The Hindu : New Delhi News : `Most unorganised workers in NCR are bonded labourers'

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Saturday, Dec 02, 2006
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`Most unorganised workers in NCR are bonded labourers'

Staff Reporter

One can imagine the situation in other parts: Agnivesh

NEW DELHI: There are nearly 35 lakh workers in the unorganised sector in the National Capital Region of Delhi, of which a whopping 90 per cent are bonded labourers, social activist Swami Agnivesh claimed here on Friday.

"As of today, the unorganised sector in Delhi and NCR employs about 35 lakh people and most of them fall in the category of `bonded labour'. If this is the situation in the national Capital, then one can easily imagine how grave the conditions are in other parts of the country," he said after releasing a report, "Bonded Labourers: Survey and Rehabilitation", on the eve of the International Day for Abolition of Slavery. According to the report, compiled by Bandhua Mukti Morcha headed by Swami Agnivesh, 88 per cent of 16,037 male labourers interviewed during the survey admitted that they did not receive the minimum wages for their work, while among the women the figure was as high as 98.4 per cent.

"As per the Supreme Court, if a labourer is not getting minimum wages, then it is not only a violation of the Minimum Wages Act, 1984, but also a violation of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976," he added.

Swami Agnivesh, who submitted his report to the Sheila Dikshit Government over three months ago, pointed out that even though all the 35 lakh labourers were migrant workers, not a "single person was getting any benefit under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen's Act".

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