Rescue → Rehabilitation
For eleven years the loan grew and the wages never came. The release certificate was the first paper that ever had my name on it as a free person.
Sunita, Bhadohi
Rights · Welfare · Justice · Dignity
We influence. We protect.
Mehnatkash Association stands with workers across 15 states — so that every worker has a voice, every right is defended, and every family lives with dignity.
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Our work has been reported by newsrooms in India and internationally.
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Change begins when people know their rights — and have the power to exercise them.
Mehnatkash Association is a worker-rights organisation based in Delhi, working with bonded, migrant and informal workers across northern and central India. Our work connects immediate relief with legal intervention, rescue, rehabilitation, welfare access, worker organising and evidence-based advocacy.
We do not stop at rescue. We follow every case through wage recovery, welfare linkage and community leadership — because dignity has to outlast the intervention.
Discover our storyOur reach at a glance
Live audit 20260
Labourers rescued
0
States of operation
0
Cases in progress
0+
Housing cases supported
Our Work
Our work starts with workers.
The Mehnatkash Pathway
From intervention to rehabilitation.
Our anti-bonded-labour pathway is built on years of field practice. We don’t just secure releases; we fight for the full statutory rehabilitation package that lets a family start over with dignity.
1
Identify & respond
Helpline intake and rapid field verification within 24–48 hours.
2
Rescue & legal
Coordinated operation with authorities to secure immediate safety.
3
Documentation
Securing release certificates — the legal key to every rehabilitation right.
4
Rehabilitation
Linkage to emergency relief and the statutory ₹3 lakh rehabilitation grant.
5
Organise
Enrolling families into worker committees to prevent re-entrapment.
Stories of Change
Behind every case is a person reclaiming control.
Wage recovery
₹2.4 lakh in withheld wages recovered for nine families after the labour department hearing. We went back as a group, not alone.
Ramesh, Bathinda
Welfare linkage
e-Shram, ration card and the maternity benefit — three offices, four months. The paralegal sat with me at every counter.
Fatima, Delhi NCR
Where We Work
16+ states. One standard of dignity.
Field offices, district paralegals and worker committees across northern, central and eastern India — connected to a single case management system so that no complaint is lost between states.
Source-area and destination-area teams work the same case, so migrant families stay protected across the corridor.
Delhi NCR
6,200+Construction & domestic work
Uttar Pradesh
5,400+Brick kilns & carpet units
Punjab
3,900+Agriculture & migrant labour
Bihar
3,100+Source-area migration support
Rajasthan
2,600+Quarries & stone crushing
Jharkhand
1,800+Anti-trafficking networks
Madhya Pradesh
1,400+Bonded labour rescue
Haryana
1,200+Factory & informal units
Welfare & Social Protection
Entitlements are useless if they never arrive.
Our welfare officers sit with workers through every counter, form and follow-up until the benefit lands in the household.
Documentation
Aadhaar, e-Shram, ration cards, bank accounts and labour registration drives.
Social Protection
Pension, PF, insurance and maternity entitlement claims filed and followed up.
Health Referrals
Occupational illness screening, silicosis claims and hospital linkage.
Emergency Assistance
Rations, transit shelter and immediate relief in the first 72 hours after rescue.
Research & Advocacy
Casework becomes evidence. Evidence becomes policy.
Campaigns
Public pressure, sustained over years.
End Bonded Labour
Faster release certificates and full statutory rehabilitation in every rescued case.
Join the campaign
Safe Migration
Registration, portable entitlements and destination-state help desks for migrant families.
Join the campaign
Dignity at Work
Minimum wage compliance, safe sites and grievance systems that workers can actually use.
Join the campaignVolunteer
Give a weekend a month to field camps, documentation drives and paralegal support.
Register as volunteerPartner
CSR teams, law firms, unions and universities collaborating on rights work.
Explore partnershipGlimpses From the Field
Documented, district by district.
Delhi NCRPunjabUttar PradeshRajasthanUpcoming Events
Trainings, camps and convenings.
Most of our events are open to workers, volunteers, students and partners. Write to us to attend.
Full calendar12 Mar 2026 · Training
District Paralegal Training — Varanasi
Uttar Pradesh
27 Mar 2026 · Convention
Women Workers Leadership Convention
New Delhi
18 Apr 2026 · Field camp
Migrant Help Desk Camp — Ludhiana
Punjab
02 May 2026 · Advocacy
Policy Roundtable: Rehabilitation Gaps
New Delhi
Collaboration
We work with, not around, the system.
District administrations, labour departments, legal services authorities, unions, universities and funders — coordinated intervention is what turns a rescue into a rehabilitation.
Government & Judiciary
District task forces, labour departments and legal services authorities.
Academia
Joint field research, student fellowships and data partnerships.
Civil Society
Grassroots collectives, unions and anti-trafficking networks.
Funders & CSR
Long-horizon programme funding with transparent field reporting.
Support Our Work
Every rescue needs paperwork, travel and time.
Donations to Mehnatkash Association are eligible for 80G tax exemption. Every contribution is tracked against a programme and reported in our annual audit.