NAGPUR: Workers of the Ordnance Factory Bhandara (OFBA), joined by kin of the 20-year-old apprentice, Ankit Barai, who died in the blast that claimed eight lives, on Saturday struck work demanding compensation of ₹1 crore for families of each of the victims. The workers sat in front of the factory gate with bodies of all the eight victims, refusing to budge until their demands were met.
The stand-off continued until the afternoon. The management finally agreed to pay ₹50 lakh to families of each the deceased employees and ₹25 lakh to the apprentice’s next of kin, said sources.
However, the management has sought time to secure permission from the govt for additional ₹50 lakh compensation to each of the kin. While the employees were entitled to receive ₹25 lakh in the normal course, sources said the apprentices, despite being engaged in high-risk jobs, were not eligible for any compensation. The apprentices alleged that they were made to work on par with the regular employees and were allotted targets too. They are engaged for two years and get permanent jobs only if there is a vacancy, they said.
The management, while agreeing to pay ₹25 lakh to Barai’s family, also underlined in the letter issued to unions that there is no provision for ex-gratia compensation to an apprentice under the govt rules. It was assured that compensation in line with permanent employees would be given after the matter is taken up with the govt.
The workers also raised the issue of apprentices being engaged in core high-risk jobs like in the low-temperature plastic explosive (LTPE) unit where the accident took place.
OFBA comes under Munitions India Limited, a defence PSU formed post-corporatisation of the ordnance factories, and is engaged in making explosives and ammunition rounds.
The tragedy took a political turn after Nana Patole, the state Congress chief and MLA from nearby Sakoli, came to the site along with Bhandara MP Prashant Padole. Mukesh Singh of Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh (BPMS), a BJP-affiliated union, told TOI that apprentices are being allotted jobs meant for full-timers. A management source said it’s also part of their on-job training. After the accident, it has been decided not to engage apprentices in jobs involving sensitive material.
