Every day, 47 factory workers are injured and three die in accidents. Data from the Labour and Employment Ministry reveal that in three years (2014-2016), 3,562 workers lost their lives while 51,124 were injured in accidents that occurred in factories across the country.
Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are the top three States when it comes to fatalities. During the three years, 687 workers died in Gujarat followed by 482 in Maharashtra and 296 in Tamil Nadu.
Over 33,000 factory workers – that is 65 per cent of total injured workers in three years – are from West Bengal. Maharashtra and Gujarat are among the top three States, along with West Bengal, when it comes to non-fatal injuries. In those two States, 4,510 and 4,019 factory workers, respectively, were injured.
The Centre has enacted the Factories Act, 1948 for taking care of the occupational safety, health and welfare issues of the workers employed in units registered under the Factories Act, 1948. The occupiers of the factories registered under the Act are required to comply with the provisions of the Act and the Rules framed thereunder. The Act and the State Factories Rules are enforced by the respective States.
Over 46,000 prosecutions were launched during the three years across the States following factory accidents, while 29,911 were convicted. According to records, 65 people responsible for these accidents were imprisoned and factories were imposed with fines of ₹29.44 crore.