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2024, 2024 Asia Pacific, 2024 India, Events listing, News

India: PTRC statement on International Workers’ Memorial Day

The Peoples Training & Research Center, Vadodara India has issued the following statement to mark 28 April.

Background:

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) organized a program to mourn workers who died in accidents at work on 28 April 1985. The idea was taken up by the groups working with workers on safety and health rights at work. Gradually the movement took wind. Now it is being observed in over 100 countries as International Workers Memorial Day. In 2003 ILO declared this day as World Day for safety health at work; after which industry celebrates it under this name though worker’s groups have continued to observe it as IWMD.

ILO declares safety and health at work as fundamental right

At its 110th Session in June 2022, the International Labor Conference decided to amend paragraph 2 of the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work  (1998) to include “a safe and healthy working environment” as a fundamental principle and right at work. The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998, has been amended to this effect and the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187) are now considered as fundamental Conventions. 76 ILO member countries have ratified C.155. Latest added to the list is Asian country Laos and Iran. India has refrained from ratifying this 1981 convention. As a first step to ratify the Convention, India declared its National Policy on Safety, Health and Environment at work in 2009 during UPA government but then second step of ratification is not taken yet. India is the only country among BRICS c countries not to ratify this convention and thus depriving workers in organized and unorganized sectors the right to be protected at work. The OSH code and other codes are now put on backtrack as a result of protest by the trade unions. In such a situation we do not see this Government to take any steps to ratify these conventions.

India’s contribution in deaths and injuries at work:

British Safety Council reported that 48,000 workers die in fatal accidents at work each year in India[i]. This is 20 times more than in Britain. WHO estimates 10 crore workers are injured globally in accidents at work and 1 lakh fatally.[ii] In India, 17 crore workers are injured in accidents at work which is 17% of the workers injured in the world. But in case of fatal accidents, India contributed 45%! 11 crore workers the world over are victims of different occupational diseases out of which 19 lakhs are from India. 7 lakh workers die the world over of occupational diseases in which 1.19 lakhs are Indians. These are estimates. It is difficult to get credible data on accidents at work.  Despite browsing through different source like National Crime Bureau, Labor Bureau, DGFASLI, DGMS, ESIC, State labor departments, you may not get the full picture. In 2013, the rate of injuries was 0.37 per 1 lakh workers which rose to 0.49 in 2014. ESIC reported 2.41 crore workers injured in 2016-17 and 3.02 crore in 2017-18

ILO estimates daily 6400 workers die in fatal accidents at work and 8.60 lakh are injured. Annually 3.5 lakh workers die in accidents at work and more than 20 lakh die of different occupational diseases. 31.3 crore workers meet with injuries in accidents at work which prevent them from attending duty. Annually 16 crore workers get injured in occupational diseases. Thus it can be seen that occupational diseases kill 6 times more workers than those who die in accidents at work. Occupational cancers, kidney and liver diseases following exposure to chemicals, diseases caused due to exposure to heavy metals like Cadmium-Chromium-Lead-Mercury etc. kill workers which remain beneath the carpet

Occupational Diseases:

WHO/ILO published joint estimates of work-related burden of diseases and injuries in September 2021. The estimates are for the period 2000-2016 and not beyond. According to this report, globally in 2016, a total of 1.88 million deaths were estimated to be attributable to the 41 pairs of occupational risk factor and health outcome. Diseases accounted for 80.7% of the deaths and injuries accounted for 19.3% of the deaths. All covered diseases are non-communicable diseases. The occupational risk factor with the largest number of attributable deaths was exposure to long working hours followed by occupational particulate matter, gases and fumes (450,381 deaths) and occupational injuries (deaths). The health outcome with the largest work-related burden of deaths was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (450,381 deaths), followed by stroke (398,-306 deaths) and ischemic heart disease (346,618 deaths).

