Tag: death tolls

Delhi Factory Fire: Trade Unions Demand Delhi Labour Minister’s Resignation

Following a protest march by workers and activists to the office of the Delhi Labour Commissioner on Tuesday morning, 11 trade unions organised another demonstration on Wednesday.

New Delhi: Ever since a massive factory fire in the Anaj Mandi area of North Delhi claimed at least 43 lives and injured over 20 workers, trade union activists and factory workers have been trying to draw attention towards dangerous working conditions and the lack of implementation of safety regulations that often lead to such fatal accidents.

Following a protest march by workers and activists under the banner of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan to the office of the Delhi Labour Commissioner on Tuesday morning, eleven trade unions organised another demonstration on Wednesday.

While the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) marched to the Delhi chief minister’s residence in the morning and submitted a memorandum with a list of ten demands, eleven unions including the AICCTU came together at the site of the factory for a condolence meeting.

Worker and activists organise a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Special Arrangement

Worker and activists organise a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Special Arrangement

Criticising the government for what it calls “anti-labour” policies, the AICCTU claimed decisions like the one announced by Union minister Prakash Javadekar, where industries won’t need no-objection certificates from departments of pollution, labour and industry in the national capital, show that the government favours businesses over the interests and welfare of workers. They linked the recent deaths to the overall precarity prevalent in the informal workforce and demanded closer scrutiny of labour and industrial relations.

Highlighting the broader issue of unsafe workplaces and gaps in the implementation of safety regulations, the AICCTU also recounted other incidents of deaths due to fires at workplaces like in Bawana earlier this year and deaths in sewers. The union also claimed that those who haven’t met such a fate aren’t doing much better and that most workers are paid starvation wages.

Also read: Delhi Factory Fire: Workers, Activists Accuse Labour Ministry of Corruption, Negligence

A statement from the AICCTU also criticised the government for its poor implementation of labour laws (however insufficient they might have been) and expressed concern over the proposed revision of 44 central labour laws into four codes, which they claim further dilutes protections for workers.

Worker and activists organise a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Special Arrangement

“If hundreds can die within such a short distance of the parliament, when the labour laws (however insufficient they might have been) still exist; what would happen when all of these laws are done away with? What would happen after 44 important labour laws are replaced by 4 pro-capital labour codes?” it said.

Drawing similarities between the accidents in Bawana, Narela, Jhilmil, Mayapuri and Nangloi industrial areas of Delhi, the statement said no corrective measures were taken despite the presence of several red flags. A fact-finding team from AICCTU, that visited the accident site, pointed out similarities such as the lack of adequate exits in the factories, faulty design and storage arrangements leading to a blockage of available exits, functioning of unregistered/illegal units and oversight by labour department officials in strict implementation of existing labour laws and regulations. The team also listed 18 such incidents in the national capital in the past two years.

Worker and activists organise a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Special Arrangement

Worker and activists organise a demonstration on Wednesday. Photo: Special Arrangement

In its list of ten demands, AICCTU has asked for the resignation of Delhi’s labour minister Gopal Rai. The demands are similar to those of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan. Adding to them, they have demanded greater accountability from the government, stricter implementation and punishments for those responsible. They have also asked for action on the issues flagged in CAG reports and the setting up of an expert committee.

“As an immediate measure, team consisting of labour law experts, academicians, concerned government officials and Trade Unions must be formed to survey the factories/ industrial areas and point out the deficiencies/lapses in factories and other establishments,” it concludes.

Delhi Factory Fire: Workers, Activists Accuse Labour Ministry of Corruption, Negligence

The Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan said that no lessons have been learnt from similar fires and accidents in Bawana, Narela, Sultanpuri and Peeragarhi areas of Delhi.

New Delhi: Workers and trade union activists marched to the office of the Delhi Labour Commissioner on Tuesday morning in a demonstration of rage on the recent death of at least 43 workers in a factory fire in Delhi’s Anaj Mandi area.

