Issues of Occupational Health and Injuries among Unskilled Female Labourers in Construction Industry: A Scenario of Punjab State

Unorganized sector of work is full of health hazards and injuries and if the workforce is female, the scenario worsens. Therefore the present investigation was undertaken with an objective to find injury and disease data of female construction workers. Results of study revealed that most of them belonged to the age group of 21-30 years, were married and lived in nuclear family setup. Mean weight and height of respondents were below the normal value. Cardiovascular responses, Basal Metabolic Index and Body Surface Area were very much within normal value. Injury data of sampled population revealed incidences of abrasion of skin, falls, slips, trips, crushing and pinching of body parts, boils in hands and feet, burns, sprains, cuts and bleeding and eye injury/hurt being more frequent occurring injuries during work. Illness data of respondents correlated affect of work on their health as most frequently reported illnesses were: weakness, cough/chest infection, urinary tract infection, sore throat, cervical pain, skin allergy, dehydration, back pain, generalized fatigue and heat stroke.