January 2022

The Stories of COVID Vaccine

The World of Vaccines vaccinating its entire adult population by

On 8 December 2020, a 90-year-old woman in
London became the first person in the world to
receive a vaccine against COVID-19. While
vaccine production over 2021 has been scaled
up where it is close to being able to address the
global demand, the situation remains
precarious to constraints related to technology
sharing, supply chains and hoarding by some
countries.
India:
December 2021. As of 30 December, 64% of
India's adult population was fully vaccinated.
(Chart 1)
• India, the largest contract manufacturer and
supplier of vaccines in the world, placed its
first vaccine order only as late as in January
2021 and, even then, ordered too little.
• When the devastating second wave hit India
full blow in April 2021, only 0.5% of Indians
had been fully vaccinated.

• India missed its vaccination target of • In response, the government imposed an

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 export ban on covid vaccines which affected South Africa threatened to ban export of all J&J
the vaccine supply committed by other vaccines produced in their Aspen facility to
countries and to be produced by Serum Europe that EU agreed to allow J&J to provide
Institute of India (SII) for 91 low- and middle- its future African-produced vaccines to Africa
income countries through COVAX. Covax is a from October 2021.
global initiative led by Coalition for Epidemic
Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi and Global North:
WHO, with UNICEF as a key delivery partner to
accelerate the development and manufacture • In sharp contrast, by November 2020, the
of COVID-19 vaccines, and guarantee its fair European Union, the USA, Canada, UK,
and equitable access for every country. Australia and Japan, accounting for only 13%
of the population, had together pre-ordered
• It is only in November 2021 that Government about 10 billion vaccines, i.e., half of the
of India lifted the export ban on Covid entire production of vaccines for 2021
vaccines. COVAX had relied on India for (including options, written into their
affordable dependable vaccines for low- contracts, to order extra doses, and
income countries but with the indefinite negotiations that are underway but not
export ban, COVAX had to seek other concluded). Canada pre-ordered 9 doses of
suppliers. Now with even the export ban vaccine per person! By over-ordering, these
lifted, India is no longer a dependable and countries have effectively locked out African
the largest supplier to the COVAX initiative. and other poor countries from accessing the
doses they urgently require. (Chart 2)
Africa:
• This hoarding of vaccines is being projected
• The WHO says Africa needs more than 900 as a ‘good governance’ badge by the
million vaccine doses to fully vaccinate just countries of the global north seeking political
40% of its population while as of 30 brownie points, whereas in reality it reflects
December, the continent had received just nothing different from the rush that was
over only 474 million doses in total - from the seen on television by individuals who could
COVAXi initiative as well as the Africa Union afford hoarding toilet paper rolls in the US
vaccine acquisition scheme, and through when the first lockdown was announced. It is
bilateral deals. (BBC) This means with the a hoard and waste mentality governing
currently available doses Africa can vaccinate individuals and rich countries that can afford
only about 20% of its population. (Chart 1) to, thereby depriving poor countries from
critical access.
• Only 27% of health workers in Africa have
been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in • • While the WHO has encouraged all
Nov 2021 (WHO), leaving 7 out of every 10 vaccine donations to go through COVAX,
health workers unvaccinated in the continent. several countries have donated both directly
to chosen countries in the global south, using
• The African Vaccine Acquisition Trust (AVAT), this as yet another tool to expand their
launched by the African Union to secure spheres of control and arm twist countries
vaccines and attain a target immunization of needing the vaccine.
60 per cent of Africa’s population,
disappointed by the failure of the countries Vaccine pricing and Intellectual Property
of the global north to honour its promises of Rights
delivering funding for 700 million vaccines to
Africa by the end of 2021 had to negotiate a India, the largest contract manufacturer of the
direct deal with Johnson & Johnson for 400 vaccine, was quoted at USD4, with USD8 for the
million single-shot vaccines. private sector. South Africa was quoted a price
of USD5.25 for the Astra-Zeneca vaccine while
Even in this, AVAT had to fight EU resistance European Union members were paying only
which had pre-ordered these vaccines being USD2.16. The rationale for this provided by the
produced in Africa for the EU. It was only after global north is that they put the money in the

