CII urges firms to cut work requiring physical presence

New Delhi: Industry body CII on Monday asked companies to cut all non-essential economic activities that require the physical presence of employees at the workplace for the next two weeks to control the rising coronavirus cases.

CII President Uday Kotak said the industry should review operations and minimise the use of in-person manpower, limiting it to only critical operations or activities required by the law.

All responsible corporates should strive to protect their employees and ensure that their employee balance sheet remains healthy, he said in a statement.

He urged industry to curtail all non-essential economic activity requiring the physical presence of employees at the workplace, for the next two week," the chamber said, adding "this is necessary to break the chain of transmission". Many auto majors, such as Maruti Suzuki, Hero MotoCorp, JCB India, MG Motor, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, have taken the lead in halting production temporarily or advancing maintenance schedules in the interest of the safety of their employees, it added.

Several service sector organisations like Kotak Mahindra Bank, TCS, and Infosys have also adopted work from home.

Further, CII suggested voluntary measures for the industry which include the availability of testing for employees, making quarantining facilities available for infected employees, awareness drives, and ramping up of vaccination of employees.