On 2nd September, 2026 the Delhi cabinet approved the “Delhi Ease of Doing Business Bill, 2026” (EoDB 2026). The sole aim of this bill is to exploit the workers to any extent without holding the employers accountable. The bill clearly serves to maximise the profits of the employers while seriously putting the safety of already unsafe workers at further risk. By no means can the bill be justified on the grounds that it is benefitting the workers.
It is very likely that similar anti-worker Bills will be passed by governments of other states. That is why it is essential to understand its implications on the entire working class.
The Bill removes the mandatory routine government inspection requirement of manufacturing units and other enterprises. As per the new EoDB 2026, the owners of factories and manufacturing units can “self-certify” implementation of safety measures at workplace through a mobile app. On the basis of these reports submitted through the app, the Labour Department will perform random checks on factories and enterprises.
The EoDB is in accordance with the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSHW) Code, 2020 of the Central Government, which had replaced the system of regular, time-bound government inspections of industries and businesses with a framework based on self-certification, self-regulation, and random government inspections conducted through an app. The Code also reclassifies various offences committed by factory owners and employers as “minor” offences, removing the possibility of criminal prosecution for these violations and replacing it with civil penalties, such as fines. These include negligence in industrial operations involving workplace safety hazards and environmental safeguards. Furthermore, the Code removes the requirement for safety monitoring completely in factories employing fewer than 500 workers and at construction sites employing fewer than 250 workers.
The Delhi government’s Ease of Doing Business Bill comes amid frequent factory fires, workplace accidents, construction mishaps and building collapses that have injured, permanently disabled and killed workers and residents. Recent tragedies include the Bawana factory blast and collapse (May 2025), the Mayapuri industrial fire (June 2026), the 2024 Rajinder Nagar basement flooding that killed students, the Malviya Nagar lodging fire (June 2026), and the collapse of a five-storey student accommodation in Satya Niketan on 6 September 2026, killing at least seven students.
The Safe in India Foundation’s CRUSHED 2026 report, released in July, exposed widespread safety violations in the Gurugram-Manesar automotive industry, where thousands of workers were injured in 2025 due to faulty machinery and inadequate safety equipment.
In some cases where investigations take place, it has been clearly pointed out that such fatal accidents took place due to negligence of safety norms at the workplaces. The establishments had “self-certified” themselves as safe, while clearly violating many of the mandatory norms. In many cases it was found that the random checks were also managed by bribing state officials.
A fundamental question arises: Can the responsibility for ensuring workplace safety be left to the discretion of profit-driven business owners? Is it reasonable to expect employers to voluntarily comply with mandatory safety standards when doing so may involve additional costs or reduce their profits?
Workplace safety cannot depend on the goodwill, honesty or individual priorities of employers; it requires enforceable regulations, independent inspections and meaningful accountability. Is it not known that employers always prioritize their profits over the health, safety and well-being of their workers?
The beneficiaries of this bill are clearly the capitalist owners of factories and enterprises. This bill gives capitalist owners the power of not being held accountable for negligence of safety. They can easily get away with some penalty and fines. On the other hand, the cost that the workers and their families pay is huge – a lost or disabled life of a family member as well as their income.
The Delhi Government Bill must be severely condemned as it is an outright attack on all the workers. It is an attack on everyone who is a worker and their families, irrespective of where they work. This Bill clearly exposes that the true nature of the government that serves the interests of the capitalist owners who choose to maximize their profits at any and every cost. Workers and their families all over the country are demanding strict implementation of safety norms at workplaces. They are demanding their right to a safe and healthy work environment.