ILO has estimated that 4% of GDP is lost due to accidents and work-related diseases. In 2001, 4% of world GDP came to more than the US$1,251,353 million.” Converting this figure in Indian rupees it comes to Rs. 96.35 lakh crore!!! In some countries, the loss goes up to 6%.

Mourn the dead, fight for living:

Public programs are organized on 28 April to draw the attention of the society in general and Government and industry in particular to the grave situation and present the demands. “Mourn for the dead and fight for the living” is a popular slogan. Victims and survivors are encouraged to join the programs while in some countries they are so empowered to organize their programs independently. In some countries, memorials are built at the site of accidents and victims and other citizens organize programs at such memorials. They present data on the numbers of workers who died in accidents or occupational diseases during the previous year. Pictures of the victims are offered flowers and candle lights. Activists demand to know who was responsible for the accident, to book the culprits, to pay compensation to the victims and actions to prevent a recurrence.

Where is National Policy?

In 2009 India declared a “National policy on Safety, Health and Environment at Work” but the new government forgot to take any actions in accordance with the policy. Four labor codes have been passed by the Parliament but there is no discussion on the National policy. When there are no data generated, the problem does not exist and when there is no problem how can we have budgetary allocation? Is it possible to have any program without a budget?

National TB Elimination Program:

India has ambitious program for elimination of TB by 2030. In 2022, 24.2 lakh TB patients were notified.

India TB Report 23 notes “Co morbidities like under nutrition, diabetes, HIV, tobacco smoking, and alcohol impact a person with TB in predisposition and severity.” The report forgets silica here. International Commission statement notes, “The International Commission on Occupational Health (ICOH) calls for a concerted global effort to promote Occupational Safety and Health strategies to prevent tuberculosis (TB) in high-risk occupations including silica dust exposed workers in mining, construction and other industries. The highest exposed are often the most vulnerable, disadvantaged, and medically underserved in countries with the highest burden of TB.” However, later in this report it notes, “The program also envisages implementing a shorter regimen for TPT in priority populations such as diabetics, people using tobacco, people having silicosis etc.” In 2022 Government launched TB Preventive therapy module. But it is not initiating National Silicosis elimination program offered by ILO/WHO yet. As long as workers continue to be exposed to silica at work, they will remain vulnerable to TB.

SDGs:

Under sustainable development goals (SDGs) by United Nations, SDG 3 is “Good health and well-being” while SDG. 8 is “Decent work and economic growth.” 2020 Country report on SDG performance by NITI Ayog[iii] notes: SDG India Index and Dashboard, for SDG 8 and its disaggregated seven national indicators, the overall Index Score for the country is 64. Approximately 80 per cent of India’s workers are employed in the unorganized sector and more than 90 per cent in informal employment. Such a huge workforce is not covered by the majority of labor laws. Therefore, these workers lack access to benefits like safety standards and minimum wage.” Then how are we going to achieve the goal by 2030?

Climate change:

Globe is getting hotter and hotter. Climate change is taking its toll. As per recent ILO report, billions of workers are exposed to hazards exacerbated by climate change. Every year, an estimated 22.85 million occupational injuries, 18,970 deaths are attributable to excessive heat alone. Strong evidence demonstrates that numerous health conditions in workers have been linked to climate change, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, respiratory illnesses, kidney dysfunction and mental health conditions, among many others. Thousands more die from pesticide poisoning (>300,000), workplace air pollution (>860,000), solar UV radiation (>18,960 due to non-melanoma skin cancer alone) and parasitic and vector-borne diseases.[iv]

In India workers agriculture workers, construction workers, vendors, factory workers who are working on the furnace or boilers in power plants, chemical factories, foundries, rolling mills, cements factories, transport workers – the drivers sitting near engine are exposed to elevated heat. But we do not have no data on the numbers of workers working in elevated temperature and we do not have any action plan to protect them.

