Editorial: Avoidable Human Suffering

Cars made in India are racing on motorways across the world. It is a matter of pride for us that we are exporting automobiles to the US, Europe, and the rest of the world. We too are driving super sophisticated vehicles on our newly minted expressways. And these are not just global brands like the Hondas, Renaults or Toyotas but also our homegrown Tatas, Eichers and Mahindras that are earning international recognition. The auto industry today contributes seven percent to India’s GDP and generates huge employment at all levels.

But this shining India story comes with an entirely avoidable dark side. Thousands of workers lose their fingers, palms, and sometimes whole hands, while making parts for these vehicles at the sites of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Most of the victims are in their twenties and thirties. The OEMs are typically contractors and sub-contractors sometimes several rungs down the line. Big brands pretend as if they have nothing to do with preventable accidents because they happen away from their factories. But can they evade moral responsibility?

As more and more swanky cars roll out of our factories, the situation only gets worse. In 2021, over 10855 auto sector workers suffered injuries nationwide but that number was crossed in the first three quarters of 2022, as estimated by an amazing organisation called Safe in India (SII) in “Crushed,” its report on auto sector injuries. I call them amazing because SII is an organisation of conscientious citizens who, in between their daily jobs, take out time to mitigate human sufferings. They petition the government, courts, media, manufacturers etc for their attention. They also provide actionable insights by preparing meticulous reports with data and real-life stories.

SII’s “Crushed” series of reports reveal that our mounting miseries have not led to sensitive policymaking. They also caution that the actual number of worker accidents is much greater than estimated. Sadly, the ordeal of the injured workers does not stop at the accident. Insult is added to injury when they are denied compensation and proper medical treatment. This happens because the factories – and the sweatshops run by the OEMs – do not enrol all workers in order to dodge legal compliances. At best, the manufacturers come across as clever by half because they save pennies at the cost of miseries to others and at a huge loss of productivity to themselves.

And how well the government authorities fare? They tend to look the other way when laws are flouted. They also allow the global auto giants to conveniently shift the blame to sub-contractors or the victims. What else can explain declining factory inspections? In Maharashtra and Haryana, the total number of factory inspections have declined by 83% and 86% respectively, according to official figures quoted by SII. Factors like these have plummeted India’s standing in the labour productivity index by 13 notches from 115 in 2021 to 128 in 2022.

This issue of your journal is dedicated to worker safety and related matters. We have attempted to explain the issue through the work of SII and its amazing team of volunteers. We also give you an idea of the legal remedies available to the victims and the global practices regarding worker safety. It must be reemphasised that most of these accidents are easily preventable if only the stakeholders are willing to take moral responsibility.

To us at Common Cause, these accidents are not just matters of legality. These are as much about justice, human rights and our society’s collective conscience. These accidents are remediable injustices crying for our attention. It is in this spirit that Common Cause works with SII as a partner organisation. Please let us know what you think at commoncauseindia@gmail.com

Vipul Mudgal
Editor

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