An Indian court is asking the Tamil Nadu state government to inspect a Renault-Nissan plant in order to check whether social distancing norms are being respected.
The request follows a petition to the Madras High court last month from the Renault-Nissan workers union, which claims that social distancing norms were being flouted. It argued that the company-provided health benefits were outweighed by the risk to workers’ lives.
India has been hit hard by the pandemic and Reuters reports that 4 percent of all active cases in two districts where Ford, Hyundai, and Renault-Nissan plants are located could be traced back to the plants, while those two districts account for one-ninth of all cases in the country.
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Automakers have been ramping up production, though, and on Sunday the Tamil Nadu state moved to allow automotive manufacturing plants to operate at 100 percent capacity, citing falling cases. While they indeed have fallen from 30,000 per day in May, there are still about 7,000 new cases per day in the state.
Renault-Nissan, meanwhile, is seeking to stop the practice of keeping an empty position between workers on the line. The move, meant to improve social distancing, was found not to be successful and the plant is only operating at about two-thirds of its potential.
Although Tamil Nadu state officials reviewed work at Ford, Hyundai, and Renault-Nissan‘s plants last week, the Renault-Nissan union was the only to raise complaints about working conditions and will therefore be the only one inspected.
Nissan has said it is working with stakeholders and the union to find an amicable resolution to the issue.
