In the wake of the building collapse that killed one migrant labourer and left 32 injured, activists have underscored the need to conduct an enumeration of migrant labourers at the earliest.
Geetha Ramakrishnan, all-India additional secretary of the Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam, said, “The State government provides ₹5 lakh to the family of the deceased from the Tamil Nadu Construction Workers Welfare Board. However, we want the Labour Commissioner to provide compensation to the injured, without subjecting the families [of the victims] to procedural delays. This is possible under Section 10 B [of the] Employees Compensation Act.”
Y. Arul Doss, national convenor, National Alliance of People’s Movements, said, “There is no record of how many [migrant] workers there are. Many of them are poorly paid in relation to the number of hours they work.”The enumeration and registration of labourers will help them receive benefits,” he said.
Under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, a cess at the rate of 1% of the construction cost incurred is collected.
“With this money, a lot of welfare measures could be implemented for the migrant workers and their families. In Tamil Nadu, money has been sanctioned for a total of 50 medical vans, to be stationed near major construction sites. However, only three are now operational. Besides, creche facility for the children of migrant labourers and their educational needs have to be fulfilled,” Ms. Geetha said.
Contractors blamed
Officials of the Labour Department said they do conduct awareness programmes for labourers to get them registered with the welfare board.
“However, there is no co-operation from contractors,” said an official.
Meanwhile, the migrant labourers, mostly from Bihar, said it was the lack of employment opportunities in their native places which forced them to look for work as labourers in other States. “We get paid anywhere between ₹250 and ₹700 per day, and we work for 12 hours every day,” said a young labourer at the site.
The living conditions of a majority of such labourers are pathetic. “We stay in tin sheds, and there are no fans. We suffer mosquito bites and toss around in the heat after we return from a hard day’s work,” the labourer said.
