Construction Workers Safety Matters!
Conduct Through Probe into the Silkyara Tunnel Collapse!
Take Stringent Action Against Those Responsible!
The Construction Workers Federation of India (CWFI)expressed relief at the rescue of the 41 construction workers from the Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand and congratulated the rat miners for their contribution rescuing the workers.
The Uttarkashi tunnel collapse raises alarming questions about the negligence of the contractor and the authorities in taking measures for the safety of the workers following revelations that the tunnel lacked a requisite escape route. It also exposed the laxity and violations of the existing legal provisions and norms.
The Silkyaratunnel collapse is only one in a series of accidents, which occur due to the utter negligence of the authorities and the construction companies. The tunnel collapse incident once again exposes the disastrous consequences of handing over public infrastructure management, both at state and Centre to private corporate contractors that too on liberal deregulated formats, from the state run public works departments.
The Hyderabad based NavayugaEnginerringCompany, which is executing the project is the same company which is constructing the Nagpur – Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway in Maharashtra’s Thane district where barely three months ago 20 construction workers lost their lives when a gantry crane collapsed and fell on the workers and engineers present at the site. Though a FIR was registered against the Navayuga Engineering Company after Samriddhi Expressway accident, no action was taken. The same company has been granted the RishikeshKarnaprayag rail link project. It seems that like the Adani group, Navayuga has become a favoured company for the Modi government in infrastructure projects.
CWFI has written letters to Prime Minister of India and Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on 30th November 2023 highlighting the gross safety violations in Silkyara tunnel collapse and demandedthorough judicial probe into the whole matter to fix accountability and stringent punishment for those who are responsible for this dreadful incident. It has also demanded that no construction work should be allowed without ensuing that all the necessary safety measures are put in place.
It demanded that the government of India ratify ILO conventions related to health and safety, which have been brought under fundamental principles of rights at work by the ILO in its session in 2022.
CWFI has decided to take up an extensive campaign on the above demands across the country in the coming months of December - January.
All the affiliated unions of CWFI will also send letters to Prime Minister and CM, Uttarakhand on 1st December, 2023 as a part of CWFI’s nationwide campaign to expose the callousness of government.
Issued by:
U.P Joseph,
General Secretary
