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Monday,
June 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Workers exposed to toxic ship scrap
Agony of scrap labourers
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FIIs net buyers in equities
Railways commitment only on paper
The old economy shares shine
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Workers exposed to toxic ship scrap A
few days ago a deadly explosion rocked the shipbreaking yard at Alang in Gujarat. It killed six persons and maimed several others. Greenpeace, the global environmental watchdog, took notice of the series of explosions at Alang in the past few weeks and decided to put pressure on the owners of discarded ships to follow the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal. The good news is that the American/Norwegian ship owner Stolt Neilson has agreed to take Greenpeace into his confidence in future about the procedures that he would follow to ensure safe breaking of discarded vessels. The Basel Convention was adopted in 1989 in response to the global expression of concern over the unsafe waste-dumping practices of most industrialised nations. The Convention came into force in May, 1992. As usual the US was among the nations that refused to ratify the document on safe disposal of hazardous material. America has also refused to sign the Kyoto Treaty on fixing a time-frame for reducing greenhouse emissions to the globally approved safety limits. Be that as it may, the agreement between Greenpeace and Neilson means that one of the Norwegian company’s ship, Stolt Sincerity, will now be demolished only after it has been properly decontaminated of hazardous substances like PCBs, asbestos and oil. Neilson will report back to other shipping organisations like the International Maritime Organisation, Intertanko and the ICS, before the end of 2003 for seeking a no-contamination certificate. According to a Greenpeace spokesman, “people in India have been suffering for years from the effects of hazardous substances as a result of shipbreaking. This agreement is a small step toward protecting the environment and the people” from exposure to deadly toxins. However, a small step will not serve the purpose of protecting the several thousand workers who are engaged in the business of shipbreaking. Their health breaks faster than the ship they are asked to demolish. Alang is known as the graveyard of discarded ships and shipbreakers. Environmentalists have for years drawn attention to the violation of basic safety norms at the Alang shipbreaking yard. Breaking a ship has been recognised as the most dirty, difficult and dangerous work. Greenpeace was among the first to warn that at least 5,000 to 40,000 labourers currently engaged in the multi-million dollar industry at Alang could contract cancer because of the unprotected handling of asbestos and other toxic substances, as well as prolonged exposure to noxious fumes at the workplace. It was not a false alarm. A study conducted in 1999 confirmed the state of poor health of workers. Their health-related problems were traced to the unsafe conditions at their place of work. The tragedy at Alang highlighted just one part of the problem. The other concerns the role of the US in the disbursal of potentially toxic metal scrap to steel mills in India. Last year the steel town of Punjab, Mandi Gobindgarh, received several thousand tonnes of scrap metal retrieved from the debris of the World Trade Center in New York. According to one estimate, more than 30,000 tonnes of steel scrap from the WTC twin towers, not tested for contamination, have reached India and other Asian countries. For the simple folks of the small town of Mandi Gobindgarh the WTC steel scrap acquired the status of moon rock. They were not aware that the bits of WTC scrap they nicked from steel plants could possibly be contaminated with asbestos, PCBs, cadmium, mercury and dioxins. The Indian port authorities did not detain the deadly cargo. Under the Basel Convention it was the duty of the Indian Government to prevent the import of hazardous wastes. The authorities should have been on double alert since the scrap was coming from America that has refused to sign the Convention and
is, therefore, not bound by the provisions of the treaty. Steel reprocessing is an “unhealthy business, a fact that can be confirmed by seeking reports on the state of health of workers in steel mills in Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh. The health of workers should help us understand that scrap steel is indeed a health hazard. And when it comes from the US its level of contaminants could be expected to be high because of lack of monitoring by American authorities of the safety of the products earmarked for exports. The scrap that is supplied to plants in Punjab and Haryana usually contain plastic, chemicals and heavy metal contaminants. In February several trade union organisation, Greenpeace and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties blasted the US Administration for its “continued inaction in stemming the export of unsafe steel scrap to Third World countries. In a letter delivered to the US Embassy concern was expressed over making India a major dumping ground of toxic wastes by industrialised nations. It may be of interest to concerned groups to know that the deadly WTC steel scrap found its way to steel plants in the country in spite of a Supreme Court order prohibiting the import of hazardous waste to India. According to available figures US shipments top the list of hazardous waste material being dispatched to India by callous businessmen. Not a single regulatory agency, including the customs and port authorities and the Ministry of Environment and Forest are even aware of the existence of the Basel Convention. Why blame America when India itself is not ready to protect itself from Alang or Bhopal or the WTC scrap? |
