PaRCha - JNU - AISA - 2007 ID-3566
.
~---·---~____,~--:-~--------..--..,---.
l .
r IGIUghglgl NP-hrii'~IIIIIUiil-.... .
-.
1\.n::;uoT T T n..n'rcn 0 T-r'r ".,-.y TT'.......... T.-.-. .. ~ .~ ~-., .
.
TAWAl-lART aT utalfN<'11 <'1 ;)~{f) ? H -r.:"'... ::;m.
-----' .
AGAINST BONDAGE: THE STRUGGLE FOR WORKERS' ) .
RIGHTS CONTINUES .... .
.
How can a family survive in Delhi on 65 rupees a day? On 14th November 2006, fifteen construction workers .
approached JNUSU with the complaint that instead of the 70 rupees they had been promised, they were being .
forced to accept 65 rupees a day. The legal minimum wage for Delhi is Rs. 127.40 per day! The very next day, the .
contractors threw these fifteen workers out of work, also refusing to pay them any money for work done in November. Faced with non-payment of minimum wages on campus, JNUSU decided to step in. So as to determine the extent .
of the violations, we undertook a detailed survey at construction sites on campus. But as word reached the contractors, they threatened the workers into silence and obstructed the survey teams. Everywhere we saw an no muster rolls were found nor were there any creche for the .
absence of basic facilities like drinking water, .
workers' children. .
The issue at hand is part of a larger malaise: of the condition of the unorganized sector in our country today. .
Though they constitute over 90% of the total working populace, they possess no job security, no pension, no benefits or medical facilities. Back in Chattisgarh, there is little work in their villages and most own barely half a bigha of land. And, there are debts that mount and expenses to be paid -the marriage of children, medical .
treatment, the repairs of houses submerged in monsoon floods. In the city, they move from place to place, uprooted will, dependent on their daily wages for survival..
at the contractors' .
On 22 November, JNUSU representatives met with JNU administration, emerging with a list of promises. We were .
.
promised that the workers would be reinstated and arrears would be paid to them. All contractors would be made .
to pay minimum wages. Muster rolls would be ensured at worksites and supervision of payments would take .
place. In addition, medical and toilet facilities would be provided to the workers and creche facilities extended to .
their children. We think that a victory of sorts has been achieved, and students and workers celebrate together. .
.
But within a day, administration goes back on its word. Since they dared to take a stand, not only are these fifteen workers refused wor~<. but they were also threatened in ott:er ways. They an~ told the othei·l 00 workers at the site on j -:ever fa~se allegaf.:.ns against them. So as to prevent a .
would be set against them, incitad. to teat thar;. ~t). on of unrest, on 25 November we meet tha rest o~ the workers at the School of Physical Sciences (SPS) ~ituati.
site after they have finished work for the day. Initially a few people come, but slowly, a crowd gathers. Here too, .
.
they spear. af deJ:ressed 'Nages_und the coercion -of tne contractors. Their chfldren have no warm clothes and at .
.
night, mist drips through the roofs of their jhuggis. .
On the 27th, as work is in progress at the SPS site, a woman is injured but sent away without adequate medical .
attention. This angers the workers who say they will not work until their legal entitlements are provided to them. .
.
The contractor, Jialal Malhotra, uses this opportunity to close work at the site. This is a clear case of coercion, .
.
since all these workers are dependent on their daily wages. Most have worked for only a week, and have as yet .
.
received no payment. Faced with looming food insecurity and the approaching winter, JNUSU decides to set up a .
.
community kitchen. We receive overwhelming support from several quarters: mess workers [who kickstart the .
.
kitchen], Mamu, Shombhu and Teflas Canteens [for lending us vessels], JNU Security [for daily transport of food .
.
I [and later near the SCS building.] Yet the process is not easy, and the anger is often directed towards us. Still,.
.
supplies], JNUKA and JNUTA. Each evening, students and workers cook together in the open space behind SSS .
.
the stalemate continues, still the contractor remains adamant and the administration pleads helplessness. .
.
On 2 December, Malhotra finally agrees to make wage payments for the SPS site. But the wait has proved too .
.
wages, entrapped in a debt cycle that began in the village, they are taken by their jobber to work elsewhere..
.
long for many families. Two days earlier, the SPS basti emptied out-a week without food or the promise of .
.
~' Though he sends payments, Malhotra is not accountable to those who left. In the morning, officials from CPWD arrive, and sit clustered around a table, while outside the workers wait for their names to be called. The muster roll is clearly fabricated: many names are absent, lesser days of work were recorded, and skilled workers were paid at unskilled rates. As a result, JNU Engineering department is made to seize this document in the presence of representatives from JNUSU and JNUTA. Till date, the remaining payments for this site have not been .
made. .
Following a unanimous all-party call, a protest-demonstration is called and a delegation meets the rector to .
.
pressurize for immediate payments. Within the weeks the other contractors, Chaudhary and Nafeez, also get .
.
's register and labour .
ready to make .Payments. This time, we're ready with our own records, based on the jobber.
recall, and force them to correct discrepancies on the muster rolls. The payments for November are made in full. .
.
but arrears are also paid for the earlier months when payments were made according to 65 rupees. This process .
.
of payments Is a major step since minimum wages were finally enforced on campus. But the workers .
.
have been waiting for nearly a month, and the money will run out soon if they do not find work. .
.
Finally, on 13 December, the fifteen workers find work at the SSS canteen. This should have been a cause for .
.
1 .
.