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development of the vaccines and hence the
discount. So, the logic is that the poor must pay
the price for being poor.
Since 2020, health rights campaign organisation
and the countries of the global south contract
producing the vaccines for multinational
Pharma companies have been demanding that
the companies and governments of the global
north that are home to these companies share
their patented knowledge and technology with
drug manufacturers of the global south. More
than 100 nations, led by South Africa and India
have been calling for a TRIPS (Trade-Related
Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver
on covid vaccines, rich nations, led by the UK
and Germany, blocking the proposal, putting
the interest of pharmaceutical companies over
human lives.
The Companies that are producing these
vaccines, including Moderna, Pfizer and
Johnson & Johnson in the US and BioNTech in
Germany, are citing quality concerns for not
sharing this crucial knowledge. In reality, the
companies are unwilling to give up their control
over the vaccine patents and technology as this
allows them to make colossal profits, even at
the cost of human lives. According to data
collected by the Peoples Vaccine Alliance, the
companies behind the most successful COVID-
19 vaccines — Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna—
are making combined profits of USD 65,000
every minute! The monopolies these companies
hold have produced five new billionaires during
the pandemic, with a combined net wealth of
USD 35.1 billion. Pfizer and BioNTech have
supplied less than 1% of their total vaccine
supplies to low-income countries, while
Moderna has supplied just 0.2 % to these
countries. Despite receiving public funding of
over USD8 billion, the three corporations have
refused appeals to urgently transfer patents
and process patents for production of vaccine
with their own producers for decentralised
production, including in the global south.
Waiving patent rights would allow countries
with manufacturing capacity to copy the
formulae for the vaccines without enormous
financial penalties but also a possibility of trade
sanctions.
The US government in May 2021 supported the
waiver on intellectual property surrounding
COVID-19 vaccines that was proposed by India
and South Africa but has not pushed the
pharma companies to share the process patents
with their manufacturers in the global south.
Cuba is leading the way by making its vaccine
technology more freely available. Gamaleya,
the maker of the Sputnik vaccine, in Russia has
also promised to share its technology with
manufacturers in Argentina.
In June 2021, the G7 countries (UK, US, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the EU) had
pledged to donate 1 billion vaccines with the
world over the next year of which, 870 million
doses will be shared through COVAX, with the
aim to deliver at least half by the end of 2021.
The current status of this effort is shown in
Chart 3.
Vaccine Donation or New Form of Control
Canada has donated through direct, bilateral
arrangements with countries in Latin America
and the Caribbean, including at-risk Venezuelan
migrants. Only 53% of the vaccine donations
made by the USA is through COVAX, the
remaining are all through direct bilateral
donations based on regional priorities and
partner recipients. These include Mexico,
Canada, and South Korea, Israeli occupied West
Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia,
Egypt, Jordan, India, Iraq, and Yemen, as well as
for United Nations frontline workers. The UK
has donated bilaterally to Belize, Cambodia,
Cayman Islands, Kenya, Malaysia, Nepal,
Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and the some of
the Caribbean island countries.
The 'Vaccine Maitri' programme of the
Government of India, has made direct grants of
vaccines to the neighbouring countries of
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,
conspicuously denying Pakistan, while supplying
also to Taliban-led Afghanistan and junta-led
Myanmar. India also provided vaccine grants to
other countries such as Kenya, Uganda,
Rwanda, Ghana, Senegal, Mozambique,
Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mauritius and Seychelles
in Africa.
China, too, through its South-South
Cooperation initiative has donated its vaccines
to 46 African countries, 20 Latin American
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 countries and to the ASEAN bloc and 5 central mandating 75% job reservation for workers
Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, with Haryana domicile in private sector jobs,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). the government exempted start-ups and IT/
ITES companies for two years.
All these direct donations, bypassing the
COVAX, are an effort to expand and Union cabinet approves extension of
consolidate spheres of influence and National Commission for Safai Karamcharis
hegemonic control over specific areas of the for three years
globe.
19 January, 2022: The Union Cabinet
What can be done? approved three-year extension of the tenure
of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis
1. Guaranteed international funding from that was set to end on 31 March, 2022. The
countries of the global north, to support commission monitors the implementation of
development of new global manufacturing the Prohibition of Employment as Manual
capacity in countries of the global south Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act,
2013.
2. Patent waiver and immediate technology
transfer for covid vaccines and lower price of Odisha: Government revises wages of
vaccines for countries in the global south3. prisoners after High Court intervenes

