Invisible Components of the Country- Workers

By: Vikram
Today our country has progressed so much, but you will find lakhs of invisible laborers of the society on the streets of the metro city in the morning. These are the people whose house is going to be run by the earnings of that day. These are the people whose existence is necessary. But if they are living in danger then it does not matter to any government. Today, the condition of laborers in the country is not hidden from anyone. These are an invisible component of the society, but the government has nothing to do with their lives. It is not just that they are victims of politics.
Today let’s talk about the Delhi government. They are only displaying their politics by increasing the minimum wages of the workers. Are the workers getting the provision of minimum wages? The government has ensured it. Is that what they are receiving? On the ground, they neither get minimum wages nor can they ask for it, because if they ask, they will be removed from there and they cannot leave their work and go somewhere else because they have to live, they have to earn money from that day’s earnings. We have to feed ourselves and our families, the trade union is as responsible for all this as the government, then who will think about them today when the country is going to the moon, on the other hand, there is no systematic registration of laborers, there is a lot of work on paper. There are facilities but they are completely deprived of government facilities and are completely unaware of social security.
The trade union is as responsible for all this as the government. Whenever we go to an industrial area, we see a cement worker. He is picking up the packet but there is no mask, no gloves, he does not know how much adverse effect it has on his health but can’t his life be saved with just a small expenditure. The second case that came to our attention was in the same August, when a laborer fell from the roof while working at his workplace and died. His family members were called. The whole reason was put on the laborer. Some settlements were made and 2 lakh rupees were given to the family and they were pacified. Because they are also afraid of going to the law, they also know that we cannot compete with them and the one who was earning is gone and has to run the house too, so leaving this incident aside, she started working on his work.
Now, he doesn’t have any legal advisor here, if anyone can tell him what are his rights, there are hundreds of such cases. In this country someone’s body part gets amputated and someone dies. They neither have any social security nor provident fund because they are not registered. All this can be solved through some means like first of all there should be a systematic registration system through which every laborer should be registered. Secondly, there should be strict compliance regarding how there can be concern about their health at the workplace. Thirdly, a team should be formed which will make a system for how they can get legal help or a system which will solve their problems 24*7. All this will have to be done not only through the government but the trade union will also have to come forward for this.
In today’s situation, trade unions have forgotten their role. Labor organizations and the government will have to play their role so that their quality of life can increase, they can give education to their children, they can get good health benefits, they can get good social security so that their family can get proper justice in case of an accident due to the affected member. May we meet and our India will move ahead with equality only when we take care of all the components of the society.
(The writer is an Assistant Professor in Delhi University. He can be contacted at [email protected])