What is Bonded Labor
Bonded labor is a form of modern slavery. It has been illegal in India since 1976 when the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act (BLSA) was passed. The BLSA defines ‘bonded labor’ as a forced labour system in which a borrower agrees to work for the lender without wages for a fixed or indefinite period in exchange for a loan. This process may also continue intergenerationally, where the descendants of the borrower are obligated to complete the loan or work as bonded laborers.
Forced labor refers to situations in which individuals are compelled to work through violence or threats, or more subtle methods such as accumulated debt, withholding of identity documents, or threats of denunciation.
According to Arjun Sengupta’s report, there are a total of 423 million workers in India, of which 395 million are in the unorganized sector and 28 million in the organized sector. Currently, there are an estimated 500 million unorganized sector workers who are far from minimum wage and social protection, akin to forced labor conditions. According to the Slavery Global Index report, there are 24 million forced labourers in India, of which 18 million are bonded labourers. However, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment of the Government of India, there are 300,000 bonded labourers in India. There are 65 million forced and bonded labourers in India, including 5 million children who are victims of modern-day slavery.
Methodology
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| Identification | Case Registration | Rescue | Rehabilitation |
Identification
We identify bonded labourers through our outreach programmes and community meetings. The bonded labourers often manage to contact us themselves or through civilians willing to help them. Depending on their answers, we determine whether or not they can be categorised as are bonded labourers under the as per the definition provided in Bonded Labour (System) Abolition Act, 1976, along with other relevant legislations and relevant Supreme Apex Court judgements.
Case Registration
Once our office determines that the labourer is working in bonded or forced conditions, we approach the Deputy Commissioner/District Magistrate and the Sub-Divisional Magistrates, who have the appropriate authority and jurisdiction to undertake rescue operations.
Rescue
Through constant interventions, we join the Rescue Team constituted by the relevant authorities in our capacity as members of the Civil Society Organisation, as provided under the under the which has been stipulated by the legislation and the relevant Supreme Apex Court judgements. We are present while the rescue takes place and then make constant representations to ensure that the statements of the victims are recorded and a Release Order and& Certificate are issued.
Rehabilitation
We then make applications for financial assistance as interim compensation under the as per the Central Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2021. We assist the victims in ensuring repatriation and proceed to make representations for Rehabilitation. We provide legal aid to the victims throughout the process.
Case Studies
CASE STUDY OF SONI MURMU
Soni Murmu was trafficked from Jharkhand to Patel Nagar, Delhi where she was held in a house against her wishes and forced to do domestic work without any wages. With constant restrictions on movement, there was no prospect for her to escape or find alternative employment. She somehow reached out to Mehant Kash through a phone call and we came to know that she has been trafficked and has been forced into bonded labour.
Resources
National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL)
The National Campaign Committee for Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL) is a nationwide umbrella network working to identify, liberate, and rehabilitate forced labourers, bonded labourers, including child bonded laborers and to provide legal aid to the victims. Several organizations, campaigns, unions, and self-help groups are associated with this network to support its cause.
NCCEBL is active in 19 states of the country – Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Gujarat, Odisha, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Assam, and Tripura. With the help of the administration, the network has identified and liberated 25,000 forced and bonded laborers from agricultural, brick kiln industries, poultry farms, shops, hotels and dhabas, buildings and societies, construction sites, and brothels, including 5,000 child bonded laborers. Most of the liberated bonded laborers – about 95% – are from the SC/ST and minority communities, while over 70% are victims of human trafficking.
The network’s advocates are providing free legal aid to forced and bonded labourers. These cases are ongoing in the High Courts of Rajasthan, Assam, Jammu, Srinagar, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana. Hundreds of cases related to forced and bonded labor are pending before the National Human Rights Commission. Orders from the High Courts of Telangana, Tripura, Assam, and Delhi have provided relief to bonded laborers. Issuing release certificates and rehabilitating bonded laborers is extremely challenging.
Release of Bonded Labourers
To provide livelihood and rehabilitation to the freed bonded labourers, district authorities (DMs) or sub-district authorities (SDMs) issue bonded labour release certificates under the central scheme, and only after that can financial and non-financial assistance be provided. In 1978, a centrally sponsored scheme was formulated for the rehabilitation of bonded laborers. At that time, the assistance limit for each worker was Rs. 4,000, shared between the concerned state and central governments. After several amendments to the scheme, the assistance amount was set at Rs. 20,000 in May 2000, which included district-level surveys, awareness generation, and evaluation activities.
The rehabilitation scheme was revised again in February 2022 to provide immediate financial assistance of Rs. 30,000 to the rescued bonded laborers. It includes an additional assistance amount of Rs. 1 lakh for male workers, Rs. 2 lakh for each woman and child, and Rs. 3 lakh for transgender persons, women, and children involved in extreme cases of sexual exploitation and trafficking, based on the discretion of the district magistrate.
In addition to financial assistance, beneficiaries are also entitled to non-cash assistance, which includes land allocation for housing, allocation of agricultural land, provision of low-cost housing units, and implementation of minimum wages. The standard operating procedure set for the identification, release, and rehabilitation of bonded laborers states that the DM or SDM must rescue the affected worker within 24 hours of receiving an oral or written complaint of bonded labor. According to the National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) advisory dated December 8, 2021, a release certificate should be issued within 24 hours of the bonded laborer’s release, and compensation and rehabilitation should be provided thereafter.**