Renault-Nissan India plant complying with COVID-19 rules, report says

CHENNAI: Renault-Nissan's India plant is complying with Tamil Nadu state's coronavirus safety guidelines for carmakers, according to a report by the southern state government's industrial safety department reviewed by Reuters.

Workers in Tamil Nadu for global automakers such as Renault-Nissan, Hyundai and Ford plants had halted work for several days in May over coronavirus-related safety concerns.

"The compliance on the uniform guidelines has been verified by the team of officials at the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health," the report read, adding that members from the union and the company's management were present during an inspection.

A court in Chennai ordered safety checks at the Renault-Nissan plant, which employs more than 8,000 people, after workers petitioned it, saying they felt unsafe.

An audit of the Hyundai, Ford and Renault-Nissan plants last month showed three in four workers had not been vaccinated, and one in seven workers in these companies had contracted the virus. Twenty-one had died.

The safety report showed that 1,442 doses of vaccine had been administered to workers at the Renault-Nissan plant by July 3, compared to 966 as of June 17.

Nissan, which owns the majority of the Renault-Nissan plant, did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment.