CII chief calls for remote working to control spread

In order to protect lives, industry leaders are supporting a complete lockdown, with CII President Uday Kotak asking industry to curtail all non-essential economic activity requiring physical presence of employees at workplaces, for the next two weeks. “This is necessary to break the chain of transmission,” he said.

Harsh Goenka, chairman of the RPG group, said he supports a complete lockdown wholeheartedly so as to break the chain and protect lives.

Kotak said Indian industry should review operations and minimise the use of in-person manpower, limiting it to critical operations or activities required by law.

Several firms have announced ‘work from home’, even as several key cities — Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bengaluru — go through a massive health care crisis owing to lack of oxygen, doctors and medicines.

“All responsible corporates should strive to protect their employees and ensure that their employee balance sheet remains healthy,” said Kotak.

The CII and industry are working shoulder-to-shoulder with the government in tackling the massive tsunami of infections that has hit India, causing much suffering.

Industry is lending a helping hand augmenting the critical oxygen supplies and bed capacities. Production capacities of medicines and other medical supplies are being ramped up.

The CII has been putting its head together with the government as well as medical experts, to work out the

best possible way to steer through this crisis.

“However, in spite of all efforts, the overall numbers continue to rise. The health care system and medical personnel are stretched to the limit and exhausted. Measures to break the chain of transmission are of paramount importance to mitigate human tragedy and loss of lives, alongside augmenting health infrastructure and medical supplies,” said Kotak.

The CII added that companies must make testing available for those employees whose presence at the workplace is necessary for critical operations.

In addition, it has called for making quarantine facilities available for infected employees. Further, the CII has urged companies to ramp up vaccination of employees and, as vaccine availability improves, extend the vaccination drives to neighbouring communities as well.