In the Courts
Can't Provide Ration Cards To Migrant Workers Beyond Ceiling Limit Provided In Food Security Act : Union To Supreme Court
The Supreme Court on November 26 heard the matter pertaining to giving free ration cards to migrant workers and unskilled labourers found eligible under the e-Shram portal. During the hearing, the Union Government submitted that they have an obligation to provide ration cards only under the mandated regime of the National Food Security Act, 2013(NFSA) which provides a coverage limit on the number of people who could be provided with free rations. Therefore, they cannot provide ration cards breaching the upper ceiling as provided in the legislation.
Cannot deny gig workers’ rights under guise of policy decision: SC tells govt
The Supreme Court on Tuesday told the Union government that labour and social security rights for gig workers and app-based service providers cannot be denied under the guise of a “policy decision” if a statutory regime provides for such protections. A bench comprising justices Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra expressed displeasure over the Centre’s delay in filing a response to a 2020 petition seeking social security measures.
Formulate proposal to address inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers: Supreme Court to Centre
The Supreme Court on Thursday (November 21, 2024) directed the Centre to hold a meeting with all the States and Union Territories and formulate a proposal to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers, including minors. The apex court observed the problem was in the disbursal of immediate financial assistance to the rescued children as in some cases minors were taken from their home states and forced into bonded labour in adjoining States.
Farm News
4 years of farmers' protest: SKM, trade unions stage demonstrations across country
New Delhi: A nationwide mass mobilisation of famers and workers commemorated the fourth anniversary of the year-long farmers' protest against three central farm laws on Tuesday. A million people took part after a call by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) and the Joint Platform of Central Trade Unions and Independent Sectoral Federations and Associations, the two organisations said in a joint statement. The three farm laws were later repealed due to the agitation in 2020-21. A joint memorandum was also sent to President Droupadi Murmu by CTUs and SKM.
Ahead of hunger strike, Punjab Police detain farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal at Khanauri border
Jagjit Singh Dallewal of the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non-political) announced he would sit on a fast unto death from November 26, the fourth anniversary of the farmers’ protest. Hours before he had to start his fast-unto-death protest the Patiala police on Tuesday took him to a hospital in Ludhiana.
In Punjab’s Grain Mandis, the Afterlife of the Farm Protests is Playing Out
Three years after the withdrawal of the controversial farm laws and following a historic farmers’ protest, Punjab’s farms are making news again. This time, it is because there is an unprecedented crisis in the procurement of paddy from the mandis, the regulated wholesale markets of the state. Rice procument by the state in Punjab’s regulated markets has plummeted this year. In the mundane details of grain purchases lie hidden and fraught centre-state relations and reforms by stealth.
US farm groups want Trump to spare their workers from deportation
WASHINGTON, - U.S. farm industry groups want President-elect Donald Trump to spare their sector from his promise of mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain heavily dependent on immigrants in the United States illegally… Nearly half of the nation's approximately 2 million farm workers lack legal status, according to the departments of Labour and Agriculture, as well as many dairy and meatpacking workers.
Benefits for Workers
How Indian companies are becoming more childcare-friendly for employees
India Inc has seen a significant rise in childcare and parental benefits as companies increasingly recognize the importance of supporting working parents. A recent survey shows that structured daycare benefit plans, once uncommon, are now implemented by 90% of companies surveyed—up from 30% in just two years, a TOI report stated. These changes align with the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act of 2017, which mandates daycare facilities for employers with over 50 employees.
Women in the Workforce
Telangana Police welcomes largest-ever batch of women constables
The 2,338 women, the highest in Telangana’s history, were among the 8,047 Stipendiary Cadet Trainee Police Constables (SCTPCs) who graduated
2 city cops reunite 104 missing kids with their families in 9 months
Two Delhi police head constables, Seema Devi and Suman Hooda pulled off a commendable feat in tracing 104 missing children in the last nine months. They travelled to remote areas in Haryana, Bihar and UP to find the children, aged 4-17 and reunite them with their families.
News from States
Uttar Pradesh govt likely to set up corporation for outsourced, contractual staff
The Uttar Pradesh government is contemplating setting up a new corporation to deal with the issues concerning outsourced and contractual employees and bring about an improvement in the wages paid to them, besides the conditions linked to their services in Uttar Pradesh. The state government engages about 10 to 12 lakh contractual and outsourced employees in different departments.
Bonded Labour : Supreme Court Asks Union To Hold Meeting With States, NHRC On Inter-State Trafficking, Child Labour Issues
The Court also raised alarm at the fact that over 4000 rescued bonded labourers in Uttar Pradesh have not received financial assistance.
A snapshot of distress migration in Odisha
An estimated 1.75 million people moved from Odisha to other States in 2023, many of them driven by distress and desperation. Last month, the Odisha government set up a special task force to look into distress migration, which is defined by the World Bank as involuntary movement due to poverty or disasters. The task force aims to provide recommendations and targeted intervention measures, including infrastructure improvement and department-specific schemes. A significant challenge for the special task force will be the lack of robust data.
