COMMENTARY institutions and universities to prevent Radiation Incident in Mayapuri: negligent handling of radioactive material. In the meanwhile, one of the victims suc Disquieting Signals to Labour cumbed to the radiation injuries.
Neglect of Labour Concerns Babu P Remesh, C P Vinod The Mayapuri incident clearly exposes the laxity of the Atomic Energy Regulatory The nuclear radiation in a scrap ark images of death attached to Board (AERB), which is considered the market in west Delhi’s Mayapuri the chemical leakage of Bhopal watchdog for radiological safety in our area, in April 2010, which led Dand the nuclear tragedy of Cher country and tracks every source of radia nobyl are still haunting our collective tion periodically. The occurrence of such to the death of a worker and psyche, thanks to the ritually repeated an event, despite the “rigorous accounting fatal injuries to many others is a visual streams in an age of televised reality. and inventory system” being followed by shocking reminder of weaknesses The latest disaster of this kind is the AERB, gives room for anxieties on the effi in the system for tracking radiation incident in the scrap market of cacy of extant arrangements for tracking Mayapuri Industrial Area in west Delhi in minor radioactive substances. minor radioactive substances. the first week of April, which caused one An observant overview of the discus Based on insights from Mayapuri, death and severe injuries to six others. sions in media suggests that apart from this commentary discusses the The scary episode began on 7 April 2010 the flaws in monitoring mechanisms of acute absence of occupational after a scrap dealer and few employees radioactive material and larger concerns suffered burn injuries and fell ill, about nuclear safety, less has been talked safety and health measures for apparently due to radiation. The subse about the everyday safety of workers, not workers in the informal sector, quent enquiries led to the detection of a only as immediate victims but also as especially for those who work powerful radioactive isotope of Cobalt those who face serious health and occupa in extremely precarious and (Cobalt 60), which is normally used for tional hazards at polluted workplaces. medical purposes and for select uses in Workers’ safety related to their liveli inhuman conditions. industry. While the initial media reports hoods invites special attention at a time denied radioactive emissions and por when the government is contemplating trayed the incident as a case of a mild the revision of the Civil Nuclear Liberty chemical leak, the presence of Cobalt 60 Bill and when India is heading for a large- and “acute radiation” was confirmed sub scale expansion of the industrial use of sequently. Panic was triggered in the nuclear energy. Concerns have already locality and in the neighbourhoods of the been raised that the bill, in its existing National Capital Region when a team of form, transfers risk of a nuclear mishap nuclear experts identified 11 sources of on to the people at large, indemnifying radiation in the vicinity and when the the supplier of a nuclear plant and covers investigative agencies were not able to the liability of the operator in the event of immediately establish the source from an accident (Raju and Ramana 2010). The where the radioactive material eventually interests of workers and society at large found its way to Mayapuri. are, thus, often swept under the carpet, The issue was soon discussed in Par while formulating far-reaching policies in liament and the minister of state for atomic a country where the majority of the work energy explained that the scrap in question ers eke out their living in most precarious seemingly came from abroad, as the coun and inhuman conditions. try has “strict rules and regulations in The radiation episode and subsequent place”, to track the movement of radioac developments show the acute absence of tive material from domestic sources. This protective legislation and social security explanation of the minister was later systems to support the workers in the in The authors are grateful to Neetha N for proved wrong and the story soon took a formal sector, who are deprived of any constructive comments. different turn when the source of the mate other means to rely on, in times of contin Babu P Remesh ([email protected]) and rial was traced back to a mass of scrap, gencies. The hurried admission of the C P Vinod ([email protected]) are with auctioned by the chemistry laboratory of minister of state for atomic energy in the School of Interdisciplinary and the Delhi University. Since then there Parliament that “We do not have a proper Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi have been a series of corrective directions law so far to ensure that compensation is National Open University, New Delhi. from the authorities to regulate research paid to victims of such incidents” is an
