In Delhi villagers were stopped when workers from nearby villages were heading to Matrix clothing factories in Gurugram, which makes safety shields for frontline workers.  Gautam Nair, managing director of the company said that the villagers were worried that these workers might also put them in the virus.
It took for the company’s HR department to visit the villages and show them the letters of approval received from the ministry of textile, local administration and to explain to the residents how this will help the country’s effort to fight the pandemic.
As companies providing essential services ramp up operations, their human resources (HR) departments face the additional task of convincing not just employees but their neighbours too of the hygienic conditions and safety protocols undertaken to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Many firms engaged in e-commerce, manufacturing of personal protective equipment, IT services and food delivery have reported cases where their HR personnel had to go out to villages and housing communities where their employees stayed, armed with government permits and safety manuals.
“Now those workers have become heroes in their villages. The elders bless them and ask them to continue the good work,” Nair said.
Similarly, people living near the warehouses of online grocery seller Grofers in villages around Gurugram, Noida and Ghaziabad were concerned for their safety with these facilities teeming with activity to fulfil ever-growing demand.