The Gujarat Labour and Employment Minister Vijay Rupani has exhorted the industries of the state to visit a first-of-its-kind safety park set up at the Gujarat Refinery near here to improve their employees' awareness about the safety and security issues.
Rupani was talking to PTI yesterday on the sidelines of the third edition of the Industrial Safety Summit, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
In an effort to improve safety awareness of employees and contract workers through model-based training, the Gujarat Refinery, owned by the Indian Oil Corporation, has built a safety park in its complex. It is the first safety park set up in the country.
Safety measures and procedures that should be followed while working at high altitudes, in confined spaces, etc, are on display in the safety park, S K Dhar Gupta, Executive Director of the Gujarat Refinery, informed the minister, who attended the event's concluding session.
"This safety park initiative will go a long way in ensuring that employees as well as contract workers and visitors are equipped with safety-related information to ensure safety on and off the job," Rupani said.
He said, "The visits of the industries to this safety park will help the Gujarat government in making 2016 a 'zero industrial accidents' year."
At least 270 industrial mishaps were reported from the state in the last one year and the government is determined to make 2016 a 'zero industrial accidents' year, he said.
For this, the Gujarat government has asked the authorities concerned to ensure frequent checking of boilers, etc, in their plants among other steps, he said.
"This will also help Gujarat in attracting more foreign investment during the biennial 'Vibrant Global Gujarat Industrial Summit' to be held in Gandhinagar from January 11-13, 2017," he asserted.
"When it comes to safety, there is considerable cultural gap between contract workers and employees. But to work in a team to carry out the job, the gap could be lessened by training programmes and regular interaction in the organization," the minister pointed out.
Rupani asked the industries to also visit the
state-of-the-art disaster management centre of the refinery.
The minister suggested the industries to ensure that their employees keep contact details of the state machinery handy, so as to be able to act promptly in situations of crisis.
Ashwin Gandhi, president of CII Central Gujarat, submitted a memorandum to Rupani, listing some demands, including constitution of a state-level advisory committee by the CII, state's Director, Industrial Safety and Health, along with other industries' associations, and workers training programmes.
About 300 industry representatives from Gujarat and other parts of the country participated in the summit and gave their suggestions on building safe work environments.