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Agony of scrap labourers Ludhiana Absence of any labour welfare agency or association, which could monitor the health of the workers, makes it difficult to get exact figures about the number of labourers suffering from various diseases on account of these toxic substances, but the rough estimates made after talking to various doctors working in different industrial areas revealed that the number of such patients must be in hundreds. Most of the steel units in Ludhiana use the iron scrap as the basic raw material. Most of the scrap comes from the ships which are broken. The scrap usually contains toxic substances like arsenic, benzene and also some radiating materials. Even the airconditioners also contain some toxic gases which are harmful to the lungs and skin. The scrap can also contain poly-cyclic hydrocarbons, which is a fuel byproduct and a potential health hazard. All these substances have a very dangerous effect on the health of labourers. The diseases include pneumoniocosis and liegellas pneumonia, a serious disease of lungs. The radiation matter can cause skin cancer while the arsenic can lead to lung, skin and liver cancer and the benzene can cause leukemia. Dr Gursharan Singh, a leading physician and the District President of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said that he comes across a number of cases with symptoms of these diseases which apparently seem to have been caused by these toxic substances. He pointed out since there was no foolproof mechanism to establish the cause of such diseases it is difficult to attribute a direct cause. But the experience reveals that most of these diseases are caused by the toxic substances contained in the scrap only. He said, there are some mandatory safety measures which need to be adopted by the workers handling the scrap. They should be provided with gloves and mask. But not a single worker in any big or small unit gets this kit. They work with bare hands and inhale all the toxic gases that gradually lead to serious ailments. Dr G.S. Grewal, a senior physician and the Managing Director of the SAS Grewal Mediscan Hospital, suggested that the workers should at least get a regular health check up. He pointed out since their salaries are too meagre health check up for them is a luxury. A worker does not get more than Rs 100 for a day. This is the highest wage the workers gets. In some cases it is even half of it and it is not possible to expect him to spend so much on health check up. The industrial units are supposed to have trained medical staff including some doctors, who would regularly check the workers. It has been found that although the symptoms of the disease start early, the workers tend to ignore these symptoms. They get cautious only when the symptoms become severe and acute. But, says Dr Grewal, by that time it is too late. Since most of the labourers are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, they return to their native places after getting serious ailments. Nothing is known about them subsequently. Even the factory owners also do not care much about such people and they are ultimately left to their own fate. The problem goes unnoticed, since the workers suffer individually. The workers consider themselves lucky if they are provided some money by the employers to return to their home. The doctors maintain that the samples of the scratch should be sent for chemical examination and instructions should be issued accordingly for handling it. Currently only the excise officials check the scrap and give it clearance for the sale. They only check it to ensure that all duties have been paid and not for the health hazards it can lead to. The industrialists (dealing in the scrap) who manufacture steel are not prepared to admit that handling of scrap needs any specialisation or special arrangements. A leading manufacturer of the steel, who did not want to be identified, claimed that during last four decades he had not seen any of his workers suffering from any disease that could be attributed to handling of scrap. He claimed that the (his) company ensures that all the workers are physically fit and they are provided medical expenses in case of any problem. The scrap comes from the gulf countries in huge quantities. But there is no mechanism to check its contents. It is downloaded at the factories manually. The toxic substances in it are never segregated before being recycled by the people who are hardly aware of the fact that they are virtually playing with death. The issue seems to have even evaded the attention of the labour department also. The doctors who come across such cases are also not in a position to suggest any remedial measures. Dr Gursharan Singh suggested that the only hope for the workers handling the steel scrap, right now, lies in the employers ensuring the presence of doctors and a regular check up on weekly basis. Even this does not ensure foolproof immunity from diseases. But such check ups can certainly help in locating the disease at the earliest and possible timely treatment. Otherwise, the workers come to know about the diseases when it is too late and nothing much could be done. |
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FIIs net buyers in equities
Mumbai, June 1 FIIs registered a gross purchase of Rs 1,477.5 crore in equities against a gross sale of Rs 929.5 crore during the week. Similarly, the gross buying in debt was Rs 74.7 crore as against the gross selling of Rs 81.6 crore. FIIs recorded the highest net buying in equities on May 30 and the highest net buying in debt was Rs 74.7 crore on Thursday.
