At Renault-Nissan, workers refused to resume work on Monday.

Chennai:

Auto major Renault-Nissan will be inspected on its compliance to Covid safety precautions, the Madras High Court ordered today after the workers went on strike, alleging that authorities were not maintaining the Covid-safety protocols. The plant in Tamil Nadu has not been functioning since May 26. Nissan Motor, the Indian partner of Renault, claimed that it has taken all the necessary steps.

A senior official from the Directorate of Industrial Safety will visit the plant tomorrow, the court said, asking the firm to indicate the number of workmen infected.

It is hoped that all safety norms are in place and no compromises have been made to keep up the production, the judges said.

The workers at the Renault-Nissan plant said social distancing feasible only if there is a gap between two cars in the assembly line and only three-to four men work on each. Instead, six to eight men are working on each car in the current set-up.

They demanded that corrective measures be taken immediately and the social distancing norms be maintained.

The government official may be present to mediate between the two sides.

Manufacturing in Tamil Nadu has suffered over the last moths following an explosion of Covid cases in the state. Tamil Nadu has been among the states hit worst by the virus.

Work had stopped at the plants of auto majors Renault-Nissan, Ford and Hyundai last week after protests by workers, who bore the brunt of the disease in the auto manufacturing hub near Chennai.

At Renault-Nissan, workers refused to resume work on Monday.

In a letter to the firm, they said their demands — social distancing norms at the plant, rehabilitation of families of workers who died and medical treatment of those who are ailing — have not been met.

Renault-Nissan said it has reduced production at the plant, its only manufacturing base in India, to 7,129 cars during the 13 working days in May against a target of 18,852 cars, reported news agency Reuters. In April, it manufactured 17,207 cars, Reuters reported.