SIR workload issues continue to create serious concerns about BLO safety. Across several states, over overwork and safety for Booth Level Officers have arisen lately following a number of recent deaths during the Special Intensive Revision period. The families of many of the deceased have cited the long hours, digital tasks, and heavy transportation requirements as contributing factors in their loved ones’ deaths. This has put additional pressure on many jurisdictions across the country to examine the Public’s perception of these incidents.
Uttar Pradesh experienced an outbreak of complaints to the State Election Commission, starting with eight deaths within the last ten days of the election. There were multiple types of employees who died while performing voter list duties, including teachers, lekhpals, and contractual employees. The families indicated that the daily demands associated with field verification and constant uploads were raising the stress level of employees working in the field. They also indicated that the deadlines being created by the State Election Commission caused ongoing pressure on the frontline employees.
One of the most publicised cases was that of Arvind Kumar, a Headmaster in the Sira district. The family detailed the long hours he worked and the demanding nature of the reporting he had to do while he was providing SIR duties. He died whilst working in the states of Moradabad, Fatehpur, Gonda, and Bareilly; all reported similar deaths and similar experiences leading to those deaths. The consistency across the board indicates that the amount of work-related stress has increased significantly.
States report similar cases beyond Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat’s BLO, principal Rameshbhai Parmar, died due to the workload associated with his position, requiring 94 km of travel per day. According to Rameshbhai Parmar’s family, the workload and travel requirements caused him chronic fatigue over weeks, leading to his death, as they believed this chronic stress caused his death through a heart attack.
So far in 2017, West Bengal, Kerala, and Rajasthan have all reported that additional employees have died from heart attacks and suicides because of high-stress work related to the heavy demands placed on SIR personnel by their Employer. Although we continue to receive reports of additional fatalities, no government official from West Bengal, Kerala, or Rajasthan has made any public comments or released any information regarding employee safety.
In 2017, the Election Commission significantly expanded the SIR programme across nearly all major states/countries, requiring that verifications be completed via the door-to-door method and digital uploading of verification documents, as well as several field surveys. Due to a shortage of personnel to complete these functions, teachers are often assigned to perform them. While the law has previously indicated a restriction on the number of teachers to be assigned to perform these functions, the implementation of these restrictions remains very difficult.
Also Read: Parliament session opens under rising pressure over the SIR dispute.
Experts Call for Urgent Review of SIR Workload Issues
It is widely agreed that the system’s current structure requires significant change. In addition, one expert stated: “We are putting an unreasonable amount of pressure on ourselves to do verification right.” Family and unions are pushing to have stronger protections for workers by having much more reasonable deadlines and stronger safeguards.
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