Webinar: Remembering Vijay Kanhere: The Evolving OHS Grassroots Movement

The occupational health & safety movement may be now a little over 3 decades old, though the labour movement is more than a century old. The first trade union was formed in 1920 and the Trade Union Act was enacted in 1926. Trade Unions play an important role in various labour rights but for various reasons, they have not been able to play a major role in either making workplaces healthier or identifying victims of occupational diseases.

In that sense, organised and systematic efforts were initiated by PRIA in early 1980s. Efforts to contribute to this movement included publications and documentation of experiences of various individuals, in the form of judicial activism as well as the contribution of local grassroots OSH groups.

About Vijay Kanhere:

Vijay Kanhere (1951-2006) was researcher, activist and mentor in the field of occupational health. He worked with PRIA for over two decades on Occupational Health. While at PRIA he led several OHS campaigns like National Campaign on Dust related Diseases. He closely worked with groups in Gujarat,Maharashtra, Pujab, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and so on. He helped build Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) rights movement in India and established Occupational Health and Safety Centre (OHSC) in Mumbai. Vijay also played a key role in establishing Peoples Training & Research Centre (PTRC) and other grassroots organizations to work in the OSH space. 

On the occasion of his death anniversary, a webinar is being conducted by Peoples Training & Research Centre (co-sponsored by PRIA) on the OHS movement in India and how COVID-19 affects it. The webinar will take place on Saturday, June 20^th from 10am to 11.30 am.

The speakers for the event include:

• Mr. Jagdish Patel (Peoples Training & Research Centre)
• Dr. Rajesh Tandon (Founder-President, PRIA)
• Dr. R. Sreedhar (Director, Environics Trust)

The Discussants for the event include:

• Dr. Shyam Pingle (Indian Inst. of Public Health, Gandhinagar)
• Dr. Yogindra Samant (MD, MPH, PhD,Chief Medical Officer, Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority)
• Mr. Noel Cloina (Asia Monitor Resource Centre, Hong Kong)

To join this webinar, click here.