Ishita Shailesh & Shubham Gupta
INTRODUCTION
The recent ongoing debate regarding exemptions on labour law to curb the economic effect of COVID’19 brings the question of the wellbeing of the most ignored strata of the labour community the “Bonded Labour”. These people even in normal circumstances struggle for basic amenities and rights thus it becomes very scary to even think of the circumstances they might be going through in these struggling times of economic, social and legal turmoil. These people are treated as objects by their employers or owners. Hence it is least expected that these so-called owners might be taking into consideration the lethal effects on the health of these workers by the outbreak of this pandemic. Although there are various laws regarding the protection of bonded labourers yet the most important issue is their identification and rescue. The laws are merely a pile of documents unless these people are provided protection in the remote areas and there exists consciousness among this stratum of people regarding the legal system and their rights.
LEGAL RIGHTS
There exists a specific statute for the Protection of Bonded Labour Community known as The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. Section 4 of this act abolishes any and every kind of bonded labour in the country. Further because of its illegality and also by the means of Section 5 of the act all the agreements of bonded labour are held to be void. This act further provides various protections to the bonded labourers like barring any civil proceeding against them for recovery of their debts and dues.[i] All of their mortgaged properties have to be released just after the commencement of this act[ii]. The decree of an order of recovery of the bonded debt has to be held as fully satisfied[iii] and the person detained in civil prison because of non- payment of bondage debt has to be released as per the act[iv].
Additionally, there exist various constitutional rights for their protection. The preamble itself guarantees all the citizens various forms of freedoms including the right to dignity, freedom of expression and financial justice. Further, Articles 14, 15, 16 explicitly provides for equal treatment. Article 19(1) (g) assures freedom to change career and hence bounding of labourers to work without their choice directly strikes this article. “Right to life” mentioned in Article 21 also includes “Right to live with dignity”. In the authors’ opinion, nothing can be more harmful to the human’s dignity as compared to treatment like an animal. Further, Article 23 and 24 of the Indian Constitution are explicitly for the purpose of “right in opposition to exploitation” and deals with the issues of forced and bonded labour. Furthermore, there are various DPSP’s as well which provides for humane situations, living wages, health safeguards and welfare of the residents of India.
It is even a penal offence as per Section 370 and Section 374 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 370 of the code restricts sale purchase and disposal of any person and further restricts any kind of detention without the will of the person. These actions are considered as a heinous offence in the country and are punishable with seven years of imprisonment. Section 374 highlights the scenario of forced labour and grants one year of imprisonment to the employer who forces a person to work without his or her will.
On the observation of these provisions, it might appear that these rights provide absolute welfare to bonded labourers. The fact which is ignored is that these are the safeguards provided to the bonded labourers once they are released from the web of their owners. In the author’s opinion, in addition to the hefty debts, the main crisis faced by these people is that they are held to stay and work in a particular place without their assent and choice. These people are captured and are not allowed to meet the outside world. The required safeguards in the present times should focus on the rescue of these people from the money lender’s prisons instead of providing them with the rights after they are already released.
CURBING OF CRISIS
The proper implementation of such laws is the need of the hour. It is observed that people and officials find it difficult to recognize a bonded labourer. Although the Government of India with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes have come up with the procedure of what to do if someone finds a bonded labourer and how and what happens after they are rescued yet there are no stages of their recognition. The authors have created the seven stages for their recognition beginning from suspecting them to finally concluding that they are one of them.
Beginning from the stage of Spotter, a vulnerable person irrespective of their gender, age, etc. can be found or spotted by any person. The second stage is of Buyer/Seller where if anybody finds out that a person or a group of persons is sold or is bought by anyone then he/she can be suspected of attempting to commit/committing any illegal activity. The third stage is known as Transportation; in this stage, if anyone hears or finds out any person or group of persons have been transported from one place to another then the concerned authorities must be informed about the same. The next four stages are known as the “Stages of Exploitation.” The first in this regard and fourth in the row is Breaker, in this stage; basic necessities are taken away till the labourers accept the terms and conditions of their employers. The fifth stage is known as Bidding. This is the stage of high economical interest for the hirer as the labourers are sold and purchased like chattel in this stage. The last two stages are the major stages where the labourers are forced to work without minimum pay and with no standard of living. In other words, these are the stages where the labourers live without dignity. The authors have observed these stages play a major role to be looked upon. Why should anybody wait for a person to get exploited and then save them from it? These stages help to identify and protect the lives of the people who have been tricked in the arms of the human traffickers. Additionally, the rescue is also a very important aspect concerning the protection of these classes of workers from exploitation. Hence the focus of the government should majorly be on the rescue of these people. The authors have briefly discussed what should be the “stages of rescue” which should be dealt with extreme caution and care.
The major issues with the labour laws and its implementation are lack of its awareness among the masses especially the bonded labourer themselves. Additionally, one of the major problems in this regard is the lack of recourse centres as most of these illegal activities take place in remote areas. This makes the procedure of the checks and balances irregular and hence people find it really difficult to reach out for help. The essential provisions must be kept in mind when the bonded labourers are rescued. Safe and much-needed rehabilitation centres must be provided to them. The profit-making and productive schemes must be formulated well in advance so as they do not fall back doing the same bonded work. The scheme must be formulated after consulting the NGOs and concerned authorities who are involved in such work. Moreover, a “humanitarian schooling programme” must be made for those labourers who are coping up with their state of mind and health.
CONCLUSION
Through the proper analysis of the status quo, it can be concluded that it is not always about specific laws, guidelines and regulations and sometimes it is mere poor implementation of laws which is a cause of the problem. In case of protection from Bonded Labour, there are a plethora of statutes yet the situation of India in this regard is getting worse with time. The laws in this regard are confined to post-rescue scenario ignoring the primary concern of their recognition and rescue. The author has provided various steps regarding recognising and preventing such people that can be used to cover the existing lacunae. Lastly, the author wants to highlight that it is high time our country take active steps for the welfare of such people and bring into force special rescue teams so that these people can be rescued before they are exploited.
[i]The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, § 6(2).
[ii]The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, § 5.
[iii]The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, § 6(3).
[iv]The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, § 6(10).
Ishita Shailesh & Shubham Gupta, 4th year students of B.A. LLB (Hons.) at National Law University Odisha
Picture Credits: DTNext
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