ROURKELA: The Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of SAIL is staring at a serious crisis of manpower shortage as a substantial number of its employees have tested positive for Covid-19.As many as 680 employees have been infected so far and 250 cases are still active. Four workers have succumbed to the virus between September 10 and 21.
President of BMS-affiliated Rourkela Ispat Karkhana Karmachari Sangh (RIKKS) Himanshu Bal said it is alarming that more than 600 cases have been reported in the plant. “Considering the Covid-19 care and management capacity of Ispat General Hospital (IGH), the situation is under control. But if the upward trend continues and the virus spread is not contained, the situation may spin out of control,” he said.
The RSP should not be blamed for the spike in positive cases since it is doing its bit by carrying out regular awareness and sanitation drives along with Covid care management. An increased number of employees are growing careless and are getting infected, which is very dangerous for all, Bal added. Incidentally, RSP’s chief executive officer Dipak Chattraj, who was infected by Covid-19, completed his mandatory home isolation period on Thursday and joined duty on Friday.
Sources in the RSP management said the plant authorities are taking all possible steps to control the virus spread and the situation is under control. They attributed the rise in positive cases to increased testing and advised employees to strictly adhere to Covid-19 guidelines to protect themselves, their families and others.
Meanwhile, a chorus is growing for SAIL to treat RSP employees succumbing to Covid-19 as death on duty. All major trade unions including the RIKKS, CITU and INTUC are demanding job on compassion ground and all permissible benefits to families of employees dying of Covid-19. The Steel Executives’ Federation of India (SEFI) is also toeing a similar line and recently shot off a letter to the SAIL chairman demanding to treat Covid-19 deaths as death on duty. During lockdown, SAIL employees were engaged in steel production, an essential service, by risking their lives, SEFI reasoned.