MANGALORE: Mangalore is experiencing a spurt in construction activities, and with it a growth in trade union consciousness amongst construction workers. National trade unions like the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and Karnataka State Construction Workers Federation (affiliated to CITU) are, in anticipation of the State Government's promise to float a construction workers' welfare fund, collecting data pertaining to construction workers. The city also happens to have the largest number of construction workers next only to Bangalore in Karnataka.

According to sources in the three unions, most of them come under unorganised conditions working for very low salaries and in hazardous working and living conditions provided by their employers. According to estimation by the District Labour Office, the city has over 45,000 construction workers. At least 25 per cent are under-employed at any point of time. Almost 60 per cent are migrant labourers.

According the State general secretary of the AITUC H.V. Anantha Subba Rao there are about 15 lakh construction workers in the State, the largest number next only to Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Mr. Subba Rao told The Hindu that the AITUC would constitute district-level units of the construction workers. Before this they will try to chart the areas in Dakshina Kannada where construction workers are camping. The construction industry is concentrated in Bangalore urban and rural districts, Hubli, Mysore, Mangalore and Gulburga. The new labour laws the Government is proposing to bring in will go against the interests of the unorganised sector industries such as construction, beedi and transport, which largely employ casual labourer. Mr. Rao said the recent statement of the State Labour Minister Iqbal Ansari about floating a labour welfare fund for construction workers, though far from adequate, was at least a modest beginning towards giving benefits to the workers. The AITUC was also monitoring the lack of safety features on construction sites particularly multi-storied buildings, hazardous chemical factory premises and sites that have loose soil. Data on the living conditions in the workers camps including the lack of water, electricity, toilets, schools and aanganwadis was being collected. Maternity benefits for the women and other social security measures for the workers are on the proposed charter of the workers welfare fund.

The CITU Karnataka unit has also taken up the demand for drafting a charter on construction workers as a follow up of the sixth national conference of the construction workers held at Himachal Pradesh in September last.

State President of the CITU B. Madhava told The Hindu that the 14-point agenda that had been prepared by the CITU had been forwarded to the Union Labour Minister Oscar Fernandes. Mr. Madhava expressed concern over the arrival of large construction companies in the country which may or may not adhere to the labour rules and acts in the country. He feared that the construction lobby had a large political support and was backed by huge funding. How far the Government would be able to sustain pressures from the construction industries was a matter to be observed, he added.

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