Worker’s safety alarming in Gurgaon's automotive factories: IIMA alumni study

NEW DELHI, AUGUST 8: Auto-sector factories in Gurgaon are prone to an alarming rate of work-related accidents, says a study published by Safe in India Foundation (SII).

The report titled ‘Crushed' reveals that thousands of factory workers in the automotive supply chain get severely injured, even losing their hands and fingers in workplace accidents in Gurgaon every year. Once injured, the workers are forced to either quit the job or take up one in which they are paid less as the companies rarely take responsibility and compensate the workers for the accidents.

Poor working conditions, unsafe equipment, and a lack of adherence to safety rules are pointed out as the reason for such a large number of work-related accidents. The study revealed that 83% of machines in these factories had no malfunctioning safety sensors while 47% of workers lacked high-quality safety gear.

The report by SII, an NGO founded by IIM Ahmedabad (IIMA) alumni, is based on the experiences of more than 1,300 auto-sector supply chain workers. “This report, the first of its kind, has focused on the safety record of the automotive industry’s supply chain in India. By all accounts, this sector is critical to the country’s growth - contributing to around 4% of its GDP and employing over 13 million people,” said Prof. Errol S’Douza, Director, IIMA, at the launch of ‘Crushed’ at the IIMA campus.

SII was started in 2015 by three alumni of IIMA to address the problem that “20 workers a day lose their hands and/or fingers in Gurgaon factories every day” as stated by an ESIC (Employee State Insurance Corporation) doctor. It has assisted almost 2,000 such injured workers to obtain better ESIC healthcare and almost Rs. 15 crore value of ESIC compensation. SII is funded and supported by the alumni of IIMA and IIT Roorkee.