Indifference and negligence of governments and the managements in taking preventive measures responsible for the spurt in industrial accidents, say speakers at a seminar in Visakhapatnam

The spurt in industrial accidents in Andhra Pradesh in general, and North Andhra in particular, is leading to economic ruin for some families, said the speakers at a State-level seminar on “Industrial accidents deaths – who is responsible?”, organised at the Alluri Vignana Kendram (AVK) in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday

The spurt in industrial accidents in Andhra Pradesh in general, and North Andhra in particular, is leading to economic ruin for some families, said the speakers at a State-level seminar on “Industrial accidents deaths – who is responsible?”, organised at the Alluri Vignana Kendram (AVK) here on Tuesday.

They alleged that indifference and negligence of governments and the managements of industries in taking preventive measures was responsible for the growth in industrial accidents. The concessions being extended to industrialists in the name of ‘Ease of Doing Business (EODB)’ was another reason for the rise in accidents. In the name of EODB, the enforcement agencies like APPCB and Labour Department were being made to toe the line of the industry managements.

The lack of supervision by the enforcement agencies was resulting in frequent accidents. The managements were looking at provision of safety equipment to the workers as an additional burden, and were declining to admit that their profits were due to the hard work of their employees. The lack of adherence to safety guidelines has resulted in the death of 120 workers in 119 accidents in combined Visakhapatnam district during the last five years.

During 2022 alone, 20 people had died and 18 have been crippled due to industrial accidents. The managements were providing compensation to victims after an accident, but were not giving priority to prevention of accidents.

The styrene gas leak at LG Polymers on May 7, 2020, had revealed the scant respect the management had towards the safety of workers. The siren had not functioned after the leak and the plant had not renewed its licence since 1986. All the committees, which investigated the cause of the leak, found the management was at fault.

A total of 40 workers had died and 152 injured in the last 10 years in the Pharma City at Parawada. Similarly, accidents were occurring in Kakinada and other parts of the State. The seminar gave a call for joint struggles for action against those responsible for the accidents, and to impress on managements and governments to ensure safety workers.

CITU district general secretary R.K.S.V. Kumar presided.