3. Equitable distribution of vaccines across the
globe with countries of the global north
actively ceasing to hoard vaccines beyond their
need.
4. Widespread campaign for vaccination, even
if in self-interest, to ensure brakes on the
spread of the deadly virus.
Policy News
Karnataka: Government approves
construction of ‘suvidha cabins’ for
sanitation workers
24 January, 2022: Karnataka state government
approved the budget for construction of 221
canteens equipped with washroom and
changing rooms for sanitation workers called
‘suvidha cabins’. The city municipal
corporation employs over 18,000 contract
Safai karmcharis of which over 70% are
women who are devoid toilets and forced to
eat their meals in unhygienic conditions.
15 January, 2022: Odisha government revised
the wages for under- trial prisoners and
convicts across its 87 jails after High Court
rapped it for discrimination against prison
labour and violating minimum wages act.
Prisoners will now get paid at par with other
workers in the state and receive Rs. 324, Rs.
274 and Rs. 234 respectively for skilled, semi-
skilled and unskilled work after deduction of
Rs. 81.49 per day towards maintenance cost.
Government proposes new law to regulate
tea industry
11 January, 2022: Centre proposed Tea
(Promotion and Development) Act, 2022
which would repeal the existing Tea Act,
1953. The proposed act severely dilutes
punitive powers vested in the current Tea
Board including Section 16 which
empowered it to take over the tea estate in
case of mismanagement. The new act does
away with the requirement of licensing from
the Tea Board for running a tea estate.

Haryana: Government exempts start-ups, IT

companies from job reservation law for 2
years
19 January, 2022: Three days after the the
Haryana State Employment of Local
Candidates Act, 2020 came into effect
Legal News
Tamil Nadu: HC orders Chennai Corporation
to pay contract sanitation workers at par
with permanent govt employees
24 January, 2022: The Madras High Court

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directed the Greater Chennai Corporation
(GCC) to formulate a scheme within 12 weeks
to bring contractual sanitation workers under
the National Urban Livelihood Mission
(NULM) under a regular scale of pay at par
with that of permanent government
sanitation workers. The bench observed that
such essential workers cannot be “treated
like bonded labour” and be “paid measly sums
as daily wages”.
Supreme Court sets aside NGT
compensation order for kin of workers killed
in Virudhunagar firecracker factory blast
reinstate the worker with full back wages.
Delhi: HC directs ESIC to constitute
committee to frame policy for contract
workers
18 January, 2022: The Delhi High Court
directed the Employees’ State Insurance
Corporation (ESIC) to constitute a committee
to frame a policy in interest of contractual
workers employed across all its
establishments, especially focusing on their
working conditions, job security and terms &
conditions of their contracts.

