Madras High Court Asks For Probe Into Renault-Nissan Plant's Social Distancing Norms

An Indian court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu state government to inspect a Renault-Nissan plant on July 3 to check whether social distancing norms are being followed.

The Renault-Nissan workers union petitioned the Madras High court last month seeking to halt operations, saying that social distancing norms were being flouted and company-provided health benefits were outweighed by the risk to their lives.

The call for an inspection from the Madras High Court follows a review of Ford, Hyundai and Renault-Nissan plants by Tamil Nadu state officials last week, which said the nature of work in assembly lines posed "challenges in maintaining social distancing".

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The call for an inspection from the Madras High Court follows a review of Ford, Hyundai and Renault-Nissan plants by Tamil Nadu state officials last week

Nissan, which owns a majority stake in the Renault-Nissan plant near the city of Chennai, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A lawyer for Renault-Nissan India told the court the company would implement guidelines issued by officials from the state's Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) ahead of the inspection next month.

The guidelines apply to all carmakers including Ford and Hyundai. However, only the Renault-Nissan factory will be inspected as unions at other automakers have not raised objections, the court said.

The DISH review last week had also found that three in four workers at the plants had not been vaccinated, one in seven workers had contracted the virus, and 21 had died.

Workers at the three plants accounted for more than 4% of all active cases in the two districts where the plants are located.

Renault-Nissan on Tuesday sought to discontinue the practice of deploying an empty slot on the conveyor belt - a change that would help the carmaker increase production - as it was found to be ineffective in maintaining social distancing.

Workers at the three plants accounted for more than 4% of all active cases in the two districts where the plants are located.

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"I respectfully submit that this would be identical to the business operations adopted in all other similar car manufacturers like Hyundai and Ford," Renault-Nissan said in a court filing reviewed by Reuters.

Production at the Renault-Nissan plant was nearly three-fifths of pre-lockdown levels on June 17, when DISH conducted the review.

Renault-Nissan workers have been pushing for an empty slot for every slot on the conveyor belt with a car, and for the reduction in conveyor belt speed, saying it hindered maintenance of social distancing.

"The non-availability of sufficient time in some stations leads to the carry-over of the unfinished job to the next station and causes overlapping," the union said in its court filing, citing the DISH report.