HAVING observed the third anniversary of the factory tragedy in Karachi last month, it is time once again to revisit the issue of safety at the workplace. Over 250 workers lost their lives in a fire in a garment factory in Baldia Town. Serious injuries were caused to more than 600 people. The factory exported garments, and employed between 1,200 and 1,500 workers who toiled for between Rs5,000 and Rs10,000 a month.

A judicial commission was highly critical of the factory owners and the government which failed to enforce the law. The loss of human lives would not have been this large if the owners had observed statutory safety regulations.

On the same day, another 25 workers were killed in fire in a Lahore shoemaking factory. The fire started when sparks from a faulty generator flew into chemicals. The generator was installed in the garage of the compound, which was also the only entry and exit point. Smoke inhalation, burns and a stampede caused the deaths. Many lives could have been saved had there been more emergency exits.

It is shocking that the death toll in the case of the Baldia factory is believed to be even higher than the death toll in two of the three major industrial disasters that occurred over the last three decades in different parts of the world due to the failure of safety and environmental systems. These are as follows.

Workplace safety is not a one-party job.

1) The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred in 1986, at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, which at that time was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities of the Soviet Union. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of western USSR and Europe. The Soviet Union reported just over 30 casualties in the accident.

2) The Deepwater Horizon oil spill began in April 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP-operated Macondo Prospect. It is considered the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. Following the explosion and the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, which claimed 11 lives, a sea-floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days until it was capped on 15th July, 2010.

3) The Bhopal gas tragedy was a gas leakage incident in India; it is considered the world’s worst industrial disaster. It occurred in 1984, at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal. Over 500,000 people were exposed to methyl isocyanate gas and other chemicals. The toxic substance made its way into shantytowns located near the plant. By some estimates 8,000 people died within two weeks and another 8,000 or more died later from gas-related complaints. The disaster played havoc with the environ­ment.

According to experts industrial accidents are always preventable; this is a basic theme of any health, safety and environment, or HSE, programme. Accidents occur when industrial safety is compromised in the design, procedures, processes or human behaviour.

In fact, it was Hammurabi (1792 BC to 1750 BC) who is believed to have introduced the concept of wages and the grant of compensation to people in cases of damages and losses due to accidents. Ironically, the first three laws promulgated by the British in undivided India pertained to both these subjects, ie the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, the Factories Act, 1934, and the Payment of Wages Act, 1936.

The main HSE legislation now are the Factories Act, 1934, and the Sindh Factories Rules, 1975, framed thereunder, as well as the Hazardous Occupa­tions Rules wherever applicable depending on the manufacturing process and the chemical used. The Factories Act contains quite comprehensive provisions relating to the health and safety of workers in factories. This law was introduced at a time when electricity had recently been introduced in manufacturing processes. Despite the passage of 81 years and with minor amendments since then, the act has not become obsolete. The adoption of safety measures and the observance of guidelines laid down in its various provisions can still facilitate employers in preventing accidents.

Occupational health, safety and the environment is not a one-party job; it is a triangular function between the government, employer and the trade union. If any of these functionaries is not fulfilling its obligations, the desired results will not be achieved. The responsibilities of these elements are as follows.

Government: formulating the requisite laws and enforcing them with commitment and sincerity.

Employer: making policy and plans for implementation with special emphasis on workers’ training in safety and ensuring compliance with laws and company rules.

Trade union: persuading workers to perform better and ensure the use of personal protective equipment wherever required.

Employers on whom the prime responsibility of workers’ safety rests should bear in mind that any cost-saving and evasion of HSE laws may have serious consequences for them, which may even lead to the closure of their business.

The writer is an industrial relations professional.

Published in Dawn, October 20th , 2015

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