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by Pushpa Girimaji Railways commitment only on paper IN the last few years, the Indian Railways has come up with several slogans to express its commitment to the cause of consumers and successive railway ministers have declared an entire year as the ‘passenger year’ or ‘the passenger amenities year’, promising to pay more heed to rail travelers’ comfort and safety. More recently, the Northern Railway has adopted the slogan: “Passengers’ Convenience-our concern”. Yet, there are instances where the Railways exhibit scant regard for passengers’ convenience. One such example is the way the railways recently brought about a change in the route of one of their most prestigious trains-the Rajdhani Express running between Delhi and
Howrah. The advertisements issued by the railways announcing the change in fact indicate the callous indifference of the railways to passengers’ convenience. The advertisements announced that the Radjdhani Express 2302 between New Delhi and Howrah would become 2306 on Fridays and would run via Patna instead of Grand chord and so all those booked on 2302 on any Friday from May 23 to July 11 (Eight Fridays) should get their tickets cancelled for a full refund. They may get fresh bookings made on 2306 if they so wished. Similarly, the
Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani 2301 will run as 2305 on Sundays via Patna instead of via Grand chord, the advertisement said. Now all that they were doing was to change the route of the train on one particular day in the week. Considering that this change was not necessitated by some urgent, unforeseen circumstance beyond the control of the railways such as an accident or a security threat or a major repair work on the track, the Railways could well have waited two more months to implement the change, so that all those already booked on the earlier trains would not be inconvenienced But obviously, this never occurred to the railways and it is obvious that while making the changes, the railways gave no thought to the passengers who would have taken so much trouble to book their tickets in advance. In fact, if you look at the advertisements issued by the northern railways in Delhi, there is not even an expression of regret or an apology to the passengers for the inconvenience caused to them. Imagine the uncertainty that this re-scheduling would bring about in the travel plans of passengers, the time and the money that they would have to waste in going to a railway booking counter to cancel their booking, and the unpleasantness of such a task in this heat and the holiday rush. Even those who would have booked their tickets on the internet will have to go to the reservation counter because there is no provision for cancellation on the net. And what about those who may not have seen the advertisement? As I said earlier, there was no tearing hurry for the railways to make changes in the route, at the cost of passengers. Or having done so, the railways should have had the humility to apologise to passengers and make arrangements that would at least bring down the level of passenger discomfort and compensate them. It could, for example, have sent letters to all passengers booked on those days, informing them of the change. And instead of asking them to cancel their earlier booking and make fresh reservation, the railways could have asked all those booked on 2302 to Howrah to travel on 2306 instead (similarly those booked on 2301 to travel on 2305) and asked only those traveling to the intervening stations to make fresh booking on the internet and provided for cancellation and refund of their earlier tickets on board the train. Or offered a small compensation to passengers to cover their travel to the booking counter. Having failed to take any of these measures, the railways are liable to be hauled up for negligent service by the affected passengers. Yes, whether it’s northern railway or southern railway, in cases such as this, passengers should come together and file a class action suit
before the consumer court, asking for reimbursement of expenses incurred on canceling and rebooking the tickets and compensation for the inconvenience and harassment suffered. Such a complaint can be filed by an affected passenger on behalf of all others. Or a consumer group can file a complaint on behalf of the passengers. The Consumer Protection Act, as it stood prior to 1993, did not provide for class action suits, but the apex consumer court allowed consumer groups to file petitions on behalf of a large number of consumers, seeking identical relief through a common order. Subsequently, an amendment in 1993 specifically provided for class action suits . Now the latest amendments to the CP Act further empower the consumer courts to grant relief in such cases. In short, a class action suit will pave the way for relief to all individual, affected passengers through one common complaint and order. In addition, it will also force the railways to think about the interests of passengers the next time they tinker with the train routes or schedules. |
