Coronavirus Cases Surge Among Factory Workers In Post-Lockdown India

When Bajirao Thengde voiced his fears about going to work after dozens of colleagues fell sick with coronavirus, his boss at a motorbike factory said he should "learn to live with the virus"

As India's coronavirus cases exceeded one million, unions say similar spikes in infections in reopened factories are putting workers at risk - accusing companies of skimping on health and safety as they rush to get business back on track.

It was only after several workers died and district authorities ordered a seven-day lockdown that Thengde's plant in Maharashtra state finally closed, weeks after calls for it to shut when the first cases appeared.

We were demanding that the factory be temporarily closed but work carried on, said Thengde, a union leader who has worked for more than 30 years for Bajaj Auto Ltd India's biggest motorbike exporter.

The cases kept increasing despite us wearing masks, maintaining distance using foot pedals to access water taps and eating lunch by ourselves. And then there were the deaths.

Of the plant's roughly 8,000 staff, 250 have tested positive for the virus, but with their pay dependent on showing up for shifts, Thengde said workers had little choice but to go to the factory.

Bajaj Auto could not be reached to comment, but Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said in a recent TV interview that the factory was the safest place to be, saying employees were catching the virus in the community and bringing it to work.

MASKS, SOCIAL DISTANCING

India has issued health and safety guidelines for manufacturing facilities as part of a gradual exit from a weeks-long lockdown that has left millions jobless and short of food.

According to most estimates, the Indian economy will register a record contraction of over 4.5% in the current fiscal year that started on April 1 due to the pandemic.