CHENNAI: Four days after the ammonia leak at St Peter & Paul Sea Food Exports Private Limited, the relief camp at Kannigaipair in Tiruvallur district to shelter the around 150 survivors has acquired an unlikely second purpose on Thursday: as recruitment fair.
Manpower agencies were allowed to recruit workers who wish to stay in Tamil Nadu and find alternative employment, state labour department officials told TNIE and added that most migrant workers at camp expressed their willingness to stay back. On Thursday morning, recruiters and agents from companies based in and around Chennai visited and made spot job offers to several workers.
Among those from Odisha, which accounted for a major share of the casualty, not all accepted.
For those who declined, the reason was simple: their families, friends and co-workers are in hospital, and authorities have yet to let them visit. Several said they did not even know which hospital their loved ones were in.
Among them was Sumanta, who met his wife Sima Juanga at the seafood processing plant a few months ago, fell in love and married her. All Sumanta knows is that Sima is unconscious in an intensive care unit at some hospital. “In this situation they are offering me a new job. I just said let my wife comes back, only then will I be able to think about a new job, sir,” he said, before his voice broke.
Frustration also mounted among those who preferred to return to Odisha as the assurance to take them back home faced hiccups; train tickets to be arranged for Thursday did not materialise due to practical difficulties. When revenue officials arrived at the camp to assess the situation, a heated exchange broke out between company representatives and workers over two demands: payment of outstanding wages, and food and accommodation for the affected until the last hospitalised worker is discharged.
According to officials, the seafood processing unit employed 186 girls and women and 119 men. Among them, 128 women and girls and 101 men are from other states, predominantly Odisha (115), followed by Assam (69), Jharkhand (12) and a few other states (12).
Labour department officials said about 50 workers from Odisha expressed a desire to return to their native state.
Meanwhile, a preliminary inquiry has revealed that around five workers aged between 14 and 18 years were employed at the unit. he labour department is also examining possible violations of labour laws, including minimum wage provisions and safety regulations applicable to hazardous industrial units. As the company has been issued a show-cause notice for violations, officials said there is little chance of the unit reopening in the near future.