Inhuman forms of exploitation are quite rampant and indiscriminate in the industrially most developed districts of western region of Tamil Nadu. Employing migrant labourers and treating them as bonded and forced labour is common and widespread in the region. Lakhs and lakhs of migrant labourers, basically Dalits, tribals, young children and girls, are employed all over the region, not only in poultry farms but also in dying factories, spinning mills, powerloom and hosiery industries that are the dominant industries in the district. The poor, migrant labourers are being exploited to the hilt without any deterrence using their ignorance and lack of knowledge in local language. The absence of trade unions and the insensitivity on the part of the administration becomes a favourable situation for such inhuman exploitative conditions and for the treatment of migrants as bonded labourers.
In the poultry farms of Namakkal district in Tamil Nadu, 37 tribals from the Chhattisgarh districts of Bastar, Narayanpur, Mahasamund and some from Odisha were brought to Tamil Nadu by two agents of Maharashtra and were handed over to the contractors Prakash Sahu (Tamil speaking present resident of Namakkal but with the origin in Chhattisgarh) and Thangavel (Tamil).
They were forced to stay in a dilapidated house without any basic amenities located at a poultry farm in a village called Aniyapuram of Mohanur taluk in Namakkal district. Generally, they were picked up by vans at 3 PM every day for work in poultry farms in the locality and were allowed to return only at 10 PM the next day.
They were forced to work for almost 19 hours everyday without any break or interval. Sometimes, they were also forced to work for 48 hours. Not even a break of 5 hours was allowed. They were not paid any wages but for food for survival. They were also severely beaten up when workers demanded time for sleep and rest. They were languishing in inhuman working conditions, denied any rights under labour laws. Their mobile phones and Aadhaar cards were also snatched away by the contractors and kept under their own custody. The workers were unable to communicate with any of their near and dear.
Moreover, the poor workers were able to speak only Chhattisgarhi or Oriya languages without any knowledge of the local language, Tamil. In this backdrop, some bold workers managed to escape the custody, returned to their native place and informed tribal activists over there who, in turn, complained to the district administrations in Chhattisgarh.
Based on a complaint from Chhattisgarh tribal and trade union organisations, local unit of AICCTU - RYA intervened to release the bonded labourers in Namakkal district. Comrades Subramani and Venkatesh of AICCTU, Kalidas of RYA met the District Collector and filed a complaint for the release of migrant workers and also for the protection of their life and livelihood, including wages and compensation. The district administration too acted swiftly. A government task force comprising the District Collector, Tahsildar, labour and child labour protection officers plunged into action in cooperation with the local police and based on our information, 37 migrant bonded labourers were released on 19 October 2022. The government arranged transportation to send the bonded labourers back to their native places. The workers were also awarded Bonded Labour Release Certificates along with depositing of wages and compensation in their respective bank accounts. The absconded contractors were chased and arrested by the police and also a case has been filed in the police station. The process of recovering four more months of wages is underway.
This successful, swift action was coordinated by Comrade Chandramohan, CCM of CPIML, along with district leaders of AICCTU and RYA and also in cooperation with the district administration and the Chhattisgarh activists of tribal welfare.
