HC Notice to State on Migrant Labour Torture The Orissa High Court on Friday issued notice to the State Labour and Employees State Insurance Department on the torture of a migrant child labourer Sushant Kumbhar at Gulbarga in Karnataka and chopping of hands of two migrant labourers Jialu Nial and Dhangada Majhi by a contractor in Kalahandi. Treating a letter petition filed by Labour Law Lawyers Association, Bhubaneswar as a PIL, the division bench of Chief Justice AK Goel and Justice AK Ratha has directed the Labour Department and Collector to file their response. The petitioner organisation has sought direction to the Labour and ESI Department to initiate legal action against the Gulbarga-based brick kiln owner Lacchman Naik for securing appropriate compensation under the Employees Compensation Act for the child labour Sushant Kumbhar. Action should also be taken against the labour contractor over the chopping of hands of two migrant labourers. Strong measures should also be initiated to prevent such occurrences in future. The petitioner submitted that though the Government had requested the Karnataka counterpart to initiate criminal proceedings against the Gulbarga-based kiln owner Naik, who tortured Sushant, and is bearing the boy’s treatment cost, no action has been taken to realise compensation from the perpetrator of the crime. Moreover, no deterrent steps were taken by the Labour Department against the labour agents under the Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 when large number of cases on abuse of migrant labour are being reported, the petitioner alleged. newindianexpress/states/odisha/HC-Notice-to-State-on-Migrant-Labour-Torture/2014/03/15/article2110283.ece#.UyVBItySzTo
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 06:42:03 +0000