Thousands of workers from the State migrate to other States in search of work; some of them are paid low wages and exploited, alleged activists at a workshop held here on Tuesday.
The HDF-cDAR jointly with the International labour Organisation (IlO) organised the State-level seminar on ‘Reducing Vulnerability to Bondage of Migrant Worker in Brick Kilns’. The focus was mainly on four most vulnerable western Odisha district like Kalahandi, Balangir, Nuapada and Sonepur.
Most of the workers go out in search of employment to Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, West Bengal and Delhi etc. While some earn good wages, most of them are forced to work at meager wages and more often than not exploited, said social activist Sudarsan Das.
Presenting a case study, Das said one Khetra Bhoi, husband of one Upasi of Ghantabahali village under Muribal block in Balangir district, died in 2014 in an accident while working at a bricks kiln in Hyderabad. Upasi was not able to see her husband’s body also. Deprived of all the Government facilities, she is now struggling for her daily bread with her two daughters, Das informed.
Attending as chief guest, Odisha Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Society chairperson Subash Singh said problem of migrant workers is a global issue and it is a challenging question for the Government.
Migrant workers are found in as many as 11 districts in the State, out of which Balangir recorded the highest, Singh informed.
He also said middle men (Dalals) play the main role in the issue. They bias the poor and needy people for migration, he added.
labour contractors and middlemen organise the trafficking of labour from villages of western Odisha to cities, said journalist Dillip Bisoi.
“As there is no job at home for the migrant labourers, they are forced to migrate to other areas,” he added.
There should be proper implementation of the MGNREGA in the State, demanded Bisoi, urging the Government to take steps to arrest migration by solving the poor people’s socio-economic problems.
The speakers also suggested initiating advocacy efforts at Government level. Massive awareness campaigns are also necessary, they added.
Former OERC Chairman DK Roy, Aide-et-Action head Umi Daniel and HDF-cDAR director Dr MK Mohanty spoke.