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24 June, 2026Five workers died and dozens were hospitalised after an ammonia gas leak at a seafood processing factory in Tamil Nadu on 21 June 2026. Days earlier, nine workers were killed at the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL) when a ladle of molten steel erupted during casting, engulfing them in a fireball. Preliminary reports suggest a critical gas-rinsing safety process may not have been completed as required.
Together, these deaths expose deep failures in hazard identification, emergency preparedness and occupational safety across India’s high-risk workplaces.
Pattern of preventable risks
These accidents follow a series of deadly workplace incidents, including the Singhitarai explosion and other workplace disasters that have claimed the lives of workers across various industries. In many cases, workers and unions had previously raised concerns about unsafe conditions.
Evidence from India’s manufacturing sector confirms the pattern. Most power press injuries struck workers on machines stripped of safety sensors. A third of injured workers received no training and learned on the machine itself. When workers flagged faulty machines, supervisors ignored them. Inspections routinely bypass workers entirely, with buyers and government inspectors rarely speaking to those who know the dangers first-hand.
Strengthening labour inspection and prevention
Official data reveal serious gaps in oversight. Directorate General, Factory Advice Service and Labour Institutes figures show inspection coverage stayed below 40 per cent even in hazardous process factories in 2023. The toll shows in the claims. In May 2026 alone, the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation settled 185,634 permanent disablement claims. There is no breakdown showing when these injuries occurred, but such a high number in a single month points to both poor data and an urgent need for stronger inspections.
The government must strengthen inspection capacity urgently, including specialist technical expertise for hazardous industries, and ensure inspectors have effective access to all workplaces, including contractor-controlled worksites and special economic zones.
Workers and their unions are often the first to identify emerging risks. When they raise the alarm, employers and regulators must listen and act.
Sanjay Singh, general secretary of Indian National Electricity Workers Federation and IndustriALL executive committee member, said:
“The presence of contract workers in core production operations reflects a growing reliance on precarious labour in hazardous industries. The Visakhapatnam tragedy highlights both the shortage of skilled manpower and the failure of management to invest adequately in safety measures, issues that must be urgently addressed.”
Ashutosh Bhattacharya, south asia regional secretary at IndustriALL Global Union, added:
“Every worker has the right to return home safely at the end of the working day and that right is empty without strong inspection. ILO Convention 081 shows governments the way. Staff inspectorates properly, open every worksite to scrutiny and put workers and their unions at the heart of prevention. Each failure to act is measured in lives.”