16 july 24, 2010 vol xlv no 30 EPW Economic & Political Weekly COMMENTARY elusive stand. It is very pathetic to note energy, regarding the absence of enabling spectrum of informal sector occupations. that even after decades of planning and legislation for compensation in Mayapuri The scrap market in Mayapuri is adjacent legislation, the government lacks some case, shows a strong lack of confidence of to the industrial area divided into four legislative backing to provide immediate the government regarding the efficacy of blocks, dealing mainly with metal wastes, relief to the victims of an industrial acci the existing act and policy. It is, thus, largely comprised automobile parts, cop dent – for which to a greater extent the important to treat Mayapuri as an eye- per wires, tyre parts and so on. There are former is responsible. As per the version of opener to work on proper implementa hundreds of petty, small and large-scale the workers and natives of Mayapuri, no tion of existing welfare measures for scrap dealers. While most of these dealers authority has yet approached them with informal workers. are small entrepreneurs, dealing with the offer of any kind of compensation. smaller consignments procured locally, Though there have been some initiatives Relevance of Preventive Planning some of them are also linked to interna from petty scrap dealers of the vicinity to The Mayapuri episode also suggests that tional networks, involving regular import collect a relief fund through contributions our policymaking is still in a post-mortem and export of scrap materials. of other workers and dealers for assisting mode. The investigations and corrective The workers are mostly migrants from the family, no major headway has hap measures are often done only after UP, Bihar and other states near Delhi. Most pened so far. tragedies have taken their toll. The im of them work for 10-12 hours a day, for Soon after the Delhi University was mediate responses of various governmen daily wages ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 250. held responsible as the source of radio tal organisations, including National Dis The prominence of the migrant nature of active material, the vice chancellor of the aster Management Authority (NDMA) and such workers leads to a situation where university, in a press conference, came up AERB show our inability to anticipate such long-term occupational health hazards are with yet another embarrassing statement disasters and to take preventive meas often under-reported. While some of the that “the university takes the moral res ures. For instance, it is only after a few locals reported that some workers left the ponsibility and in case compensation is to days of the Mayapuri incident, NDMA vicinity after the outbreak of radiation, the be paid, the university community would could plan for a special training pro overall intensity of work in the market has contribute”. The statement brings an ele gramme for doctors – to handle radiation not declined, visibly due to a steady influx ment of “charity” rather than a legally cases. In a country which witnessed the of migrants and the fact that wage work binding commitment of the operator of Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst is central to their survival. The fact that the radioactive material. It is high time to ever industrial accident, due to a chemi the work at Mayapuri came back to nor shift our social security systems from such cal gas leakage, there is no special malcy within a few days since the tragedy charity-based interventions to right-based requirement for educating policymakers itself shows the acute footloose nature of measures. Rather than waiting with beg and social actors on the importance of the workers. ging bowls, the workers need legally en planning and investing on security meas In Mayapuri scrap market, alongside forceable options. ures. Despite having dedicated national unloading, processing and breaking the The commendable contribution of the level institutions that are mandated to scrap, several tiny units are engaged in a National Commission for Enterprises in work on occupational safety and health, range of repairing, recycling and rebuild the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) in pres quite often, we miserably fail to provide ing of a variety of things – including the cribing a modicum level of social security protection to the lives and health of the manufacturing of automobile spare parts, to the workers in unorganised sector was, labouring poor. petty agricultural devices, industrial tools in fact, a good beginning towards realis An analysis of the responses of govern ing such a right-based social security mental agencies, so far, suggests that the Council for Social framework. However, the ultimate legisla focus of interventions is gradually and Development tion that came in place, the Unorganised steadily shifting away from labour con Sector Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008, cerns. While a lopsided attention is paid to invites is widely understood as a substantially regulating research institutions and uni Application for following posts:- A) Associate Fellows: In the field of Education, diluted version of the