Skip to main content

35 lakh Gujarat tribal migrants' freedom sought from "bondage-type" condition ahead of state assembly polls

By Our Representative
With an eye on influencing 27 reserved tribal of the Gujarat state assembly, three non-political organizations have together under the banner of Sthalantarit Adivasi Shramik Manch (SASM), putting up one-and-a-half dozen demands, insisting on steps to the taken to "free" migrant tribal workers from the allegedly bonded-like condition, both in cities and in rural areas.
Talking with newspersons in the presence of tens of tribal migrant workers, who have been working on construction sites in Ahmedabad, Vipul Pandya, who heads Bandhkam Majur Sangathan (BMS), said, the Supreme Court has clearly defined as to whom should one call bonded workers.
"A labourer is under bondage under the following four conditions: Absence of freedom to choose one's employment, denial of freedom to relinquish one's employment whenever desired, debt bondage, and less than minimum wage payment. Migrant workers are brought by contractors to cities to work on construction or brick kiln sites, or on agricultural fields. Many of them fullfil these criteria for being identified as bonded workers", Pandya said.
"The contractors pay a sum of Rs 15,000 or so as advance to a migrant workers' family to work on urban sites or agricultural farms. They are bound by the contractor's condition not to leave the job for the period from which they should work. While the contractor tells these families that they would be paid rest of the amount after the completion of the period of work, this is seldom done. The amount get is less than the minimum wages", Pandya said.
Apart from BMS, the two other migrant workers who have joined to form a common platform are Aajeevika Bureau and Majoor Adhikar Manch.
Claiming to be an influential force among the approximately 35 lakh migrant workers, most of whom come from the eastern tribal belt, SASM's yet another major is for having a separate legal redressal cell with judicial powers at the district level to deal with disputes related to minimum wages, non-payment of wages, caste-based discrimination, sexual harassments and violence, accidents and accidental deaths.
Then, SASM wants setting up of a 24x7 labour helpline to register cases and provide immediate relief to migrants in distress and bondage; relief of Rs 3,00,000 in case of accidental deaths through the Chief Minister’s funds; social security for families in their home villages; and provision of ration under the National Food Security Act, (wheat at Rs 2, Rice at Rs 3) through food coupons or mobile ration shops at the work site.
SASM has also demanded provision of 200 days of employment to women tribal migrants at the source villages through better implementation of MGNREGA, temporary labour colonies with basic facilities such as water, sanitation, health and education neasr the site of work, waiver of charges for luggage and children while migrating in buses; onsite educational facilities for children; and payment of wages directly in individual bank accounts.
Apart from this, Pandya said, "We are going to represent before the Election Commission to allow voting rights in the cities or rural areas where the tribals migrate to work. If NRIs are sought to be given voting rights, why not these workers, who build others' houses yet are landless."
Pandya further said, "We have come to know that Rs 1,700 crore under the Gujarat Building and other Construction Worker Welfare Board. Instead using these funds for the benefit of migrant workers, including their housing, health and nutrition, the state government has been using it, for instance, for housing sites of metro workers on Ahmedabad. This is especially unfortunate when most migrant workers don't have basic housing, and are forcibly removed from even the shanties where they live."
Talking with newspersons, migrant workers pointed towards how they live in inhuman conditions in cities. One of them, Anandiben, said that the authorities in Ahmedabad have forced her family, as well as others, to be moved from one place to another four times over the last two decades, but they have been refused a respectable place to live. "Currently we live on footpath in the Thaltej area, for which we must pay Rs 2,000 per month to a local strongman", she added.

Comments

TRENDING

Importance of Bangladesh for India amidst 'growing might' of China in South Asia

By Samara Ashrat*  The basic key factor behind the geopolitical importance of Bangladesh is its geographical location. The country shares land borders with Myanmar and India. Due to its geographical position, Bangladesh is a natural link between South Asia and Southeast Asia.  The country is also a vital geopolitical ally to India, in that it has the potential to facilitate greater integration between Northeast India and Mainland India. Not only that, due to its open access to the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh has become significant to both China and the US.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

'BBC film shows only tip of iceberg': Sanjiv Bhatt's daughter speaks at top US press club

By Our Representative   The United States' premier journalists' organisation, the National Press Club (NPC), has come down heavily on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recent "attacks on journalists in India." Speaking at the screening of an episode of the BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question,” banned in India, in the club premises, NPC President Eileen O’Reilly said, “Since Modi came to power we have watched with frustration and disappointment as his regime has suppressed the rights of its citizens to a free and independent news media."

Chinese pressure? Left stateless, Rohingya crisis result of Myanmar citizenship law

By Dr Shakuntala Bhabani*  A 22-member team of Myanmar immigration officials visited Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar to verify more than 400 Rohingya refugees as part of a pilot repatriation project. Does it hold out any hope for the forcibly displaced people to return to their ancestral homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar? Only time will tell.

China ties up with India, Bangladesh to repatriate Rohingyas; Myanmar unwilling

By Harunur Rasid*  We now have a new hope, thanks to news reports that were published in the Bangladeshi dailies recently. Myanmar has suddenly taken initiatives to repatriate Rohingyas. As part of this initiative, diplomats from eight countries posted in Yangon were flown to Rakhine last week. Among them were diplomats from Bangladesh, India and China.

Natural farming: Hamirpur leads the way to 'huge improvement' in nutrition, livelihood

By Bharat Dogra*  Santosh is a dedicated farmer who along with his wife Chunni Devi worked very hard in recent months to convert a small patch of unproductive land into a lush green, multi-layer vegetable garden. This has ensured year-round supply of organically grown vegetables to his family as well as fetched several thousand rupees in cash sales.

Over-stressed? As Naveen Patnaik turns frail, Odisha 'moves closer' to leadership crisis

By Sudhansu R Das  Not a single leader in Odisha is visible in the horizon who can replace Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. He has ruled Odisha for nearly two and half decades. His father, Biju Patnaik, had built Odisha; he was a daring pilot who saved the life of Indonesia’s Prime Minister Sjahrir and President Sukarno when the Dutch army blocked their exit.

Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Ban Ki-moon, others ask Bangladesh PM to 'protect' Yunus

Counterview Desk  A campaign has been launched to support Bangladesh-based economist, micro-finance guru and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, seeking signatures from citizens across the globe in order to “protect” his work, life and safety.

Electricity sharing opens up new window for India’s eastern neighbourhood engagement

By Sufian Asif* Today, challenges like climate change, pandemics, energy reliance, economic crisis, and many more are concerning us. No nation can overcome these obstacles without the assistance and collaboration of other nations. Most importantly, many of these problems have international repercussions. South Asia is facing much more difficulty when compared to other regions. In South Asia, we have some regional organizations, but they are ineffective.