23 January, 2022: A Supreme Court bench of Maharashtra: Labour Court holds 83-day
justices A M Khanwilkar and Dinesh long strike of transport workers illegal
Maheshwari set aside a National Green
Tribunal (NGT) order directing compensation 17 January, 2022: A Mumbai Labour Court
of Rs 20 lakh to the heirs of the victims of a held the 83-day long transport workers’ strike
firecracker factory blast in Virudhunagar illegal. Workers has stopped work on 27
district last year in which 19 workers were October, 2021 demanding regularisation of
killed. contract workers and merger of Maharashtra
State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC)
Hearing the appeal filed by Tamil Nadu with the state transport body. Workers have
Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ been complaining of irregularities in payment
Association the court held NGT’s order invalid and meagre wages for long.
as the tribunal proceeded in an ex-parte or
on-sided manner in ordering compensation to Maharashtra: Industrial Court orders
the families General Motors to pay interim relief to
illegally retrenched workers
Odisha: HC raps govt for employing Data
Entry Operators on illegal contracts 08 January, 2022: Pune Industrial Court
ordered General Motors India to pay 50%
19 January, 2022: The Odisha High Court salary every month as interim relief to all
reprimanded the state government for hiring workers at its Talegaon factory till the final
Data Entry Operators on contractual basis disposal of the case regarding their illegal
without formulating a recruitment policy or retrenchment. The court held GM India guilty
following valid selection procedure. It of unfair labour practice for illegally
observed that the workers were being retrenching all 1,086 workers at its Talegaon
exploited by the manpower service provider plant in July, 2021.
agencies in collusion with the officials of
government departments and denied their General Motors wishes to sell the plant to
rightful status as workers for over a decade. Chinese Auto giant Great Wall Motors which
has been put on hold after workers
Termination without domestic inquiry approached the High Court against the sale.
illegal, rules Tamil Nadu Labour Court
Supreme Court dismisses petition seeking
18 January, 2022: Hearing the plea of a safai check on rampant exploitation of students
karmchari against the management of a in the name of internships
private educational trust, a Chennai Labour
Court held that termination of an employee 06 January, 2022: A three-judge bench of the
without conducting a domestic inquiry is Supreme Court comprising Justices UU Lalit,
illegal and ordered the management to SR Bhatt and Hrishikesh Roy dismissed a

