Reports on conditions of Labour, particularly Child Labour, in the brick production industries of South Asia - Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan...
Brick Kiln Workers Union formed in Rajasthan
Rajasthan It Bhatta Mazdoor Union (Rajasthan Brick Kiln Workers Union) is active in Ajmer, Jaipur and Bilwara districts of Rajasthan State in western India. Facing many difficulties including banning from kilns and threats of violence against its staff the Union is recruiting workers and intervening with kiln owners and associations to secure better deals for workers. In Ajmer and Jaipur areas the Union is now accepted by owners and its staff can enter kilns and meet openly with workers. In Bilwara district the Union still faces exclusion and threats. The above picture shows a Union meeting at a kiln in Ajmer. More information will follow.
Rajasthan
Feasibility Study: Combating Child Trafficking and Bonded Labour in Rajasthan - February 2017
Report of 67 pages covering all the main forms of child / bonded labour in Rajasthan. By the NGOs Praxis and Partners in Change (excellent report with good analysis of bonded labour in the brick industry)
Pg 6. “1. Brick kilns: There are an estimated 300,000 bonded labourers in brick kilns across the state, with a large number of migrants coming to Rajasthan in mid-November from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha and staying until May. Workers migrate as a family and the work is characterised by long working hours, extremely poor work conditions and an absence of basic facilities. Advances of wages tie the families to a kiln for the season and keep their payments well below minimum wages. Children are used to mix clay for the bricks or load them for transportation. Based on existing examples of effective interventions, recommended strategies include: Combining work with local and migrant workers; enabling registration of brick kiln workers for key statutory protective programmes; forming/ strengthening unions to take up cases and negotiate better conditions; extending the reach of villagebased education and child development schemes into the kilns and working with owners to improve conditions; collectivising adolescent girls at the kilns to address their key issues, such as gender, worker rights and nutrition; enabling brick kiln workers to advocate with key government bodies. “
Pg. 28 – 30. “Children in brick kilns: It is normal for whole families, including children to migrate to the brick kiln since there may be no one to look after the children at home and no money to be left at home to pay for children’s food costs. In such situations, the children are not only deprived of education but actually work along with their parents. It is fairly common to see little children transporting 5-7 bricks on their heads40. Adolescents generally help with mixing and forming the bricks before firing. In 2013, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) detected large-scale child labour at brick kilns in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan and expressed surprise over the district administration’s indifference to the issue. Of the 300 brick kilns functioning in Bhilwara, only 45 were registered with the district administration. It also found that hundreds of children belonging to families of migrant labourers at the brick kilns were involved in the work along with the elders. Most of these labourers came to Bhilwara during the work season from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, a high proportion being ‘tribals’.”
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https://d1r4g0yjvcc7lx.cloudfront.net//wp-content/uploads/Rajasthan-Report-FINAL-EXT-feb-2017.pdf
BRICK-BY-BRICK A study on situation of Migrant Brick Kiln Workers in Kotra Block, Rajasthan - 2008
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INTRODUCTION:
Migration has emerged as a major livelihood strategy in Southern Rajasthan over the past two decades. Aajeevika Bureau’s initial work in the area gave us the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of issues related to migration. This not only helped us answer important questions like, ‘what is migration’ but also led to a collection of rich data on the destinations for migration, major trades where migrant labour works as well problems and other issues of migration. Understanding the conditions of specific migrant groups is the starting point for developing strategies and sets of services tailored to their needs. This study brick kiln workers from Kotra Block in Udaipur District is one of a series of occupational profiles that serve this purpose and encompass the following topics:
• Characteristics of Migrant Groups and Migration patterns • Support systems at the destination • The recruitment system • Owner/contractor/labor relationships • Migrant incomes, expenditures, savings, and investments • Work and living conditions at the destination • Communications between the destination and the source/the migrant and those left behind • The potential for skill up-gradation, self-improvement and career and livelihood diversification ……….