Is the unwritten policy influenced by the PM's recent announcement on labour reforms?
The state labour department of the government has, of late, been cracking a whip on organisations which have not been paying adequate compensation to the families of employees who have died in the company premises during work hours in mishaps.
The latest example is that of Tata Power, which paid a total of Rs 25 lakh to a contract worker on Friday. The worker died in the company's Trombay coal plant five years ago, after falling off a height of 42 metres from a conveyor belt.
Tata Power had initially paid Rs 4.47 lakh to the parents of Anand Kumar, 24, who was a native of Uttar Pradesh. The company had given Kumar's younger brother the job of an office boy. However, the inspector of factories had prosecuted the top official of Tata Power after he inspected the spot and found that some of the safety norms were not followed.
"Since it was a mishap and the COO was not directly involved in it, we decided to withdraw the case, but realised that the compensation paid to the worker was not adequate. So we withdrew the charges yesterday (Friday), after another cheque of Rs 20.53 lakh was handed over to the kin of the deceased, making the amount Rs 25 lakh," said principal secretary of state labour department Arvind Kumar.
Asked whether the department will be making it a norm for all companies to pay such heavy compensation to its workers, Kumar said it currently is an unwritten policy, but it may be formalised after the new government comes to force. "The option of ensuring adequate compensation to those who have suffered serious injuries and permanent disabilities in factories will also be be looked at," Kumar said.
The department has also prosecuted another official of Gadre Fisheries, which has also paid poor compensation to the kin of one of its workers who died in an accident almost three years ago, labour
department officials said. "We have asked them to give a compensation of Rs 25 lakh, following which we will consider withdrawing the case," a senior official said.
The efforts also coincide with prime minister Narendra Modi's recent announcement on labour reforms. On Thursday, Modi announced a slew of labour reforms to create an environment conducive to industrial development and attending to issues related to the working class. The pro-labour reforms include ending inspector raj and harassment of factory owners, demand-based vocational training, an apprentice scheme and revamp of the health insurance scheme to benefit workers in the unorganised sector.
A Unified Labour Portal or 'Shram Suvidha', a transparent and accountable Labour Inspection Scheme was also launched. The union labour ministry had also proposed one law covering all aspects for
small factories – factories employing less than 40 people.
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