Friends,

Mr Raj Sahai is a 1966 graduate from IIT Kanpur. He currently lives at at San Francisco, USA and is quite successful in his own way. Yet, unlike many others, he still has concern for his country and his Alma Mater. He has particularly taken up the issue of the the Conditions of the Contract Workers at IIT, Kanpur campus. In this endeavour he is being assisted by an equally enthusiastic ex IITK graduate Sri Ashok Gupta, now settled at Ohio and many others.

A campaign named "STOP Violating Workers' Rights at IITK" has been initiated and so far more than 1200 alumni have shown their solidarity to this campaign.

Recently, Mr Sahai visited IITK campus for a fact finding mission on this issue. He came up with startling findings. During his stay, he met with the IITK Director, administrators, contract workers, faculty and students knowledgeable about the contract workers' issue on campus.

I present a few more relevant portions of his findings. It says that the practice of employing contract workers by IIT Kanpur started increasing at the expense of direct regular employees during the past two decades and presently the figure of the contingent workforce is estimated to be around 2,500. The Institute relies upon these contract workers not only for temporary construction works but also for many perennial works including messing, sanitation and sewer cleaning.

As we know, a very large number of laws have been formulated for these contract workers. These laws maintain that although contract workers are indirect employees, who are hired, supervised and remunerated by a contractor, it is the primary responsibility of the 'principal employer' (in this case IIT Kanpur), who retains and pays for the work performed by the same workers, to legally ensure the timely payment of minimum (living) wages, contribute to ESI/EPF and Workers' Cess schemes, provide safe working conditions and safeguard the provision of amenities such as canteens, crèches, rest-rooms, latrines, urinals, washing facilities and first-aid facilities to the contract laborers.

The report feels concerned about the numerous cases where the Institute has failed in its responsibility to protect the labor rights of the contract workers. It says- "The incidents of not paying the legally mandated minimum wages, arbitrary hiring and firing by the contractors, malpractices in the constitutionally guaranteed social security schemes such as ESI/EPF, bullying, threats and harassments of these workers have been rampant, in fact an established practice. The negligence in realizing the health and safety conditions have given rise to numerous injuries resulting in deaths in some cases."

In fact a Minimum Wage Monitoring Committee (MWMC) has been constituted exactly for the purpose of monitoring these aspects but Mr Sahai says that as a result of their anti-worker attitudes, an environment of persistent intimidation has been created on campus which is evident from workers being denied minimum wages, health and retirement benefits (ESI and EPF), and other basic amenities. To make the matters worse, the Director of IIT Kanour Mr Sanjay Dhande issued a Circular dated June 15, 2010 which has empowered the contractors to fire workers without any due process. It says- Employing and dispensing with the services of any contract labor, is wholly and absolutely the domain of contractors and the Institute by no means and no count, is concerned with this aspect of the contract labor and has it ever been the intent of the Institute." This is in direct contravention of Contract Labor laws.

Mr Sahai feels saddened of the fact that "the current MWMC Chair whose job it is to be the watchdog for the workers' interests instead defends the contractors. In his opinion, contractors are necessary for the institute, but the workers are not."

Mr Sahai's report also brings out the facts that workers are working without any safety equipments such as hats, masks, boots, gloves, protective glasses etc. As per the report-" Construction workers could be easily seen walking high on the scaffoldings without any protective measures, working barefoot in the middle of pointed objects and rusted metals, without masks around air filled with cement particles and asphalt materials" and "Sewage workers would be seen bare bodied even up to 20 feet underground without any helmets, masks, uniforms and safety belts." As a result five workers have died and three have been seriously injured, one becoming quadriplegic. The report feels that "On the one hand the administration doesn't miss any chance to punish and intimidate workers, but on the other hand the contractors are not punished even after number of evidences."

These findings are very serious in their content. They don't paint a good picture of this great Institute. While, we in India are so used to such conditions being rampant at almost all the construction sites where casual workers are employed, people in the Western countries do feel sensitive to these matters of blatant and grave Human Rights violation. When I was going through this report, I could easily see that another premier Institution, IIM Lucknow, with which I am currently associated, again has a very large number of construction works going and the same seems to be the situation. In fact, Mr Sahai's report has inspired me to be part of this campaign not only at IIT Kanpur and IIM Lucknow, but in all possible ways that I can.

I am thankful to Mr Sahai, Mr Gupta and others who have raised this important issue and are pursuing it with all seriousness which we in India should have initiated.

Amitabh Thakur,
IPS,
Currently at IIM Lucknow,
94155-34526