HC seeks State to arrange for an official’s visit to Renault-Nissan unit
CHENNAI: The Madras high court on Monday sought the State to arrange the visit of a senior official from the Directorate of Industrial Safety to the Sriperumbudur factory of Renault-Nissan by 10 am on June 01 (Tuesday) to find out whether COVID-19 protocol is followed scrupulously.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy put forth the request to the State after expressing hope that the workmen who have not reported for duty on Monday in protest against the perceived non-adherence to the Covid protocol by the employer will resume their duties so that the inspection may be made.
“Representatives of the workmen may interact with the concerned government official, along with the representatives of the Management, to check the relevant parameters and arrive at some form of solution, ” the bench said.
Also, on recording the assertion of the petitioning workers that Nissan cannot avail lockdown exemption without complying with the attendant conditions of maintaining Covid protocol, particularly social distancing, the first bench held “It is suggested by the workmen that if there is a gap between two cars in the assembly line, social distancing norms may be maintained by allowing three or four workmen to work on the vehicle at a time, instead of six or eight of them working on one vehicle at the same time.” “It is hoped that all safety norms are in place and there is no compromise on such an account to keep up the production at the factory.
The distancing norms have to be maintained without exception. For such a purpose, the management and the workmen should continue their discussions to arrive at a reasonable solution in the course of the week, ” Chief Justice Banerjee added.
The court also recorded submission on behalf of the workmen that the wearing of face shields may not be appropriate and, in any event, dents and damages cannot be conveniently identified through a shield.
“The workmen also suggest that the study that the management is undertaking to ensure that distancing norms are maintained at all times, should be completed expeditiously and corrective measures adopted, ” the bench added while posting the plea to June 04 for further hearing.