The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Release families of bonded labourers from rice mills'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Oct 05, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

`Release families of bonded labourers from rice mills'

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, OCT. 4. A five-member panel, at the public hearing on bonded labourers in rice mills at Red Hills, today called on the State Government to release all the families involved in bonded labour and rehabilitate them.

Led by the chairperson, National Commission for Women, Poornima Advani, the panel demanded the release of the bonded labourers (numbering nearly 12,000) in the rice mills in the area, under the provisions of the Bonded Labour Act, the Factories Act and secure arrears under the Minimum Wages Act. Speaking to presspersons here, Dr. Advani said the panel members were convinced that there was debt bondage, physical bondage, violation of the Minimum Wages Act, sale of labourers, physical and sexual harassment. "The NCW has concluded that it is a case of serious violation of human rights and labour laws."

After labouring through 20 representations from those who managed to escape from bondage, the panelists found that the labourers were over worked, underpaid and forcibly confined to the premises of the mill, apart from being held to sums of money they could never hope to repay. Long working hours and exacting nature of work that led to exhaustion and frequent illness were also documented.

"We were told that the women are not even allowed to leave the mill for delivery. They are forced to work merely days after childbirth," Dr. Advani said.

Testimonies of children

She said the testimonies of children who deposed at the public hearing was moving — they complained they were beaten up, forced to work and denied access to education, weeping bitterly. The panel, in its recommendations, also said the State should provide compulsory education for about 5,000 children living in the rice mills at Red Hills.

The labourers claimed that they were paid around Rs. 15 for nearly 19 hours of hard work, while the stipulation as per the Act was Rs. 86.28 a day for eight hours of work. Providing an insight on this aspect, Swami Agnivesh, president, Bonded Labour Liberation Front, said as per the Supreme Court judgment of 1983, even non-payment of minimum wages amounted to bonded labour.

He further urged the National Human Rights Commission to constitute a special cell comprising eminent retired judges, social workers and bureaucrats to address the issues of bonded and bonded child labourers.

The panelists, including Vasanthi Devi, chairperson, State Commission for Women; Sarala Gopalan, retired bureaucrat, and A. Ramamoorthy, retired judge, expressed unhappiness at the attitude of the district administration at the public hearing. "The lower level staff are even unaware of the provisions of the law and its interpretation, indicating that an orientation programme should be organised for the Government staff on laws relevant to bonded labour," Dr. Advani said.

"It is unfortunate that we should notice such grave violations and reluctance to implement the law to benefit the weaker sections, a few weeks short of the 29th anniversary of the promulgation of the Bonded Labour Act (October 25)."

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