Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has been implicated by the Jharkhand government on the welfare of the state’s migrant workers who were tied up in its assignment was held for questioning as the centre agency was unable to comply with mutual agreed terms while appointing the migrant labours from the state.
On Friday, the state labour, employment, training & skill development secretary, Pravin Kumar Toppo, put writing to BRO director Lt Gen Rajeev Chaudhary asking to provide information of the current employment programme conducted in Jharkhand. The letter stated to acquaint with the information for the number of migrant workers employed till now, the specific project under which they are working, informing the death report of those casualties died between March 2020 and 30th June 2021 due to the breakdown of Covid-19 situation and the nature of compensation paid to the families of the casualties.
In the letter, Toppo stated that “In regard to the yearly induction of casual paid labourers (CLPs) from Jharkhand by BRO, the state government has been informed about thousands of migrant workers working as CLPs since March 2021. We have received multiple reports, including from media, about the precarious living and working conditions faced by our workers during the second wave of Covid-19, including the deaths of 11 CLPs during an avalanche in Uttarakhand in April. This comes as a surprise to us considering the mutually agreed upon terms of engagement of CLPs between both the parties last year.”
On Saturday, Although Hemant Soren’s office issued the contents of the letters and also expressed its anxiety for the middleman engaged in their service with their insufficient salary paid to them by BRO. According to the terms and conditions of reference undersigned by the BRO and the Jharkhand government on June 13, 2020 for assigning paid workers from 2021-22 onwards, it was contracted that BRO would appeal for registration as an “establishment” following the existing rules of the state government. Furthermore, by following the endorsement of the defence ministry (as BRO being under the defence ministry) for inter-state migration of workmen, it was fixed that MoU would be sanctioned between two parties. While BRO had also approved to comply with all the provisions of Jharkhand’s Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act-1979 for inducting 11,815 workers as CLP in the running mutual agreed framework.
Toppo wrote, “However, it is surprising that migrant workers from Dumka are been taken for BRO projects through mates (middleman), which is in violation of the mutually agreed terms, and without the knowledge of the state government.”
Moreover, Toppo questioned that, “By when does the BRO intend to apply as an ‘Employing Establishment’ under Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act 1979/Occupational Safety Health and Working Conditions Code-2020 with the state government for yearly induction of migrant workers? When does BRO intend to share a draft of the MoU for discussion with the state government and sign? How many migrant workers have died since March last year working on projects, and what is the compensation paid? What are the current numbers of workers engaged in BRO projects, their status and entitlements provided?”
Furthermore, the labour secretary ended his letter by ingeminating the state government’s commitment to sustain the rights and dignity of the worker who do his duty by taking charges in remote border areas to serve the country.
