Migrant workers who lack local address proof deprived of basic rights, facilities

Tamil Nadu has at least 10 lakh migrant workers in various sectors such as textile, manufacturing, construction and hospitality but a majority of them are unregistered. As per the State Labour Department officials, there are 23,000 construction migrant workers registered, whereas those in other professions such as manufacturing and textiles are often not registered.

Most of them are deprived of their rights as they do not possess local address proof. Among them, many women lack proper healthcare facilities and a large number of their children drop out of schools every year, while some of them are not provided with neither proper accommodation nor food.

In January 2015, a 22-year-old worker died after he falling off a scaffolding at the Chennai Metro Rail construction site in Meenambakkam. In another instance, in 2017, an iron-rod structure used to make pillars at the underground stations fell on another worker causing severe injuries to his head. At least seven migrant workers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Orissa suffered injuries and five of them died in five years.

The scenario remains the same even now as migrant workers say that some of them are not provided with helmets, shoes and safety belts when working on construction sites. “Helmets are provided, but not to all workers. It’s given out to people based on the nature of their work,” said Nikhil Kumar, a migrant worker from Uttar Pradesh, who is working at the metro construction site currently. “The helmets, however, are not protective against heavy metal structures used at construction site. As the construction site is spread over a large space, contractors often give it a miss. There is also the risk of electrocution,” Nikhil added.

A survey carried out on 730 migrant workers in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur last year revealed that migrant workers are underpaid and deprived of housing and healthcare. Though the workers in hotels, brick kilns and construction businesses are promised accommodation, but these places lack basic amenities and do not offer proper shade.

“There are tin shades that are kept adjacent to each other and as shade for accommodation. We do not have proper facility for drinking water or for cooking. We use water from hand pumps and cook using wood. As most of our work is seasonal, the authorities do not think too much about our needs,” said Dharmendra, a worker from Bihar.

For the workers employed in brick kilns, agricultural units and manufacturing units, they are provided with basic accommodation facilities, however, education and healthcare remains out of their reach.

“We cannot afford to send our children to private schools and children face language issues if they are sent to government schools. So we make them work along with us and help us earn a better living. We go to government hospitals for treatment but we are not given any insurance cover because we are not eligible as we do not have local ID proof,” said Raj Kumar, a worker from Uttar Pradesh.

Language barrier also is a major hurdle for these workers as they cannot seek help from local trade unions, non-governmental organisations and other authorities in the State. Sharon, who works for the rescue of bonded labourers along with the International Justice Mission, says that at least 50 per cent of the bonded labourers rescued by the authorities are migrant workers and language remains a challenge when they seek help.

“Most of the children who accompany their parents are school drop outs and they do not have any facility to join schools here. As they are not registered with the labour department, they are not provided healthcare facilities. They also face problems in renting houses because they do not possess local address proof,” added Sharon.

A large number of workers suffer physical assault, psychological and verbal abuse, but are forced to work more than 10 hours a day and are not even paid for overtime.

“Although we are entitled to provident fund and access to health care, there are times we do not even get our weekly offs. If we take even one day’s leave, the contractors deduct our pay,” said Sonu Sudarshan, a migrant worker from West Bengal, who works at a construction site in Alandur.

“We do not know who can help us and if our complaints will be considered by them because we are from another State. If our contractors get to know that we are trying to file a complaint against them, they would assault us verbally and physically. They scold us if our women fall ill and ask for leave. If we make any small mistake, they abuse us verbally and even beat up our children,” he added.

When contacted, senior officials of the State Labour Department said that if the migrant workers are registered, they are given various facilities such as education opportunities, health insurance, accident relief, maternity aid and other financial assistance.

“Once the migrant workers are registered and they are given the registration card, a financial aid of maximum Rs 8,000 for health care and insurance by the state government. Rs 3,000 is given for maternity help, free access to Amma canteens, accident relief up to Rs 1 lakh, and Rs 6,000 for marriages is granted by the labour department,” said T Kumaran, additional commissioner of Labour Department.

“The secretary of the department is also conducting classes to teach Tamil to these workers for basic communication needs with the locals,” he added.