Working Conditions
At Maharashtra schools, unending wait for salary after four-year no-earning period
Grant-in-aid schools are schools set up by private trusts that are run with government money. But, under a four-decade-old state government policy, these schools have to wait four years to be recognised and begin receiving the grants. Ten teachers had to wait two decades at a school here to become eligible to receive even a paltry 20 per cent of their salary
Travails of Fisherfolk
Eviction and Displacement: Fisherwomen of Chennai’s Nochikuppam Face Livelihood Crisis
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) released an order on October 18 to evict the Nochikuppam fish market located on Loop Road, a southward extension of Marina Beach Road, which urged the vendors to sell fish only inside the premises of the newly built market…The proximity of the new market to the previous location masks the violent uprooting, barricading and undermining of the community’s connection to the seashore and to other social groups.
Reports
Examining the Intersections of Gender, Labour and Capital in Karnataka's Apparels Export Industry
Between 2022 and 2024, Cividep India undertook a two-year-long study to understand women’s labour at production sites and in their households. The global garment supply chain, particularly the ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Karnataka (Bengaluru and Mysuru), was our focus. We followed the lives of 184 women garment workers (both intra-state and inter-state migrants), tracing their lives from their natal homes to their matrimonial households and workplaces.
Exploited Workers
How a Union govt survey allows states to fraudulently declare they are manual scavenging free
The surveyors are directed to upload clear, solo photographs of manual scavengers engaged in this dehumanising labour following a set of exhausting guidelines. … how are states able to claim they are manual scavenging-free? The answer lies in a digital survey by the Union government that is underway in several states, which asks for proof to the workers that they do manual scavenging, including photos…The other major legal loophole is the definition of ‘manual scavenging’ and ‘hazardous cleaning’.
Labour Laws
Five states not ready with draft rule on three Labour Codes: Labour Minister Shobha Karandlaje
Parliament was informed that some states lag in pre-publishing draft rules for labour codes. The central government has already held consultations. Four states/UTs need to address the Wage Code. Five states/UTs need to address the Industrial Relations, Social Security, and Occupational Safety codes. Meetings are being held to assist them. These codes simplify 29 existing laws into four.
Meagre Wages
Real wages grew just 0.01% over the last 5 years and contracted in Haryana & UP, Ind-Ra report finds
India Ratings & Research's report, based on govt data, also points to the deteriorating quality of jobs in the country, including more self-employed and informal workers.
Work In Progress: A Cividep India Podcast (Episode 1 with Dr. Supriya RoyChowdhury)
The inaugural episode of the Work in Progress podcast looks at the wage disparity in detail to better understand the struggles of workers like Sheela. Dr. Supriya RoyChowdhury, Visiting Professor at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru, and author of Cividep India’s recent research report, The Home and the World of Work, explains how wage disparity remains a critical issue. Despite the 2019 Code on Wages, most garment workers remain underpaid, trapped in cycles of economic hardship.
Mobilising Workers
Arrests, FIRs, Raids: The Perils Of Fighting For Labour Rights In India’s Industrial Hubs
Bengaluru: On 5 September, the anti-terror cell of the Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru police arrested Anirudh Rajan, a labour rights activist and president of the Manesar General Mazdoor Sangh (MGMS), a labour organisation based in Haryana’s Manesar. Investigators charged Rajan with being an active member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and for acting as a courier for the organisation
Battling Air Pollution
Construction in Delhi halted for 10 days now, workers pay the price: ‘Ban comes year after year, but there’s no support for us’
An estimated 1 lakh to 1.5 lakh workers have been affected by the ban and work across 600 construction sites has been stopped, said social activist and Executive Director of Centre for Holistic Development Sunil Kumar Aledia.
Construction workers to get compensation
A day after #SupremeCourt asked all NCR states to extend financial help to construction workers who are facing hardship due to the ban on construction activities, Delhi government issued instructions to the chief secretary and labour department to compensate them for loss of work. Sources said on Tuesday the compensation will be computed on the basis of minimum wages determined by Delhi govt and will correspond to the number of days construction activities remain suspended.
Over 400 sites failed inspection this month
New Delhi: Cracking down on construction sites violating pollution norms even after the enforcement of stages III and IV of the Grade Response Action Plan, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi said it had inspected over 5,500 construction sites this month till Nov 25, identifying 420 sites as noncompliant with dust mitigation guidelines.
Year after year: construction ban a blow to workers, industry livelihood
… Construction activities in the city are restricted whenever air pollution reaches a high. But cessation of work affects both the building industry's financial health and the labourers' lives. The constant disruption in work schedules, coupled with the challenge of frequently assembling a workforce, causes the project cost to balloon.