Karnataka - Mangalore   

It is work as usual for labourers on May Day

Savitha Suresh Babu

LIFE GOES ON: For construction workers of Mangalore, May Day was just another day of toil. — Photo: R. Eswarraj

MANGALORE: "What is so special about today? Why shouldn't we work", asked 25-year-old Vasanth as he laid the bricks for the construction of a wall in a city school on Tuesday.

The idea of May Day, when explained, seemed novel to him. "It means we should not work, is it? But, does it apply to everyone? All my other friends are also working", he said. "It would be nice to have a holiday though", he added with a shy smile.

Vasanth and his co-workers Mangalappa and Shankar sweated it out in the sun throughout the day. They rested for an hour in the middle and were paid their daily wages. For them and several other construction workers in the city it was just another day.

The programmes held and speeches made in several places supposedly to protect their interests meant little to them.

B. Madhav, State President of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said there was no law stating that builders should give leave for construction workers in the State. None of the labour laws protect the interests of construction workers. As it is, their living conditions are terrible, he said.

In search of work

Migrant workers from Bijapur and other districts of North Karnataka in search of work, live in poverty and unhygienic conditions. A comprehensive law must be enacted to protect their interests, he said. May Day should be made a paid holiday for all construction workers, he added.

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