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 petition seeking to count interns as trainees
under the Apprentices Act and regulate their
working conditions so that working hours,
stipend, leaves etc. are governed by existing
labour regulations. The PIL sought an end to
the exploitation faced by students in the
name of internships that are totally
unregulated and dependent on individual
employers.
Tamil Nadu: Chennai Labour court directs
salt manufacturers to pay revised minimum
wages
03 January, 2022: A Chennai Labour Court
directed salt manufacturers of Tuticorin to
pay all workers irrespective of their gender
the revised minimum wage of Rs. 466 per
day. It also directed them to pay the wage
arrears since April, 2020 when the wages
were revised by the state government.
Collective Bargaining
Delhi: Anganwadi workers & helpers go on
indefinite strike against tracking software
31 January, 2022: Anganwadi workers and
helpers across Delhi went on indefinite strike
demanding immediate recall of Poshan
tracker app – a software which tracks their
movements and records the work
performed.
Anganwadi workers and helpers are also
demanding raise in their wages to Rs. 18,000
and Rs. 12,000 per month respectively and a
pension scheme for all workers.
Delhi: Nurses intensify protest for
compensation to kin of corona martyrs
24 January, 2022: Nursing staff across govt- Workers had gone on an indefinite strike last
run hospitals in the national capital protested month when their demand for regularisation
demanding immediate payment of of services and revision of wages were
compensation to kin of frontline workers who ignored by the Chhattisgarh State Power
died in the line of Covid-19 duty. Workers Company which operates the plant.
issued notice to government to pay the
compensation within 7-days or face indefinite
strike by healthcare workers. Government
had announced Rs. 1 crore ex-gratia to the
kin of the deceased in 2021.
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Haryana: Govt agrees to Doctors’ demands
after continued strike despite ESMA
11 January, 2022: Haryana government has
agreed to create specialist cadre and stop
direct recruitment of senior medical officers
as demanded by striking doctors after their
prolonged strike. Earlier, government had
invoked the draconian Essential Services
Maintenance Act (ESMA) to deter doctors
from continuing their strike.
Jharkhand: Workers’ strike yields in HEC
management releasing pending wages
07 January, 2022: Workers’ month-long strike
against non-payment of wages ended in
victory at government owned Heavy
Engineering Corporation Ltd. (HEC), Ranchi.
HEC management agreed to immediately
release wages of all workers pending for over
six months.
Delhi: DU teachers strike work, petition
Lieutenant Governor over non-payment of
wages
06 January, 2022: Teachers of Delhi University
(DU) struck work against non-payment of
wages to teachers, non-teaching staff and
contractual workers across 12 colleges for
over past six months. These collages are fully-
funded by the Delhi government. Striking
teachers petitioned the Lieutenant Governor
demanding immediate release of funds for
payment of pending wages.
Chhattisgarh: Police attacks striking
Contract workers of Madwa power plant
02 January, 2022: The Police brutally attacked
striking contract workers of Atal Bihari
Vajpayee Thermal Power Plant in Madwa.
Workplace Safety Watch
1 January: S. Kumar (38), P.Periyasami (65),
S.veerakumar(40) and S. Murugesan(35),
died, and eight other workers were injured
due to a blast in the R.K.M.V fireworks
factory at Kalathur in Virudhunagar district.
The chemicals exploded during mixing. Police
have booked the fireworks unit owner and
the labour department has suspended the
license of the factory.
2 January,: Kanai Chandra Santra(54) was
killed after a fire broke out at a paint factory
in Kaikhali, Kolkata. Chemicals stored in the
factory caused the fire to spread quickly and
engulf the adjacent factory which
manufactured garments for kids.
2 January: Eklash Nazir Shaikh(27), died after
a bundle of steel rods fell on his head at the
metro shed near Nashik Phata, Pune. Metro
construction in the city has been mired in
accidents due to lack safety gears.
5 January: Anand Kumar Dixit(53), died after
being mowed down by a truck at Sirpur Paper
Mills Limited. Earlier, two workers were
severely injured by a transformer explosion at
the company premises.
caused by illegal dumping of hazardous
chemicals in the Sachin creek by a Mumbai
based chemical company.
6 January: Ramesh Kumar(20), a migrant
worker from Basti, Uttar Pradesh, died when
a metal scrap fell on his head while working
at a scrapyard in Gurugram, Haryana. Police
have booked the owner and manager of the
scrapyard unit under Indian Penal Code.
11 January: Two migrant workers, Bharat
Patel(50), from Chhattisgarh and Pushpa
Bai( 35) from Bihar, were killed after a wall
caved in on them while they were working at
an under-construction building in NOIDA. Two
other workers sustained injury.
20 January: Three Migrant workers from
Rajasthan, Jagdish Suthar(20), Praveen
Suthar(18) and Kannaram Suthar(27), died in
a major fire that broke out at Soumya
Processing Mill at Palsana G.I.D.C. area where
they were employed as carpenters. Police
arrested the Director of the mill, Anupam
Agarwal and two other employees.

5 January: Border Roads Organisation's 21 January: Malkhan (28) and Guddu (42)
(B.R.O.) construction worker, Madan Lal, died, were buried alive after soil caved in on them
and 26 others were severely injured when the while working at an under-construction
iron shuttering of an under-construction building in Sector 56, Gurugram.
bridge collapsed on them in Samba district,
Jammu & Kashmir. 22 January: Rajmal Sangada (19), a contract
worker employed by the Surat Municipal
5 January: K Kasi (40), K Senthilkumar (35), S Corporation was killed in a mudslide while
Ayyammal(48), and M Muniyasamy(48), died, working on expanding the drainage network
and five other workers were injured in a blast line in the city.
at the Solai firecracker unit near Sattur in
Virudhunagar district of Tamil Nadu. Police 29 January: Paan Singh and Lakhan Singh
have arrested the owner and the labour migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh died of
department cancelled the license of the electrocution after coming in contact with 11
factory. K.V. main line wires when they were painting
the premises of a private company in IMT
6 January: Three migrant workers died while Manesar.
3 workers were sustained severe injuries
when a wall collapsed on them at a 30 January: Shyamnath Kashyap (22) and
construction site. They were constructing a Sunny Prajapati (23) died while another
new wall over an dilapidated existing worker Mohit sustained critical burn injuries
structure of Plastocon Pvt. Ltd. Police have after a massive fire broke out late at night
filed a case of death due to negligence. due to leakage in L.P,G cylinder at a sweet
workshop in Kanpur. The fire spread quickly
6 January: Six workers died, and 23 more due to presence of highly inflammable
workers were hospitalised after a chemical substances such as oil, ghee etc., at the
gas leak incident in Surat. The gas leak was workshop.

