CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday directed officials of the Directorate of Industrial Safety to carry out an inspection at the Renault Nissan plant in Sriperumbudur to check whether physical distance is being maintained, particularly in the assembly lines. The court also ordered the striking workers to return to duty from Tuesday and engage in a dialogue with the management.
The issue pertains to a petition moved by the workmen’s union of Renault-Nissan, alleging their employers are not adhering to the Covid-19 protocol. The petition sought to quash a government order classifying automobile-manufacturing and auto-component units as manufacturing essential commodities and continuous process industries. During the hearing on Monday, senior counsel Prakash submitted that physical distancing norms cannot be maintained in the production procedure adopted by the employer, particularly in the assembly line.
It was also submitted that the wearing of face shields may not be appropriate, and dents and other such damage cannot be properly identified when wearing a face shield. However, the company’s counsel submitted that all precautionary steps have been taken and the firm is ready for an inspection by an appropriate government official to ascertain whether the Covid protocol is being maintained at the factory. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy, recorded the submissions and directed the State to send a senior official from the Directorate of Industrial Safety to visit the Sriperumbudur factory of Renault-Nissan by 10 am on Tuesday.
The court also said, that the management and the workmen should continue their discussions to arrive at a reasonable solution in the course of the week, the court ordered, and emphasised that physical distancing norms will have to be maintained.The court also directed the company to indicate the number of workmen who have been infected, and include details on how many are in hospital and how many are at home, during the next hearing on Thursday.