Dear Prof. Manna,

Director, IIT Kanpur

We have learned that since 2007, there have been 9 deaths and 3 serious accidents on construction sites at IITK. One worker who became quadriplegic from fall later died; bringing the death toll to 10 in 6 years. This poor record on safety is unacceptable to alumni of the institute that teaches civil engineering and construction management.

We have also learned from a review of IITK’s contract agreement with M/S Ramky Infrastructure where the last death occurred on November 21, 2012 that there is no mention of safety of workers or training for them or requirement to even provide protective safety gear to workers. In fact, in the agreement there is no reference to the Buildings and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and its provisions for safety and health of workers that the contractor is obligated to follow and principal employer (IITK) is obligated to ensure. We have no reason to believe that the contract agreement with M/S Ramky Infrastructure is an exception or ALL construction contracts at IITK do not include safety clauses.

It is incomprehensible that with so much construction on campus for such a long time how could contract agreements be signed by IITK which do not include clauses on safety. Are there no mechanisms in place at the institute to ensure that important aspects such as safety and health of workers are included in ALL contract agreements and those who violate them are punished?

WE, THEREFORE, REQUEST YOU TO KINDLY:

• Conduct comprehensive review of ALL contract agreements to ensure that they contain Safety and Health provisions for workers as required by law. Those found lacking in these aspects should be revised;
• Appoint a Safety Officer, that you promised 9 months ago, with responsibility to monitor safety practices of contractors;
• Penalize contractors who are found in violation of Safety norms. Incorporate penalty clauses for safety violations in all contracts;
• Adopt a standardized contract format that includes provisions for Safety, Health, and on the job training of workers vis a vis safety;
• Incorporate need to enforce safety requirements on contractors and workers in the job description of Site Engineers and IWD supervisors;
• Seek workers’ opinion before instituting safety mechanisms so that they are active participants in the process with an objective to achieve true success.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Alumni for the Dignity of Labor at IIT Kanpur

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