RNAIPL plant ops hit as some staff stay off work

Operations at Renault Nissan Automotive India Pvt Ltd (RNAIPL) factory here have been partly affected on Monday with a section of employees not reporting for duty in the wake of the ongoing second wave of the pandemic, according to Union sources.

The company had suspended operations at the plant for five days from May 26 amid demand from workers to temporarily stop production in view of the surge in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu even as the state government extended the lockdown for another week starting May 24 with more stringent measures.

“Today, many of us, out of the 8,000 employees here at the plant, including contract labourers, are staying away from work. Only the office bearers of the Renault Nissan Thozhilalargal Sangam (Employees Union) have come to discuss with the management on further course of action,” a Union source said. Immediate comments from the company could not be obtained but management sources said while a section of workers has not reported for duty, others have logged their attendance. Last week, in a letter to the employees, RNAIPL MD-CEO Biju Balendran had said the COVID-19 situation in and around Chennai remained extremely serious and “therefore, to ensure we maintain the focus on the safety of our employees and their families and as a precaution, the decision has been taken to suspend plant operations temporarily from May 26 to May 30.”

The factory located about 45 km from here was operating in two shifts and workers were not willing to work in the wake of the pandemic.

As per a member, the Union had suggested to the management to operate the facility with limited manpower instead of asking all the employees to work at the factory. The workers are cautious and are unwilling to carry on duties as was done in pre-COVID situation, the source said.

Meanwhile, factories of Hyundai Motor, Ford India and Eicher Motor have restarted their production after a couple of days of closure in the wake of COVID-19 spread. “The Hyundai Motor car plant has restarted after a couple of days. Even during that period a couple of employees have died due to COVID-19,” Hyundai Motor India Employees Union (HMIEU) President E Muthukumar said. The HMIEU has requested the management to close the factory till June 7, the time when the state lockdown comes to an end. The HMIEU has also asked the management to deploy only 50 pc of the workforce if it considers the operations are necessary on alternate days. A Ford India union official said, the factory has started working and talks are on with the management to consider its demands like financial compensation for the families of the workers who succumb to COVID-19.