Overcoat now compulsory, says Aavin after Tiruvallur woman factory worker's death

CHENNAI: After the accidental death of a worker at the Aavin factory, a senior Aavin official said that the management had decided to make a buttoned overcoat compulsory.

“As of now, the dress code for ladies is salwar and saree. Now, we’re planning to make it compulsory to have buttoned overcoats for better safety,” the official said.

There are two categories in which the safety is categorised – high hazard and low hazard areas. High hazard areas include refrigerators, electrical items and boilers in which high safety measures are taken. “The incident occurred in a low hazard area which was totally unexpected,” he added.

Meanwhile, the TN Milk Dealers Employees Welfare Association has requested CM Stalin to take action against officials responsible for the death of Uma Rani (30) at the Aavin plant on Tuesday night. It also raised questions about employee safety, and requested financial assistance of Rs 10 lakh to Uma’s family, considering her two children.

“Workers in dairy plants usually wear protective caps and overcoats. If she had been wearing an overcoat, her dupatta would not have gotten caught in the machine. This fatality could have been prevented,” said SA Ponnusamy, Tamil Nadu Milk Dealers Employees Welfare Association. “Strict action must be taken against the shift officer and general manager who failed to supervise the shift officers. They were lax in the safety of employees when this incident took place. An investigation must be conducted on this.”

To prevent such casualties, they demanded Aavin dairy plants across TN to improve security arrangements, provide ID cards to all their staff members in the dairy plant with iris and face identification devices at the entrance of the plant. “There should be CCTV cameras inside and outside the premises. Their contractual agreements should mention the safety norms,” he added.