Orange Line accident: Labour Dept expects report on safety standards today

Director says two inspectors have been assigned the task of monitoring construction work .

LAHORE:

The Labour Department says it is yet to ascertain the circumstances that led to the death of two workers during the construction of the Orange Line Metro Train project on Sunday.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Tuesday, Labour Department Director Syed Hasnat Javed says he is expecting a report on the accident by Wednesday night (today). “Two labour inspectors have been assigned the task of monitoring safety standards at the construction site. They have been visiting the site regularly since the start of construction work,” he says.



“From what I have heard, I know that one of the deceased was a crane operator,” he says. Such accidents occasionally occur due to negligence of workers, he adds.

Javed says safety measures required to be put in place were adequately explained in the standard operating procedures (SOPs). “The companies working on the construction of the Orange Line project are well-reputed and experienced. They are well aware of safety requirements,” he says.

However, labour rights organisations are not that optimistic about the track record of the companies concerned.

Khalid Mehmood of the Labour Education Foundation says compliance with safety standards is hardly ever ensured during construction of mega-projects like the Orange Line train. He says provision of protective clothing including gloves, boots and helmets to those employed for the project has not been ensured. This is endangering lives, he says.

Mehmood says safety measures are noted down in contract documents and there is no reason why the contractor should not comply with these measures. “It is the government’s responsibility to ensure compliance with these standards,” he says.

The FIR registered following the accident states that the workers had died due to an electric shock. It says one of them was a crane operator and the other a helper. They suffered an electric shock when a crane they were operating at a site near Thokar Niaz Beg accidently touched high tension electricity wires in the vicinity.



The sub inspector concerned says the deceased had owned the crane he was operating. “The construction company had outsourced earth moving work at the site to him,” he says.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 20^th, 2016.