India: Blast in Lifelong's auto-ancillary factory, allegedly resulted in deaths and injuries to workers, due to negligence in following safety protocols
"Just another accident in the Auto Sector Supply Chain? How many is too many?", 1 April, 2024
...On the evening of March 16, 2024, at around 5.45 pm, there was a blast in an auto ancillary manufacturing factory, Lifelong Private Limited in Dharuhera, District 'Rewari', Haryana...
...Around 60 workers in the buffering department working at that point in time were hurt by the blast, over 15 of them severely... the dust collector either caught a spark or was so full that it overheated, causing it to explode...The workers claim it hadn’t been cleaned in months, while the management claims it was cleaned in January or February...
...Workers told us that whenever there was an audit, they were sent out of the plant, auditors did not talk/meet with any worker...
...Media reports indicate that workers complained of 12-hour shifts with one lunch break and no other breaks, no weekly offs, extreme production pressure as harsh targets needed to be met, got bare minimum as safety gear viz. gloves and masks, which melted into their skin when the fire spread...