Issues in Law and Public Policy on Contract Labour in India by Pankaj Kumar & Jaivir Singh

Author:Pankaj Kumar & Jaivir Singh
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789811084447
Publisher: Springer Singapore

Photo 5.2Workers alighting from trains at Kitcha railway platform

After spending a couple of hours at the Kichha railway station, the author typically proceeded to Rudrapur via the route generally taken by the workers. Kichha is a small but lively tehsil town in Uttarakhand state bordering Uttar Pradesh. The town itself has a few industries which largely cater to its’ bigger counterparts located in Rudrapur. One can catch a bus or a shared auto to Rudrapur from here. The bus stand wore a deserted look may be because of the condition of roads around Kichha (see, Photo 5.3). The shared auto journey takes about an hour to reach Indira Chowk/bus stand at Rudrapur, from where one can take another tempo to reach different sectors of industrial area (see, Photo 5.4). On the journey from Kichha to Rudrapur, one can see the changing landscape on both sides—Large housing projects, schools, malls, line the road along with industrial enclaves, but it is the SIDCUL area which is truly grand. Wide roads, lightings, arranged pathways welcome one to Rudrapur. The first impression from the viewpoint of a worker of Rudrapur industrial area is probably rather inspiring, but as one enters deeper beyond the factory gates, the simmering discontent is palpable among the rank and files. The practice of hiring in contract labour is found to be extensively practiced in almost all industries in the region—primarily to cut cost and to ensure flexibility with limited manpower liability. Though a formal written contract of mutual obligation exists between the management and the contractor however no such contract was found between the contractor and the contract workers. Employer–employee relationship is maintained more or less on hearsay where the contractor governs the terms. Unscrupulous contractors reign over the labour market by creating an artificial shortage for the employers and job scarcity for the workers. The owners or the management being the principal (indirect) employer keep themselves away from contract labour affairs and let the contractor run the relationship. Regular workers and their unions were found to be more concerned with their own affairs and took no initiative for the cause of the contract workers. Though informal associations of contract workers of different forms and kind such as those formed by workers belonging to same village or family or caste or community were seen to put pressure on the management, these entities could exert influence only in a limited manner and that too only sometimes. Some contract workers cited instances of collective bargaining in their companies which later broke up due to management stance or internal backbiting. In one rare case discussed later in the chapter, collective bargaining efforts of contract workers in a heavy industry were seen to find support from the union of regular workers thus raising the labour standards of these precarious workers.

Photo 5.3Deserted bus stand at Rudrapur

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