‘They are people, not slaves’

The decision to cancel trains to keep construction labourers back in Bengaluru was shockingly cruel, say activists

The Karnataka government on Tuesday cancelled its request for trains to take migrant workers back to their home states, mostly in north India.

The announcement came after Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa met prominent builders and real estate firms who are worried over the mass exodus of labourers.

Yediyurappa went to the extent of saying “unnecessary travel of the migrant workers has to be controlled.”

The decision triggered more desperation among workers who have been holed up in dingy conditions, and with no pay. Hundreds of people have started walking to their hometowns, preferring a long and hard journey to being here.

What about workers rights?

Most construction workers who wanted to leave the city have not received any money for 40 days.

Basudananda Chakma, who moved from Arunachal Pradesh a year ago, has struggled to survive during this lockdown. He lives with seven others in a house in Bommasandra; not one of them has received any money over the past two months.

Reaching out to the local authorities, the food helpline and even the police yielded no results. Just now, they have received some rations from the Chakma Students Association Karnataka, but they are not convinced it is a good idea to stay back further.

However, the blame should not solely fall on the state government, says S Raghunandana, well-known stage director, who was responsible for widely circulating an open letter to the chief minister penned by activist Shivasundar.

Construction workers’ welfare funds have accumulated for 25 or so years from builders’ and worker’s contributions.

“The money should be used to help them. Why is the government asking the general public to contribute instead?” he asks. Even though Prime Minister Modi has told industrialists and builders to pay their workers, they have paid nothing for two months. “This should have been enforced better. Threaten them with stringent action,” he suggests.

Against Constitution

Shivasunder, columnist and activist, says the move is inhuman, illegal and unconstitutional. “It goes against the right to equality, right to freedom of movement and the right against exploitation,” he says. By curtailing the freedom to go back home, the government was essentially forcing them to work somewhere they don’t want to, he says. That amounts to bonded labour.

“We don’t live in a feudal system; the workers should have the right to decide whom to work for and where to work,” says Shivasundar.

The decision exposed the government’s inability to see the workers as people, he says. “They are not just bodies. They are citizens of the country and they have rights,” he says.

The central government, during the third phase of the lockdown, decided to allow migrants to travel back home, asking the state government to coordinate with the state of origin of the workers.

For the government to then go back on its word was inconsiderate. “It is the government’s duty to facilitate the workers’ return, and allow them to do so with dignity,” he adds.

“We are bringing many people from abroad. Why are the NRIs more important than the migrant workers?” says Raghunandana.

Freedom of choice

Many politicians and bureaucrats, who supported the cancellation of trains, spoke about how the state had to kickstart the economy and help “those who came to follow their dreams for a better future.”

N Manjunath Prasad, nodal officer for inter-state travel from Karnataka, wrote to the South Western Railway asking it to cancel all trains scheduled from Wednesday.

“These are people who have come to work in Bangalore,” Prasad told a news channel. “Once there is employment, normalcy will be established… so why go back? Those who still want to go back can do so using their own vehicles.”

This is the line taken by many in the government, and clearly shows disregard for the workers’ right to choose where to work and live.

A video posted by Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda showed workers trying to walk back to their homes in UP, a journey that could take months.

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya claimed workers prevented from going home would be able to “restart their dreams”.

While the government is well within their rights to impose restrictions on movement amidst a public health emergency, these powers are not unfettered.

“The argument that people moved here for a better future is a fallacy — let those who want to stay on remain here, and let the others go back. You cannot strip people of their choices,” says Raghunandana.

‘Reimagine economy’

Grama Seva Sangh, an NGO that works closely with rural artisans and workers, says the government and the people should start imagining a very different future for the post-Covid world.

Theatre director and activist Prasanna, who spoke for Grama Seva Sangha, says the government is “desperate to revive the monster economy at any cost”.

“It is prudent not just to help workers reach their villages, but also to help them settle there,” he says. “Why hold them back in cities to have them build these huge skyscrapers that will be left empty?”

He believes reviving the economy as it was in the past will remain a pipe dream. Instead, the government should find ways to work with workers, develop skills and support their endeavours.

“Take weavers for example. It takes three months to learn the skill. If the government decides to support their earnings with NREGA wages, their daily earnings automatically increase. The government can take on the task of selling the fabric,” he suggests.

Trains may resume today

Coming under fire for cancelling trains meant to take migrant workers home, the Karnataka government on Thursday has again changed its mind and sought special trips to 10 states. Karnataka has written to Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Maniput, Tripura, West Bengal, MP, Rajasthan and Odisha, to coordinate the workers’ journeys. The MP government has already approved trains from May 8 to 15, while Bihar has agreed to receive one train every day. The first train may leave for Bihar on Friday.

‘We wanted to prevent crowding’

P Manivannan, Secretary to Government, Labour, Karnataka, told Metrolife the travel crisis had been resolved.

“We respect the decision of the labourers whether they wish to go back home or stay here and work. The government is here to facilitate their decision, while ensuring that the process is smooth and safe for them and others,” he says.

The trains were cancelled to put a better system in place, and that decision was criticised by people who weren’t part of the process, he says.

But didn’t it violate the workers’ fundamental right to movement? “In that way, even the lockdown is a restriction of certain rights. No right is absolute,” he says, adding that the move was temporary and lasted just two days.

The labour department, he says, is focusing more on local workers than migrants. “There is enough attention on migrant labourers now. The department will provide rations and cooked food and work for their wages and facilities,” he says.

If the intention was to ensure safer travel with physical distancing, wouldn’t staggering trains have been a better plan than cancelling them? “Crowding is a potential danger. Now, we have changed the methodology and trains will run again,” he says.