A worker who lost part of his fingers in a factory accident claims his bosses threw them away.
Viraj Kakadia's works for a firm, Taiko Foods, which provided sushi for major firms such as supermarket Waitrose and Sainsbury's.
But he claims while working for Taiko in Ealing, London he had an accident and part of his fingers were severed, MyLondon reports.
He was slicing peppers using a machine and wearing one of of the two steel gloves which his union claims was available to protect workers.
Viraj tried to restart the machine and his fingers were trapped which led two of them being severed.
His bosses suggested he called a taxi, which took him to hospital.
Medical teams at St Mary's in Paddington asked him where his fingers were, but according to his union, factory bosses told him they had disposed of them.
Viraj is now permanently missing parts of two of his fingers.
The company has not denied they disposed of his finger tips and a source close to the company confirmed this was the case.
The GMB is now filing for compensation over “negligence” which could be worth upwards of £20,000 if successful.
One union official called the case “harrowing” and has put in multiple grievances over the firm’s handling of the affair.
GMB London organiser Hiten Vaidya said: “They should have called an ambulance.
"It’s the employers responsibility, and it has been totally unacceptable.” Viraj, 27, originally from India, speaks little English and works six days a week at the factory.
Mr Vaidya claims there was no sensor or safety guard on the vegetable cutting machine, and alleges the cutting machine broke down several times in the week before the accident but continued to remain in use.
"Figures close to the company insist all workers have adequate PPE and that the machine is in working order, and that a Bolt offered the "quickest means possible" to get to hospital.
Viraj was not given sick pay for the two weeks he had to take off work, and was instead told to take it as holiday leave instead.
The union says the GMB itself was forced to give Viraj emergency funds instead.
Speaking through a translator, Viraj told MyLondon: “The employer is playing games with my life. If they sent the finger tips with ice with me to the hospital, I’d still have them intact today.
"They didn’t call an ambulance, and they haven’t offered me any support.”
A Taiko spokesperson said his annual leave entitlement would be reimbursed and he would be paid in full for his time off.
Viraj is now back at work but says the finger which lost the most flesh is “still not bending properly” and remains “very painful.”
He added: “There is no amount of money for that injury that would solve it. I lost my finger. It’s not a question of money. I expect the GMB union to help and ensure this negligence doesn’t happen to anybody else in future.”
Viraj added: “The employer isn’t providing a safe working environment…The standards aren’t there. The training is not there.
And it is not a trade union organised workplace. So we are standing up and protesting for our rights. They don’t treat us equally. They don’t value our work. And the jobs we do are very hard.”
“Since my accident three months ago - the company hasn’t said anything about my injuries. Why is the company not helping and supporting me?”
Viraj has not yet shared the news of his accident with his family as he fears they will not be able to cope with the shock.
A spokesperson for Taiko told MyLondon: “As a national food manufacturing business, Taiko takes its health and safety obligations very seriously.
"The wellbeing of our colleagues is paramount. We provide each employee with thorough training and a full supply of PPE, and we ensure that all machinery is well-maintained and has the correct safety features in place.
“This was an incident to which the on site team responded swiftly and efficiently, ensuring our colleague reached hospital as quickly as possible.
"Our colleague will be paid in full for his leave of absence and we have reinstated any annual leave he took following this incident.”
A Waitrose spokesperson said: "Worker welfare is incredibly important to us and we're really concerned to hear about this.
"We are investigating this as a matter of urgency with Taiko."
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “All of the products available to our customers have to be produced in a way that meets our high worker safety and welfare standards.
"We take allegations of this nature very seriously and we are urgently investigating with the manufacturer.”
There are more than 600 employees at the factory, with most earning the National Living Wage of around £9 an hour.
The temperature in the factory is below four degrees, according to the GMB.
Around half of the workforce at the factory is estimated to be from ethnic minority backgrounds with English as a second language.
