Pune chemical unit hearth: report says flagrant violation of safety norms, labour laws

A fact-finding group, probing the horrific Pune chemical manufacturing facility blaze final month by which 17 employees, most of them ladies, have been killed, has discovered that the manufacturing facility homeowners flagrantly violated safety and labour laws and that the authorities from the State Industrial Safety and Health Department connived with the manufacturing facility homeowners in granting the agency a licence within the absence of all safety norms.

A large hearth erupted on June 7 on the premises of SVS Aqua Technologies in Mulshi taluk. The blaze, which seemed like a bomb explosion to 37 employees trapped contained in the cramped working house, unfold with such fast depth that 17 of them, of whom greater than a dozen have been ladies, have been immediately charred to dying.

The group, organised by the Trade Union Action Committee, comprised Nitish Nawsagaray, a professor on the city-based ILS Law College; Vivek Patwardhan, a senior HR Professional; advocate Vishal Jadhav; well being and safety skilled Prahlad Malvadkar and social researcher Roma Makati. It held detailed interviews with the survivors, the kin of the deceased and the Pune division and district authorities.

The report revealed that the manufacturing facility had been in operation since 2012 however had neither obtained a licence below the Factories Act, 1948 nor even bothered to accumulate one until 2020. Contrary to the road given out by the manufacturing facility homeowners, the employees weren’t given any coaching on the safety precautions or made conscious of the large threat of dealing with chemical substances, it stated.

“Since commencement of its operations in 2012, no officer of the Industrial Safety and Health Department had ever visited the factory nor sent any notice even once till December last year regarding norms flouted by it. It was also learnt the visit [by an authority] was the result of an unrecorded fire that had occurred in the factory earlier,” stated Dr. Nawsagaray.

The officer’s report to the Industrial Safety and Health Department in December 14 final had raised objections relating to the method, safety and the structure of the manufacturing facility even.

The fact-finding group revealed that after the official’s go to, the plan of the present manufacturing facility constructing was filed with the authorities of the Industrial Safety and Health Department in February final and “hurriedly approved” by the Industrial Additional Director of Industrial Safety and Health.

“The Director neither visited nor inspected the existing factory structure before approving the said plan which, he was legally duty bound to do. The factory plan itself reveals that it did not provide sufficient fire exits and doors. The windows shown in the plan were, in fact, sealed with grills right from the beginning. It showed many elements that never existed on the site, thus making it to be a fraudulent and fake submission,” stated advocate Jadhav.

Licensed or unlicensed?

Ajit Abhyankar, senior chief of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and convener, Trade Union Action Committee, stated it was evident from the information that no licence was granted to the manufacturing facility for 2020.

“However, while granting licence for 2021-22, the Chief Inspector Industrial Safety and Health sought to create a misleading picture as if the factory had been issued a licence for 2020. This points to complicity, connivance, conspiracy and unlawful actions by the officers of the Industrial Safety and Health Department who appear to be acting in tandem with the factory owners,” Mr. Abhyankar stated, including that whereas one manufacturing facility proprietor, Nikunj Shah, had been arrested, the above authorities authorities haven’t been probed.

The report stated that the fireplace would have been prevented had the corporate been issued a piece stoppage order in December 2020 itself and if earlier than issuing/re-issuing the licence, the officers visited the precise website of the manufacturing facility as per the authorized provisions, inspected and enforced the corrective measures as per the safety necessities.

Violation of labour laws

Ms. Makati pointed that the surviving staff knowledgeable the group that the employer (Nikunj and Keyur Shah) didn’t problem them any appointment letter, identification card or pay slips.

“In our interviews with employees, they revealed that the company never provided them the ESIC card nor Provident Fund [PF] numbers despite deducting PF. We also learnt that the company did not pay overtime wages at the rate prescribed by the Factories Act while not granting them any statutory paid holidays,” she said.

The report confirmed that none of the staff within the manufacturing facility was given any appointment letter or wage slip and that whereas their working hours got as 9-5.30 p.m., a number of occasions in a month, work would start from 7 a.m. and go on until 7 p.m.

“This overtime was unaccounted for and the employees never received compensation for it. If some employee, even for health reasons, could not attend for a few days, their services were terminated immediately. The employees also told us that they were constantly pressured and threatened with termination of services,” Ms. Makati stated.

Furthermore, ladies staff have been paid lesser than their male counterparts for a similar work that included hazardous obligations equivalent to packing Sodium Chlorite powder and tablets into bottles.

Mr. Patwardhan stated employees weren’t knowledgeable in regards to the hazardous traits of the uncooked materials in addition to the strategy of dealing with them. As safety tools, they have been simply supplied with gloves, apron and a helmet.

“On the day of the blaze, the victims were sitting in a circle packaging the material. Earlier to the incident, they had many times complained about defective packaging machines. They complained that the machines used to get heated up while emitting electric sparks. No cognizance was taken by the owners or the management of the same,” he added.