The protesters had gathered under the banner of the Mazdoor Adhikar Sangharsh Abhiyan. They carried placards demanding strict action against factory owners and administrative officers who they accused of violating labour laws. 

In a memorandum addressed to the Delhi labour minister, they said it was obvious that violation of labour laws that frequently lead to such accidents at the workplace would not be possible without the collusion of officials from the labour department and the ruling government. The memorandum mentioned that most of those who died in the Anaj Mandi fire were young, and many were minors as well. 

Also read: Court Sends Anaj Mandi Property Owner, Manager to 14-Day Police Custody

Workers say that such fires have become a predictable pattern now and no lessons have been learnt from similar accidents in Bawana, Narela, Sultanpuri and Peeragarhi areas of the capital city.

Photo: By special arrangement

The memorandum claims that there are many such factories in Delhi where workers are locked inside while working, and are hence trapped with no place to escape to in case of accidents. It says these factories do not follow any labour laws, pay half the minimum wages and do not adhere to any safety regulations either. 

The first in a list of five demands calls for strict punishment for the factory owner and officials of the labour department who they accuse of allegedly overlooking labour laws in exchange for the payment of bribes. The second demand is strict implementation of labour laws and safety regulations at workplaces.

Protesters also demanded that families of all the workers who died be paid Rs 50 lakh each as compensation and government jobs be provided to dependants of these workers. For those who were injured, they demanded Rs 20 lakhs each as compensation, along with free healthcare. 

Citing that children were also injured and killed in the fire, the workers in the protest demanded a total ban on child labour. Most of these workers were migrants from other states and the protesters demanded that effective laws be formed for registration and safety of such workers.

Their final demand is a broader appeal to stop “anti-workers” amendments to labour laws. They were referring to the Modi government’s attempt at the streamlining of 44 labour laws into four labour codes. Several workers have been protesting against this codification, calling it “pro-employer”.

Delhi Fire: Court Sends Anaj Mandi Property Owner, Manager to 14-Day Police Custody

The Delhi government had ordered a magisterial probe into the tragedy.

New Delhi: A Delhi court Monday sent to 14 days’ police custody the property owner and manager of the four-storey building housing illegal manufacturing units in north Delhi’s congested Anaj Mandi area where at least 43 people were killed in a massive fire on Sunday.

Metropolitan Magistrate Manoj Kumar sent Rehan and Furkan to the custody after the police had sought their 14-day custodial interrogation.

Police had arrested the two and registered the case under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire) of the Indian Penal Code. The case was transferred to the Crime Branch.

The Delhi government had ordered a magisterial probe into the tragedy, the worst fire accident in the national capital since the 1997 Uphaar cinema blaze that claimed 59 lives, and sought a report within seven days.

Delhi Fire Tragedy: Building Owner and His Manager Arrested

Police said they are on the lookout for those who were operating the units and had taken the place on rent.

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Sunday arrested the owner of the building along with his manager in connection with the Anaj Mandi fire incident here in which 43 people were killed.

The owner, identified as Rehan, was booked under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 285 (negligent conduct with respect to fire or combustible mat ter) of the Indian Penal Code, police said.

His manager has been identified as Furkan. They were both arrested from the national capital, they said.

The four-storey building housed several illegal manufacturing units and was functioning without fire safety clearance, fire officials said.

According to police, during questioning it was found that Rehan had the major chunk of ownership of the building and had rented it out to others.

His brothers are also being questioned as it is suspected that one of them co-owned the building.

Also Read: 43 Killed As Fire Breaks Out in Factory in Anaj Mandi Area in Delhi

Each floor of the building had at least two manufacturing units functioning on it and some had more than four units functioning, the police said.

It has been found that one of the units manufactured wall mirrors on a large scale, one was involved in the stitching of schoolbags and one in the stitching of skull caps.

Police said they are on the lookout for those who were operating the units and had taken the place on rent.

They will also ascertain whether the units had proper clearance and licenses from the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

The massive blaze ripped through the four-storey building in congested Anaj Mandi area in Filmistan locality on Sunday morning killing 43 people and injuring many others.