CALCUTTA, May 7: The biggest obstacles to West Bengal's industrial recovery are that it is the largest defaulter in the principal workers' welfare schemes and it is one of the states having the greatest incidence of non-fatal accidents at the workplace, says a state government report. A pilot paper authored by West Bengal labour secretary V Subramanian and industrial environment co-ordinator of Calcutta Environmental Management Strategy and Action Plan (Cemsap) Suman K Mukerjee says that a substantive improvement in the condition of the workplace requires concerted efforts by both industry and the government to channel greater resources towards the problem.

Saying that the state labour department is doing a balancing act between inadequate enforcement machinery and resource constraints, the report, however, contends that the ground facts show that regulatory mechanisms do not have much impact on the factory floor.

A study on employers' compliance with the principal workers' welfare schemes, like the Provident Fund and the Employees' State Insurance, the paper points out, shows West Bengal as the largest defaulter state in the country with about 224 establishments owing more than Rs 1 lakh each. In ESI scheme, over 3500 units including 86 under government ownership were defaulters.

"The issue of occupational health and safety comes low in the priorities of unions as well," the paper said, adding that as a result "wages and allowances remain the predominant cause of labour strikes." And information available on the settlement/non-settlement of industrial disputes also indicate that workers' health and safety is not an issue in industrial relations, the report adds.

The number of accidents in the state in 1993 was: 58 fatal and over 53000 not fatal. In 1995, it was 67 fatal and 43203 not fatal. The industry-wise break-up of accidents in the state, the authors say, "give cause for concern, particularly because there is considerable variation over the years. West Bengal is among the states with the largest incidence of non-fatal accidents."

Among the causes of accidents in 1995 are: machinery - 32.82 per cent; hand tools - 18.31 per cent; and stepping on or striking against object - 15.84 per cent.

Of the 67 fatal accidents in 1995, the manufacture of basic chemical and chemical products including fireworks took the largest toll of 25, followed by basic metal and alloy industries 12 and jute and other vegetable fibre textiles 8.

The figures given above relates only to factories coming under the Factories Act. With 50 per cent of the industrial workforce in the Calcutta metropolitan area working in the unorganised sector, where work conditions and safety standards are worse, the paper adds, "there may be truth to the claims of labour activists that the actual number of fatal accidents would be 100 times more than the reported official statistics."

The highest incidence of factory mishaps is in the jute industry as a result of old machinery and equipment, inadequate maintenance etc, among others. And though jute industry accidents have come down bringing down the overall incidence of accidents, "the problem is far from being `solved."

"And the present depressed and financially insecure position of the industry would seem to work against substantive improvement in the situation."

Though the inspectors visited factories in 1994, they met only 0.2 per cent of the workforce, which in itself is deficient. Employment of safety officers in the factories too continues to be lax and the machinery to undertake medical examination of workers employed in hazardous processes is inadequate.

Underscoring the gravity of the issue is the fact that even the deficient exposure of the factory inspectors has detected significant violation of health provisions.

Often machines are designed with minimal attention to safety and too much responsibility with the workers. The `careless worker' causing harm to himself is seldom the real cause of the accidents. "The lack of concern many employers show for their workers and their desire to avoid many `unnecessary expenditure' clearly plays a major part."

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.