Exploitation, fear? Rights group takes Hazira 'labour violations' to NHRC after fatal suicide

By A Representative

A fact-finding mission conducted by the Centre for Protection of Democratic Rights and Secularism (CPDRS) in the of Surat, Gujarat, has revealed serious allegations of human rights abuses, including excessive use of force by police against protesting workers, systemic wage delays, and the implementation of .

The findings, compiled in a detailed submission to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), highlight the precarious conditions faced by thousands of employed in major construction and steel expansion projects in the region. The CPDRS team, comprising Dr. Jharna Pathak and Bhavik Raja, conducted on-ground documentation following the violent incidents that erupted in late .

According to the submission, tensions escalated sharply during a labour protest at a major heavy engineering complex, where workers had gathered to demand resolution of long-standing grievances related to unpaid wages, excessive working hours, and wage revisions. Official records from the police complaint reveal the scale of the confrontation, with authorities registering a case against approximately 4,000 to 5,000 workers and arresting 40 individuals on charges including attempted murder. The First Information Report states that police were forced to use 36 rounds of teargas shells, 10 rounds of firing in the air, and four riot control hand grenades to disperse what they described as a violent mob that pelted stones and iron pipes, causing injuries to several policemen and damaging property including blast furnaces and steel melting shops.

Witnesses and local residents who spoke to the CPDRS team described the protest as initially peaceful, focused on demands for an eight-hour work shift, double overtime rates, and basic amenities such as drinking water and clean toilets. The rights group has raised serious concerns regarding the proportionality and necessity of such force against what they maintain was fundamentally a labour dispute, despite the police version of events citing widespread violence and vandalism.

Central to the workers' grievances are allegations of chronic delays in the payment of wages. Investigators from CPDRS documented that many workers had not received their previous month's salary, with individual dues reportedly ranging between ₹18,000 and ₹25,000. For the predominantly migrant workforce—many of whom hail from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan and live in cramped rented rooms in the nearby Mora village—such delays create crippling economic distress, leaving them unable to support their families or meet basic subsistence needs.

Compounding the financial exploitation are reports of excessively long working hours. The fact-finding team noted attempts by contractors and management to normalize 12-hour shifts, a practice that rights groups argue severely violates established labour standards. They emphasized that such extended hours, often without adequate overtime compensation or mandated rest periods, pose significant risks to occupational safety.

In high-risk sectors like steel production and heavy engineering, worker fatigue dramatically increases the likelihood of industrial accidents, endangering not only the workers but also the surrounding communities.

The submission also highlighted the extreme vulnerability of the migrant labour force, which is employed through a complex web of contractors. This fragmented employment structure leads to a lack of transparency and accountability, leaving workers with little to no job security and in constant fear of retaliation, making them hesitant to voice grievances.

This climate of fear was starkly illustrated by the reported suicide of a Sikh worker residing in Mora village. Fellow workers alleged that the man took his own life due to an overwhelming fear of arrest following the police action. While the submission calls for an independent verification of this tragic incident, it underscores the profound psychological distress and anxiety pervading the worker community in the aftermath of the protests.

Drawing on constitutional protections and international human rights standards, the CPDRS submission invokes , which guarantees the right to life with dignity—interpreted by the Supreme Court to include the right to humane working conditions.

It also cites Article 23, which prohibits forced labour and exploitation. The report further references international norms, including the and , which enshrine the right to just and favourable work conditions, reasonable limitation of working hours, and the protection of wages.

In light of these findings, the Centre for Protection of Democratic Rights and Secularism has urgently appealed to the NHRC to intervene. They have requested a court-monitored inquiry into the police action to assess its proportionality, a thorough investigation into the systemic wage delays and the imposition of 12-hour shifts, and a probe into the circumstances surrounding the worker's suicide.

The appeal also seeks a broader examination of the human rights implications of extended working hours in hazardous industries and calls for directives to the Gujarat government and industrial units to ensure accountability and strict enforcement of labour laws to uphold the dignity and safety of workers in the Hazira Industrial Area.

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