- Group of landless Dalit workers who left for their homes in Janjgir Champa in Chhattisgarh, including 25 minors arrived in Delhi after fleeing from brick kilns in Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir.
- They protested at Jammu and Kashmir Bhawan and Chhattisgarh Bhawan to demand rehabilitation under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976 as they were :
- coerced to work for 8 months.
- They were promised an ‘advance’ of Rs.30,000 per couple and Rs.500 per thousand bricks but were not paid
- The workers from Rajouri alleged that :
- The protesters were not allowed by the officials inside the Chhattisgarh Bhawan building.
- Zero FIRs against their employer BBK brick kiln owner and the District Magistrate of Rajouri in Jammu & Kashmir.
- Verbal reassurance was given but no action taken.
- Earlier National Human Rights Commission Chairperson Justice Balkrishna served a notice on Rajouri DM responding to complaints filed by NGO Action Aid activists.
- The National Dalit Movement for Justice (NCDHR), Delhi Domestic Workers Forum, Dhani Om Charitable society, and Sarvadharma Sansad supported the workers’ protest.
- They are agitating for ‘release certificate’ which entitles those rescued from forced labour to a support grant of Rs.20,000 and State assistance to acquire land or skill-based alternate means of livelihood under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) (BLA) Act 1976.
- Read at: http://www.thehindu.com/
todays-paper/tp-national/tp- newdelhi/brick-kiln-workers- head-back-home-without-much- assurance/article6051489.ece
Exams Perspective:
- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
- Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976
- Article 24