A huge challenge is lying before the new Government at center pot general elections will to protect health and safety of the workers in organized as well as unorganized sectors

*Jagdish Patel, Director, Peoples Training & Research Centre, Vadodara

Contact – jagdish.jb@gmail.com

[i]https://www.britsafe.org/about-us/press-releases/2019/the-future-of-health-and-safety-in-india/

[ii]https://www.who.int/occupational_health/publications/declaration/en/

[iii]http://niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2020-07/26281VNR_2020_India_Report.pdf

[iv] Ensuring safety and Health at work in changing climate https://webapps.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@ed_protect/@protrav/@safework/documents/publication/wcms_922850.pdf

2020, 2020 India, Events listing, News

India: Statement from PTRC, Gujarat, for 28 April

Read the statement from PTRC, Gujarat, for 28 April

28 April, International Workers Memorial Day

Why do workers meet premature death?

Workers don’t work to die, provide them adequate protection.

Today is 28 April, IWMD. We remember those who died during the year in accidents at work or of occupational diseases and dedicate ourselves to fight for the living.

As per ILO estimates 2.3 million workers die each year in which 2.1 million die of different occupational disease and 0.2 in accidents at work. It amounts to 6000 deaths each day. Another 340 million injure themselves in accidents and 160 million get sick due to work.

We do not have official data of occupational diseases either for the country or for the state of Gujarat, though diagnosis of ODs might be done here and there. During the last year 13 workers died of silicosis from among those community with whom we work. That includes 7 from ceramic units in Than, 3 from sculptures in Dhrangadhra, 1 from tile factory in Morbi and 2 from Rajkot. Average age was 43. Among 13, one was female and rest male workers.

All these met with premature deaths because their health was not the priority for their owners or the Government. This does not seem to be priority of the Government of Gujarat either. In 2017 National Human Rights Commission recommended the State to formulate comprehensive policy for the rehabilitation and welfare of the workers suffering from Silicosis but State Government has not taken any action yet. Rajasthan and Haryana have set good example by formulating such policy for their states.

7 workers died in a fire in Chiripal Textile in Ahmedabad on 8 February, 2020. Before that 6 workers died in accident in P.I.Industires in Sarod on 6 January, 2020. Another 6 died in explosion in Aims Oxygen, Gavasad in Vadodara on 11 January, 2020. 4 workers died in Chemshell explosion in Makarpura industrial area in Vadodara on 21 October 2019. Production manager died in November ,19 in gas leak in Vakson life in Ankaleshwar. 19 worker died in 3 incidents took place during January-February of this year.

Most accidents that take place in factories are preventable. Factory Act provides elaborate provisions to prevent accidents. If enforced, that will help reduce accidents. But looking at the above data it can be seen that the fatal accidents are on increase. Impact of failure of employers and Governments in providing safer and healthier workplace fall not only on the families of the individual workers but also deeply on the economy of the country. Productivity goes down. At present many sanctioned posts of inspectors in labour department are lying vacant. It is the responsibility of the State to fill up the vacant positions. On the other hand, under “ease of doing business” policy for inspection has been changed. In violation of the Contract Labour (Abolition and Regulation) Act workers are appointed through contractors in manufacturing and there is no control over their working hours. State has stopped filing complaints for violation of provisions for working hours in the Act since last so many years. By amending the provisions limit of overtime hours has been raised. Enforcement of provision to file return in Form 24 under Sec.107 of the Gujarat Factory Rules is so weak that we do not get correct data. Consistent decrease in Notifiable accidents seen in official data is nothing but under reporting. As the industry is interested in posing their better image unfortunately, State, too is interested. Well, we can understand this interest but it is no good to use half truths to build image.

