The Jharkhand government on Saturday sent about 1,648 migrant labourers to work in the projects of the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) — a step towards institutionalising labour movement.
These workers will be deployed in the BRO projects Vijayak and Himank being taken up in Leh - Ladakh and other regions along the India-China border.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren flagged off a special train carrying labourers in the presence of the BRO officials at the district headquarters town Dumka. More trains are scheduled to leave Dumka and adjoining areas after the completion of the workers’ registration process.
“The State government is expecting that all migrant workers should be engaged as per the provisions of the labour laws and there should not be any role of middlemen. The monthly remittance should be transferred directly to the bank accounts of the labourers,” said Mr. Soren.
He said these workers would contribute to national security.
Earlier, Rajeshwari B, Deputy Commissioner of Dumka, held elaborate discussions on the recruitment process with the BRO officials. The district administration raised the welfare of the workers, payment procedures and compensation. A terms of reference was signed between the State Labour department and the BRO in the presence of the Jharkhand CM.
Annually, the BRO employs approximately one lakh workers for its construction projects. Of this, around 60,000 workers are employed locally and the rest through hiring migrant labourers. Approximately, 12,000 to 15,000 workers from Dumka, Deoghar, Pakur and other parts of the State work in the BRO projects every year. They help open up road networks in difficult terrains such as Zozila, Rohtang and other strategic projects.
During the COVID-19 lockdown, the government recorded that 8 lakh migrant labourers from Jharkhand were stranded in other States including many in the BRO projects. They had faced a lot of hardship while returning home. Thousands had lost jobs. Following the initiative of Mr. Soren, some migrant workers were also air-lifted from Leh.
With the active involvement of the Block Development Officers, unskilled workers had registered themselves to work in the BRO projects. Labourers have been engaged as per the “Jharkhand Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Rules 1980”.
Anil Kumar, Additional DGP of the BRO, made a courtesy call to Jharkhand CM and briefed him about the activities of the BRO on Thursday.
To ensure compliance of all labour and workforce norms and safeguard the workers’ rights and interests, an MoU will be signed between the BRO and the Jharkhand Labour department after the concurrence of the Ministry of Defence.
