India. However, there is a lack of enforcement, a lack of documentation, and a lack of reporting of construction site safety regulations. Mumbai is one of the largest cities in the world, and its construction attracts migrants from other states. Mumbai, on account of its being a metropolitan city with continuous ongoing construction, the construction workers are exposed to a variety of safety and health risks every day, including but not limited to falling from heights, electrocution, and heat stress. There are laws such as the BOCW Act 1996 and the OSH Code 2020, but accidents occur due to unsafe practices, due to gaps in enforcement and weak accountability. Almost all the information that is available and accessible about construction workers’ safety in India is quantitative and has little to no coverage of the construction workers’ actual experiences. This research shows that informal labor, institutional neglect, and the normalisation of working with the risk of injury all contribute to the unsafe conditions for the construction sector in Mumbai. This is a mixed-method research that has a qualitative-dominant approach. This was accomplished by conducting semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and a survey with around fifteen workers and safety professionals at two construction sites in Mumbai. The primary data was supplemented with secondary sources like the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Findings reveal that despite basic safety equipment being available across sites, the usage of these tools is still low due to discomfort, time constraints, and compliance that is externally driven rather than embedded. Post-accident responses are limited to minimal compensation and are accompanied by little evidence of systemic improvement. This research provides an evidence-based foundation to advocate for stronger enforcement of policies and transparent reporting mechanisms, keeping in mind the diverse cultural context of the workers.