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Bajaj Auto workers’ union demand temporary closure of Waluj plant to break Covid cycle
At least 400 workers at the plant have tested positive for the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes the Covid-19 infection
Workers’ union of the Bajaj Auto plant at Waluj are demanding a temporary shut down for eight-10 days, in order to curb the spread of the Covid-19 infection there. At least 400 workers at the plant have tested positive for the Sars-Cov-2 virus, which causes the Covid-19 infection and seven have even succumbed to the infection till now.
The factory, which is located 12km from Aurangabad, is still operational as the company management said all the necessary safety precautions at the manufacturing plant are being followed. However, unions demand a temporary closure of the plant to break the cycle of the spread of the infection.
Bajaj Auto did not respond to HT’s queries about the demand for the temporary closure of the plant despite repeated attempts via the phone and email, until the time of going to print.
The plant, which has approximately 8,000 workers and a total of 3,000 permanent workers, manufactures motorcycles and autorickshaws.
“The number of Covid patients is on the rise at our company since last month. Work at the plant started work in mid-May. When the Unlock process started, workers who were coming to the factory also moved around the city and caught the infection. This in turn spread amongst other workers at the factory. In the beginning, there was not a single positive case at our company, but with restrictions eased, our workers held birthday programmes and participated in some social gatherings. It resulted in an increase in the number of Covid positive workers inside the plant,” said Bajirao Thengade, president of the Bajaj Auto workers’ union.
As per the information given by Thegade, there are 11 departments at the plant and each department has workers who tested positive. In the motorcycle final assembly department there are 54 cases, motorcycle engine assembly has 62 cases, autorickshaw engine assembly has 36 cases, autorickshaw final assembly has 110 cases, tent shop has 29 cases, autorickshaw and four-wheeler final together has 28 cases, machine shop (two departments) has 33 positives and 23 cases respectively, among other departments.
“Currently, there are 400 confirmed positive cases at our company. The company management has been providing all necessary help to the workers, taking safety precautions, but our demand is that they should find a solution to stop the spread of disease amongst the workers. Hence, we have asked the company management to close down the plant for eight to 10 days, so that the cycle breaks. We had a meeting with the management officials and conveyed our demands to them,” added Thengade.