Record of the State in fatal accidents is no good. To keep the data on lower side they play tricks like legal and non-legal still according to the data published by National Crime Records Bureau for the fatal accidents in 2016, Gujarat stood second after Delhi. From 2013 to 2018 989 workers died in fatal accidents in Gujarat. In 2018 218 workers died till November and for the same period in 2019, 168 workers died.. In 2018 there were  32192 working and registered units in the State which employed 1.725 million workers. 263 workers died in that year as per official data. This amounts to rate of 15.23 per 100,000 workers employed. In 2017 this rate for European Union was 1.65 (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics‐explained/index.php/Accidents_at_work_statistics). Comparing this rate with that of Gujarat indicate, we have a long way to go in providing safer workplace to our workers.

It is observed that the complaints filed by the State for the violation of provisions of Factory Act are under Sec. 92 only but no complaints are filed under Sec.96-A. After Bhopal gas tragedy the Act was amended to make more stringent provisions for violations but State is  not taking any advantage of this amendment and that is how industry is not only shown leniency but they are encouraged to violate the provisions.

In factories workers come in contact with the materials they handle which adversely affect their health and thousands suffer from cancer, lung diseases, skin diseases, noise induced deafness and so on. But we do not have reliable data on these. With great pain we have to take note that the Certifying Surgeons and Factory Medical Officers have utterly failed. The private practitioners who diagnose these diseases do not notify them either because many of them do not know the provisions and State is not interested.

As per the report of Comptroller and Auditor General  (CAG) it is the policy of the State to not to take any legal action against the violator for fatal accident if the employer pays ex-gratia compensation (over and above the legal compensation) to the victim and if they don’t pay ex-gratia amount, take action up to closer.  It is complete illegal not to file complaint though the unit has violated the law. It is unacceptable to allow manufacturing by keeping worker’s life at bay. Life of any worker is invaluable but State is not interested in saving their life. Please the victim family by paying little more to keep them shut. Workers don’t come to factory to die. This policy is  cruel joke of human dignity and human rights. We condemn this policy and in wider interests of the workers demand-

  1. There is urgent need to protect health care workers engaged in COVID-19. To monitor health care services provided by private sector Central Government enacted Clinical Establishment Act, 2010 should be accepted by the State. 11 states have already implemented it, why not Gujarat?
  2. Fame comprehensive policy for rehabilitation and welfare of silicosis patients as recommended by National Human Rights Commission in 2017.
  3. Sanction posts of inspectors as per ILO standards for the registered factories under Factory Act. Numbers should be reviewed each year.
  4. Fill up vacant posts of inspectors. Provide them adequate training.
  5. Improve the quality of the working of the inspectors by providing them training and monitoring their work. Arrange online system to control corruption. As per news reports State has come up with mobile apps called “SACHET” and “SIMPLE.” We welcome this action and hope that it will help better monitoring.
  6. File complaints for the violation of the provisions of the Act. Allocate adequate number of legal officers in the department. Justice system should be such that long time is not wasted in getting justice. Do not transfer complaints of fatal accidents in Lok Adalat. It should be remembered that the complaints filed under Factory Act are of criminal nature and its seriousness should be understood. Review them regularly. File complaints under Sec.96-A.
  7. Give prosecution powers under Factory Act to the workers, labour NGOs and trade unions. Partner with workers, trade unions and labour NGOs in enforcement.
  8. Organize programs for awareness and popularize provision of notification of occupational diseases among the public and private medical practitioners.
  9. Provide legal protection to the Factory Medical officers and monitor their work.
  10. Publish all the data, annual reports, inquiry reports, court orders, circulars and other material for the people to access online.
  11. State is empowered to amend the list of Sch.III of the the Employees Compensation Act. Amend the list to include Musculoskeletal diseases and diseases caused by Polyacrylate.
  12. Appoint qualified industrial hygienists in Ind. Hygiene Laboratory, provide them equipment and give them powers.
  13. Give powers to notify the accidents and occupational diseases to the workers, trade unions and labour NGOs.

PTRC Contact: Jagdish Patel • Website

Plus: Read the news story 13 workers died of silicosis in Gujarat in 16 months