bill proposed by the versities, which use radioactive material, Health, Genderisation, Agricultural Commission. Even the Act of 2008 does only minimal priority is being given to Economics/Rural Development, Women Empowerment & other areas of Social & have provisions for life and disability aspects of revising the pending civil Political Sciences having Ph.D & at least 3 cover and employment injury benefit, nuclear liberty bill with strong provisions years research experience in relevant fields (Basic pay in UGC scales) though meagre. Further, the National to support the interest of the working poor B) Media communicator:- Policy on Safety, Health and Environment and people at large. Graduate with Dip./Degree in journalism & at least 3 years experience/liaison in leading at Workplace, 2009 also attaches prime electronic or print media house or media priority to the enhancement of well-being Ground Realities spokes-person etc with good communication skill. (Salary not constraint for deserving of employees and society at large (by A visit to the accident site and a situational candidates) eliminating and reducing work-related analysis reveal that Mayapuri workers do [email protected] Fax: 24616061 injuries and diseases). The open admis share similar anxieties and workplace in 53, Lodi Estate New Delhi-03 sion of the minister of state for atomic securities, vis-à-vis their counterparts in a www.csdindia.org
Economic & Political Weekly EPW july 24, 2010 vol xlv no 30 17 COMMENTARY and lighter machinery. The main catego The majority of the workers stay in Conclusions ries of work in the market include loading localities which are in commutable dis On the whole, the issues facing Maya and unloading, breaking and sorting, tances, while some of them stay closer to puri workers are akin to those of a petty manufacturing and so on. In all the scrap market or in dwellings adjacent multitude of categories of workers in the these categories, no female worker was to their workplace. They also act as the informal sector – be it the case of workers found. There are also some waste pickers, custodians of the scrap during nights and in ship breaking yards in Alang, Kolkata who wander around the shops to gather odd hours. Apart from workers’ families, or Mumbai, or those who work in the metal pieces and powder. To separate the there are several households within a few mushrooming e-waste processing centres ore from the soil, they use a magnet- yards from the site of radiation. Most of of metropolitan suburbs. Thus, while attached broom and a filter. There are these local residents do not have any learning from the specific lessons of women, children and elders among these direct instructions to avoid further unto Mayapuri, we need to treat the disaster workers, who are often treated as ward happenings and media reports and as a strong signal that highlights the encroachers by other workers and often newspapers still remain as their major acute absence of social safety nets labelled as “thieves”. Most of these most- source of information. for workers in the unorganised sector marginalised are unaware of the gravity The plight of tiny and small scrap as a whole. of the nuclear radiation and still continue dealers is not very different from the mi The Mayapuri incident also shows the to search for “luck” in the scrap market. grant workers in the locality. Some of the dangers of the growth and spread of The non-observance of safety measures petty dealers pointed out that routine value chains and production systems at work in a polluted work environment, visits of police and other officials are (which even cut across national bounda does not allow the workers to continue for only meant for collecting their share. In ries) that often lead to dumping of “dirty long. Many of them eventually develop such a situation, they fear that the recent jobs” on the regions which are located at respiratory problems and other fatal dis announcement of the Delhi mayor to peripheries and on the workers in mar eases and leave after a few years of work. monitor scrap dealers will only lead to ginalised situations. Resisting such social In a roughly 35-year-old scrap market, further corruption and rent-seeking. dumping has to be figured into the policy only a negligible proportion of workers There was absolutely no trace of trade planning as a priority agenda to avoid are above 50 years of age. Among the eld unions, but there is some weak collecti further catastrophes. erly, a good proportion is found engaged vity among petty dealers. Lack of organi in marginalised work categories – of help sational backup and the heterogeneity REFERENCE ers, supervisors, which do not require of worker categories make the marginal Raju, Suvrat and M V Ramana (2010): “The Other much physical exertion and of course ised workers in Mayapuri scrap market Side of Nuclear Liability”, Economic & Political fetch only meagre payments. mostly invisible. Weekly, Vol XLV, No 10.
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18 july 24, 2010 vol xlv no 30 EPW Economic & Political Weekly