Source: asianews.it<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Andhra Pradesh High Court sets compensation at more than US$ 28,000 for two men from Odisha who wanted to improve their lot. The “informal” nature of migrant labour favours exploitation and employers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Delhi (AsiaNews) \u2013 Two workers had their right hand chopped off\n after they refused to work at a brick kiln for Rs.14,000 (US$ 195) paid\n in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two men were part of a group of 12 who refused to work when they \nfound out that the labour contractor wanted them to work at a brick kiln\n in a different place than they had agreed to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whilst ten escaped, the two victims \u2013 Nilambara Dhangda Majhi and \nPialu Dhangada Majhi \u2013 had their hand chopped off by the angry \ncontractor and his henchmen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lenin Raghuvanshi, Dalit activist and executive director of the \nPeoples’ Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) in Varanasi, spoke \nto AsiaNews<\/em> about the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latter dates back to December 2013. Yesterday, “the Andhra \nPradesh High Court ruled that they (the victims) are entitled to \ncompensation,\u201d a satisfied Raghuvanshi said. \u201cThey will be rewarded two \nmillion rupees (US$ 28,000), a huge sum for two poor workers.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the activist, the story of the two workers “is a serious\n and heinous human rights violation of the most marginalised people and \nof migrant workers”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the time of the attack, Nilambara and Pialu were 35 and 30 years \nold respectively. Both came from the Kalahandi district in Odisha \n(Orissa). They had accepted a job in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh to \nimprove their lot. However, the labour contractor, Parbesh Parmedundi, \ntook them to Raipur, Chhattisgarh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon learning of the change, the workers refused. Ten workers managed\n to flee, Nilambara and Pialu did not. On the trip home to recover the \nadvance money, Parbesh and his henchmen got drunk, lost control, and \nchopped off the victims\u2019 right hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right after the incident, Raghuvanshi took up the case and filed a \ncomplaint with the National Human Rights Commission, which was closed in\n 2016 when the case went to trial before the Andhra Pradesh High Court \nfollowing police filing a case against the contractor and his \naccomplices. The latter were eventually released on bail but their trial\n is still ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “We demand the strict implementation of the Labour Bonded Act, the \nInterstate Migration Act and a speedy investigation,\u201d said the activist,\n who added that \u201cthe government should advocate the case in court on \nbehalf of the survivors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Slavery was an established institution in ancient India,\u201d \nRaghuvanshi explained. It \u201cwas abolished in the possessions of the East \nIndia Company by the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n At present, modern slavery is \u201can umbrella term which refers to \nsituations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because \nof threats, violence, coercion, deception, and abuse of power.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It includes \u201cdebt bondage, where a person is forced to work for free \nto pay off a debt; child slavery, forced marriage, domestic servitude \nand forced labour; where victims are made to work through violence and \nintimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n India\u2019s agricultural sector employs 62.7 per cent of the rural \npopulation. However, \u201cchanging environmental patterns in the eastern \nstate of Odisha, such as irregular rainfall, frequent droughts, and \ndeforestation, have resulted in the destruction of traditional \nlivelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the PVCHR director, \u201cThe lack of employment opportunities and the\n need to seek alternative sources of income force people to migrate to \nother states within India in search of work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeeking work in brick kilns across the country has become a common \nphenomenon,\u201d he noted. In fact, \u201cIt is reported that in certain brick \nkilns accepting a wage advance from a contractor, who acts as an \nintermediary between the kiln owner and the worker, is seen as a \nmandatory step to accepting a job\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Debts and the “informal” nature of the work mean that, \u201cWith no \nrecords or contracts maintained, there is no accountability to hold \nemployers responsible for any exploitation, making informal workers \nhighly vulnerable to exploitative practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the end, \u201cIndian migrant workers, who move seasonally from rural \nvillages to the cities in search of work opportunities, have limited \naccess to support and redress in cases of exploitation\u201d. (A.C.F.)<\/p>\n