In recent days, uncertainty has increased among companies in India that want to resume their business activities on the basis of exemptions or are preparing for the “post-lockdown” period. The reason is a passage in the order of the Indian Ministry of Interior that if an employee falls ill with Covid-19, the employer and the directors there could possibly be held (personally) liable. The Indian newspapers are now running rampant with horror scenarios about possible prison sentences for managers.
We personally interpret this passage in such a way that it is primarily addressed to those companies/directors who - which unfortunately happens quite often in India - do not care about the well-being of their own employees and prematurely leave employees unprotected while endorsing any health risk let work.
Labor Protection under Covid19 Conditions
We therefore recommend that your company Detailed concept for the concrete implementation of the hygiene and distance rules as well as to the technical control measures developed for your locations in India. In our opinion, documentation is that you carefully deal with the topic “Labor Protection under Covid19 Conditions” taken care of and, if necessary, called in a qualified expert. It may not be enough to delegate the task to your local management alone if there would then be a risk that essential measures would be missed due to a lack of appropriate knowledge.
Organizational and technical measures
The measures will include not only behavioral instructions, but also organizational and technical measures. Some examples: if necessary, renovation work in the office or on the premises, replacing the room air, taking the temperature of the entire workforce, automated disinfection, information material in local languages, etc.
A number of companies have already contacted us asking for recommendations on how to develop implementable (technical) solutions at their own Indian location. That's why in the last few days we've been thinking about a "second-party audit solution" with access to knowledgeable local experts from technical and hygiene-specific areas, across all locations in India.
Goals from our point of view would be:
- Determination of the conformity of your measures with the official requirements (as a minimal “basic step”),
- If necessary: Support in the development and documentation of individual measures according to the “best practice” principle
- If necessary: Support in identifying technically feasible solutions, such as continuous fever measurement using digitally documented thermography systems.
Our expert with pandemic experience in Asia
Mr. has the technical expertise for such coordination in our company Volker Klosowski, who has supported several times since 2009 during pandemics (including bird flu), especially Asian companies and government institutions (such as the Taiwanese customs at the international airport in Taipei), in planning and implementing appropriate organizational concepts and technical instruments.
If you would like to have a conversation with him about this topic, please contact us on +49 234 9401836-50 or write us an email E-mail.
