Yasmeen Saadi 
New Delhi: An annual report on worker safety in the Indian auto sector found that the majority of women workers are forced to operate under duress, either by their employer, contractor or other circumstances, and without adequate training or safety equipment.
Women workers in Faridabad, Haryana outlined these problems in the auto industry, listing the high risk of injury, high production pressure, failure to be provided with ESIC cards and lower salaries than their male counterparts in a letter addressed to auto sector brands.
“Despite these hardships, working is a necessity for thousands of women like us so that we can provide good education and upbringing to our children, and also, our safety should be prioritised to reduce the risk of injuries. We request you understand our problems and ensure at least equal working conditions for women as for men in the workplace,” the letter said.
This was one of several accounts highlighted in the 5th annual ‘CRUSHED’ report by the Safe In India Foundation (SII), which had a special focus on the injuries faced by women workers, including first-hand accounts of women across several states.
‘Threatened with firing’
On September 23, SII conducted a focused group discussion with 22 injured women workers operating power press machines in Faridabad. These accounts expressed that in some factories, women make up the majority of machine operators, but that the consequences of being injured for women are much higher than for men.
“Many women find themselves without jobs after getting injured,” the report said. “Several who have been given jobs are threatened with firing if they advocate new methods to prevent accidents or ask for documentation to get pensions and other funds due to them.”
The auto sector contributes to 7.1% of India’s GDP and employs about 3.7 million people. SII stated that in Haryana and Maharashtra alone, thousands of crushing injuries to workers, both men and women, continue to occur in the auto sector supply chain each year. Further, almost a quarter of crushing injuries on machines happen to unskilled helpers, who, legally, should not be operating these machines that require skilled operators.
“Most of these crush injuries continue to result in an average of two fingers lost per injured worker,” the report said.
‘Improve laws’
Workers facing injuries and losing fingers is a problem in the supply chain of all the top 10 large auto sector brands, including Maruti-Suzuki, Honda and TATA, according to SII’s report. SII said these accidents have been underreported for decades in Haryana and Maharashtra, and that there has not been data released since 2020.
In 2020, ‘CRUSHED’ found more than 1,000 workers to face injuries in Haryana. The Haryana state-reported number was only 68.
“Unless the Government of India and the industry itself improves the process of collecting and reporting accurate information on such accidents and injuries, introduces more transparency and accountability in the relevant departments and agencies, any regional/national efforts to prevent these injuries and improve Indian manufacturing will not be as effective as they can and should be,” SII’s report said.
Going forward, SII urged for more effective government intervention and more focus on Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) labour codes.
“We urge the appropriate governments to incorporate the reported suggestions while setting up
committees and formalising labour codes. Only then, we can achieve ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’ and ‘Make in India responsibly,’” the report said.