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 30 January: Bhavesh Yasoda (47) was killed
while two others were critically injured after
a container fell on them while working at
Narmada cement factory at Amreli, Gujarat.
30 January: Amar Panda (42) a contract
worker in the housekeeping department of
the Rourkela Steel Plant was killed after a
heavy iron plate crushed him. The PSU is
infamous for endangering the lives of
contract workers, last year four contractor
workers were killed of asphyxiation at the
factory.
exhaustion among workers. To curb the
menace Belgian government issued a memo
entitling workers the Right to Disconnect
after working hours. The memo to
employers states that management must
ensure that workers are not contacted
outside normal working hours in exception
and unforeseen circumstances and where
action is required that cannot wait until the
next working period. It further dictates that
no worker should be reprimanded or
disadvantaged for choosing not to respond
to their boss after working hours.

Ghana: National Labour Commission holds

World News Update teacher’s strike illegal, orders teachers to
resume work
South Korea: New workplace safety law to
penalise CEOs in case of accidents 15 January, 2022: The National Labour
Commission (NLC) of Ghana has held the
27 January, 2022: To check the rising number strike of University Teachers and staff which
of accidents at workplace, Asia’s fourth commenced on 10 January, 2022 unlawful
largest economy has promulgated the and ordered them to resume work with
Serious Disasters Punishment Act, 2022. The immediate effect. The NLC found that
act has provisions to hold company teachers did not follow due process
management and its top brass liable for the prescribed in the Act 651, Settlement of
accident and impose fines to the tune of 1 Industrial Disputes.
billion won ($85,000) and imprisonment up to
1 year. Pakistan: Anti-Harassment act amended to
include informal workers, students
Nigeria: Industrial Court holds termination
of agricultural institute workers illegal, 15 January, 2022: The National Assembly
orders compensation passed the Protection against Harassment of
Women at the Workplace (Amendment) Bill,
25 January, 2022: The 3-year long legal battle 2022 on 14 January, 2022 as proposed by the
of temporary workers employed by the state Ministry of Human Rights. The amendments
run agricultural institute has yielded in favour strengthen the existing legislation which
of the workers. The Benin Division of the came into effect in 2010 by expanding the
National Industrial Court of Nigeria has held definition of workplaces to encompass both
the retrenchment of 90 workers employed on formal and informal enterprises, bringing it
probation by the state Agricultural Institute closer to the definition set out in the 2019
illegal and ordered compensation of Naira 4 International Labour Organization (ILO)
million. The court has further added that the Violence and Harassment Convention (C190).
compensation must be paid within 90 days, a The new law also expands the definition of
failure to do so would attract an interest of harassment to include discrimination on the
10 percent per annum. basis of gender, which may or may not be
sexual in nature and extends the protections
Belgium: Government issues memo against harassment and violence to students -
institutionalising Right to Disconnect a category excluded by the previous law.

22 January, 2022: An exponential rise in

remote work due to COVID-19 triggered
work from home led to increased unpaid
overtime work causing burnout and

Published by: Centre For Workers' Management | web: http://cwm.org.in | Phone: 011 46524333
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