Government should re-examine safety, health issues of workforce once factories reopen: AITUC after Vizag accident

NEW DELHI: The All India Trade Union Congress on Thursday demanded an inquiry and the fixing of responsibility into the Vishakhapatnam gas leak incident that claimed several lives and left scores of others in hospital.
Demanding stringent action in the L G Polymer Company gas leakage accident, AITUC general secretary Amarjeet Kaur demanded compensation for the deceased and the sick. The gas leak in LG’s Polymer Company claimed 11 lives till Thursday evening while over two dozen persons were on ventilators among the several hundred who had to be hospitalised.
AITUC said the incident brought the focus back on the issues of occupational safety and health (OSH) not only for those who are at the work place but also for all those who happen to be living in the vicinity of such plants. "It reminds us the Bhopal gas leak tragedy. The lessons have not been learnt from the previous accidents to ensure a continuous process of safety measures in industries. Among the deceased there are two girls aged 6 and 9 years and a young boy of 19 years," an AITUC statement said.
Among the oldest trade unions in the country, AITUC said OSH is a serious issue and no negligence on that account should be permitted by authorities who issue no objections for operating plants. It also demanded adequate compensation to victims of the accident, to the families of deceased and those who fell sick and had to be hospitalised. AITUC demanded that all safety and health issues of the workforce be kept in mind and the Centre and state governments and concerned authorities should once again look at the safety requirements when the companies/ factories reopen after lockdown.