JOIN USA minor tribal girl, rescued a few days ago from Geeta Colony in east Delhi, has received a payment of Rs 2.80 lakh from her employers as back wages.
Activists say it is for the first time that such a large amount has been recovered with the intervention of the child welfare committee (CWC).
In the last four months, the CWC has recovered more than Rs 11.5 lakh from employers who owed pending wages to child labourers rescued in Delhi.
The payment is a part of the girl's four years’ back wages. She was not paid any salary for that period.
“I did not get a single penny for the work. My whole salary used to go to the placement agency. I had no freedom of movement and had absolutely no contact with my family.
“Whenever I asked them to let me go home they said I could not go as they did not have any other maid,” the girl told police.
The CWC sent a letter to State Bank of India, Singhbhumi district, Jharkhand on Thursday.
The letter said,“Please open a bank account in the name of the child. The child may withdraw up to Rs 30,000 if required for emergency purposes and rest of the amount i.e, Rs 2,50,000 (should be placed) in a fixed deposit for a period of three years.”
It added that minimum wage has been calculated at Rs 6,656 per month for 42 months.
The girl was trafficked to Delhi five years ago by a local agent. She was sent to a placement agency, running under the banner of an NGO.
The agency handed her over to the employers.
The girl was rescued on April 18 after a Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO, filed a complaint.