PaRCha - JNU - AISA - 2007 ID-3566
.
~---·---~____,~--:-~--------..--..,---.
l .
r IGIUghglgl NP-hrii'~IIIIIUiil-.... .
-.
1\.n::;uoT T T n..n'rcn 0 T-r'r ".,-.y TT'.......... T.-.-. .. ~ .~ ~-., .
.
TAWAl-lART aT utalfN<'11 <'1 ;)~{f) ? H -r.:"'... ::;m.
-----' .
AGAINST BONDAGE: THE STRUGGLE FOR WORKERS' ) .
RIGHTS CONTINUES .... .
.
How can a family survive in Delhi on 65 rupees a day? On 14th November 2006, fifteen construction workers .
approached JNUSU with the complaint that instead of the 70 rupees they had been promised, they were being .
forced to accept 65 rupees a day. The legal minimum wage for Delhi is Rs. 127.40 per day! The very next day, the .
contractors threw these fifteen workers out of work, also refusing to pay them any money for work done in November. Faced with non-payment of minimum wages on campus, JNUSU decided to step in. So as to determine the extent .
of the violations, we undertook a detailed survey at construction sites on campus. But as word reached the contractors, they threatened the workers into silence and obstructed the survey teams. Everywhere we saw an no muster rolls were found nor were there any creche for the .
absence of basic facilities like drinking water, .
workers' children. .
The issue at hand is part of a larger malaise: of the condition of the unorganized sector in our country today. .
Though they constitute over 90% of the total working populace, they possess no job security, no pension, no benefits or medical facilities. Back in Chattisgarh, there is little work in their villages and most own barely half a bigha of land. And, there are debts that mount and expenses to be paid -the marriage of children, medical .
treatment, the repairs of houses submerged in monsoon floods. In the city, they move from place to place, uprooted will, dependent on their daily wages for survival..
at the contractors' .
On 22 November, JNUSU representatives met with JNU administration, emerging with a list of promises. We were .
.
promised that the workers would be reinstated and arrears would be paid to them. All contractors would be made .
to pay minimum wages. Muster rolls would be ensured at worksites and supervision of payments would take .
place. In addition, medical and toilet facilities would be provided to the workers and creche facilities extended to .
their children. We think that a victory of sorts has been achieved, and students and workers celebrate together. .
.
But within a day, administration goes back on its word. Since they dared to take a stand, not only are these fifteen workers refused wor~<. but they were also threatened in ott:er ways. They an~ told the othei·l 00 workers at the site on j -:ever fa~se allegaf.:.ns against them. So as to prevent a .
would be set against them, incitad. to teat thar;. ~t). on of unrest, on 25 November we meet tha rest o~ the workers at the School of Physical Sciences (SPS) ~ituati.
site after they have finished work for the day. Initially a few people come, but slowly, a crowd gathers. Here too, .
.
they spear. af deJ:ressed 'Nages_und the coercion -of tne contractors. Their chfldren have no warm clothes and at .
.
night, mist drips through the roofs of their jhuggis. .
On the 27th, as work is in progress at the SPS site, a woman is injured but sent away without adequate medical .
attention. This angers the workers who say they will not work until their legal entitlements are provided to them. .
.
The contractor, Jialal Malhotra, uses this opportunity to close work at the site. This is a clear case of coercion, .
.
since all these workers are dependent on their daily wages. Most have worked for only a week, and have as yet .
.
received no payment. Faced with looming food insecurity and the approaching winter, JNUSU decides to set up a .
.
community kitchen. We receive overwhelming support from several quarters: mess workers [who kickstart the .
.
kitchen], Mamu, Shombhu and Teflas Canteens [for lending us vessels], JNU Security [for daily transport of food .
.
I [and later near the SCS building.] Yet the process is not easy, and the anger is often directed towards us. Still,.
.
supplies], JNUKA and JNUTA. Each evening, students and workers cook together in the open space behind SSS .
.
the stalemate continues, still the contractor remains adamant and the administration pleads helplessness. .
.
On 2 December, Malhotra finally agrees to make wage payments for the SPS site. But the wait has proved too .
.
wages, entrapped in a debt cycle that began in the village, they are taken by their jobber to work elsewhere..
.
long for many families. Two days earlier, the SPS basti emptied out-a week without food or the promise of .
.
~' Though he sends payments, Malhotra is not accountable to those who left. In the morning, officials from CPWD arrive, and sit clustered around a table, while outside the workers wait for their names to be called. The muster roll is clearly fabricated: many names are absent, lesser days of work were recorded, and skilled workers were paid at unskilled rates. As a result, JNU Engineering department is made to seize this document in the presence of representatives from JNUSU and JNUTA. Till date, the remaining payments for this site have not been .
made. .
Following a unanimous all-party call, a protest-demonstration is called and a delegation meets the rector to .
.
pressurize for immediate payments. Within the weeks the other contractors, Chaudhary and Nafeez, also get .
.
's register and labour .
ready to make .Payments. This time, we're ready with our own records, based on the jobber.
recall, and force them to correct discrepancies on the muster rolls. The payments for November are made in full. .
.
but arrears are also paid for the earlier months when payments were made according to 65 rupees. This process .
.
of payments Is a major step since minimum wages were finally enforced on campus. But the workers .
.
have been waiting for nearly a month, and the money will run out soon if they do not find work. .
.
Finally, on 13 December, the fifteen workers find work at the SSS canteen. This should have been a cause for .
.
1 .
.