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by J.C. Anand The old economy shares shine THE old economy shares have created almost boom-like condition. Tisco announced a 394 per cent rise in its net profit for the year ending March 31, 2003 at Rs 1012 crore against Rs. 205 crore in the previous year. Telco reported a profit of Rs.300.11 crore as against corresponding loss of Rs. 53.73 This turn out largely due to the increase in volume, cost cutting introduction of new products. The company recommended a dividend of Rs. 4 per share of Rs 10. The Tata Power also had a higher net profit though its results were less spectacular. Larsen and Toubro reported 42 per cent increase in its net profit for the year ending March 32, 2003 and recommended a dividend of 75 per cent for the year (as against 70 per cent during the last year). The Engineering and Construction Division accounted for 60 per cent of the company’s revenue for the year. The net interest charges for the year declined by 40 per cent from Rs. 316 crore to Rs 176.99. Even the Cement Division reported profit though the operating margin of this division was low. The Colour Chem’s net profit for the year was Rs. 15.10 crore against Rs. 9.29 crore last year. It recommended of 60 per cent. Another company, Balmer Lawries Van Leer, which had been quoting below par value of its equity shares announced good results and declared a dividend of 8 per cent after the shape of many years. At present its share (of Rs. 10 face value) is quoting around Rs. 15.50. This share has a potential of further appreciation as the company holds a leadership position in packing. I expect at least 50 per cent appreciation in the market price of this scrip within a year. Reliance is another star and has reported good results. The Sensex closed at 3100 points last week. This is largely due to excellent performance of many old economy shares. There are also reports that FII’s investing in the Indian market now. Another company which has announced excellent results is BPCL (a
PSU) which is also good for investment. The company’s net profit for the financial year ending March 31, 2003 went up by 47 per cent to Rs. 1250 as agaginst Rs. crore. Its EPS for the year is Rs 41.67 per share as against Rs. 28.33 It has recommended a final dividend of Rs. 13 per share (and total dividend of Rs. 15 per share including the interim dividend of Rs. 2 per share). It appears to me that TISCO, TELCO and BPCL have the potantial of appreciate further are safe investments even at the current market prices which have moved up after the declaration of their annual results. The TVS group share have also made substantial gains in the market, particularly Sundram Fastners, Sundram Clayton and TVS Motors. L & T has moved up now to Rs. 222 per share but it is likely to appreciate further. The Birla group, which had announced buy-back of its scrip from the market @ Rs 190 per share, has not revised its offer. There have, however, been other developments which indicate that issue of the demerger of the cement sector from the L & T may find some solution within a few months as financial institutions control 40 per cent of the equity and the Birla group has more than 15 per cent. It is possible that the financial institutions may opt for the Birla group strategy of demerging the cement sector with a proportionate share to the share holders in the Larsen and Toubro (excluding cement) and the demerged Cement sector. The L & T management, however, is against this proposal. But
unconfirmed reports are that even the rating agency, which has been commissioned by the L & T on two proposals, has favoured the Birla group proposal. This will certainly the FIIs as well as shareholders of company in general. The management does not have any substantial share in the equity and is likely to be out-voted when the final decision is taken by the Board of Directors (in which management is only 7 members out of 18 members). The textile sector shares have now completed the boom time. No further appreciation is expected. The Tata group, Reliance and PSU Petroleum company shares are in a position to stage further appreciation. |
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