Swiss multinational corporation Holcim kills workers!

Press Release, 24 August 2010, New Delhi

An industrial accident on 15 August 2010 at the Swiss multinational corporation Holcim owned ACC Ltd-Jamul Cement Works plant has resulted in the death of two workers and two more workers are still in hospital battling for their lives.

A maintenance crew of the Holcim management’s contractor SOS Engineering was asked on 14 August to report to work the next day, a national holiday. The fitter crew had been called in to repair the coal sifting screen and railing on the staircase next to the coal hopper. Instead, the Holcim management instructed the workers to work on the jammed coal hopper (where the coal falls from a storage pile). Despite protests by workers and their supervisor that they had received no safety training to undertake the hazardous job, the Holcim management forced the workers to work on the jammed coal hopper. It was during this operation that the molten coal was suddenly released and fell on the workers who were working on the hopper, leading to the fatalities.

The Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh (contract workers union in the cement industry in Chhattisgarh) has been repeatedly bringing to the Hoclim management’s attention that there are no emergency facilities or procedures in place at the plant to deal with industrial accidents; that contract workers are pressurised not to report accidents; and there are attempts by the Holcim management and its contractors to cover up fatal accidents to avoid paying compensation. The Holcim management ignored the union’s warnings. The accident of 15 August 2010 is due to the deliberate and malafide actions of the Holcim management. It is guilty of violating basic safety procedures and standards particularly of the casual and contract workmen employed at the plant and therefore the Holcim management must be held criminally culpable and liable for the accident and the fatalities.

Deliberate violation of safety procedures, standards and norms

The Holcim management did not have the statutory work permit or ‘line clear’ permission from the State Electricity Department to undertake maintenance of the coal hopper. This is a clear violation of Holcim’s own cardinal rules on OH&S to “not override or interfere with any safety provision and do not let others override or interfere with safety provisions”.

There was a delay of 30 minutes before the four critically burnt workers (with burns ranging from 90-100%) could be removed from the factory to receive medical aid since there was no ambulance or any other emergency facility at the factory. Three injured workers who were vomiting due to inhalation of noxious fumes sought medical assistance on their own after being initially denied gate passes to leave the factory to seek medical help. The remaining nine workers have yet to be medically tested despite having been exposed to hazardous fumes and coal dust and they were forced to continue working even after the accident.

Role of the police and labour department

The accident site was neither cordoned off nor has a police team visited the accident site till date. Although the union informed the Assistant Labour Commissioner of the accident, there has been no visit by the factory inspector or any inquiry to investigate lapses in safety procedures, causes of the industrial accident, fixing of responsibility and disbursal of compensation to families of dead and injured workers.

NTUI demands that:

  • The management of Holcim owned ACC Ltd, including the Chairman Mr. N. S. Sekhsaria, the Deputy Chairman Mr. Paul Hugentobler, and the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Mr. Kuldip K. Kaura and the occupier of the factory, must be held criminally liable for the deaths of two workers and for the injuries of all the workers involved in the accident on 15 August 2010.
  • Investigations by the police and the factory inspector must begin without delay.
  • Holcim management should bear the financial costs of all workers’ medical expenses, full compensation for workers’ inability to work due to injury and debilitating illness caused due to injury, and compensation to the family of the deceased due to loss of family income.
  • Hoclim Management and Labour Department must ensure that a safety audit is conducted at the earliest, done in compliance with public authority and under public scrutiny, observing highest standards of transparency and accountability and with participation of the union, Pragatisheel Cement Shramik Sangh.

Gautam Mody
Secretary
New Trade Union Initiative