Nidan, a voluntary organisation working for informal workers, women and children, organised a day-long workshop in Delhi on Saturday to discuss issues related to human rights violation faced by marginalised sections of society such as working poor, women and children.
The workshop also discussed how to develop strategies for intervention and outreach to protect those rights. Among the participants were representatives of informal sector workers organisations, women rights groups and resource centres, child rights organisations and networks, government departments as well as national and international development agencies.
There was representation from the marginalised sections as well. Workers across the spectrum including construction, domestic and agriculture to those enrolled in projects under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme shared their perspective on rights violation and narrated how such violations have a bearing on their livelihood, dignity and social identity. Street vendors and waste pickers from different parts of the country also shared their experiences.
A collage of contrasts
Nidan director Arbind Singh explaining the agenda and context of the national workshop said: “The cities and towns of our country present a very curious collage of contrasts. We often say that the cities and towns are growing and so are the economies and social development profile, but the fact remains that the working poor still face severe rights violations. Such violations badly impact the right to social dignity in employment.”
“The international treaties, the Indian Constitution and the law of the land make secured and dignified livelihood, health, education, non-discrimination and child protection the fundamental human rights, but the informal workers, the women and the children struggle hard to reclaim these rights. We all have to ensure that such disturbing contrasts should not persist. Effective intervention and outreach strategies need to be firmed up to check and counter the continuing vulnerability and marginalisation of the poor and vulnerable, such as informal workers, women and children,” said Mr. Singh.
Whistleblowers
Nidan also announced plans to develop a pool of community-based rights violations whistleblowers and run legal literacy and legal aid programmes for informal workers, women and children in Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Rajasthan.
Under this, legal aid clinics would be opened in the areas of informal sector workers. The organisation would also develop a comprehensive guide book on legal literacy and legal aid aimed at making the poor and vulnerable aware on their Constitutional, legal and labour rights and enabling them to pursue their cases of rights violations in a more effective manner.
