Coronavirus lockdown: Bengaluru's Namma Metro workers get raw deal

Pride turned into shock and disbelief as the widespread abuse of labour rights has emerged in Bengaluru’s metro rail project.

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While delayed payment is one of the major issues, the appalling disregard of dignity is more disturbing.

Following protests at the Bommanahalli casting yard by workers of URC, a company contracted by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), DH visited three labour colonies that house more than a thousand labourers from villages across the country. Fear was writ large on the faces of the workers, more than a hundred of whom were crammed into a single room in a building in Singasandra.

After NGO Maraa reported widespread labour rights violations, the workers were told not to speak. The ‘thekedar’ (contractor) stood before the employees and kept parroting the refrain “everything is fine” to a series of questions.

However, two employees who later met this reporter spoke openly about the issues, some of which has been normalised.

“We work on the Electronics City (Reach 5) metro line. Our salary comes two months later through the thekedar,” said a 40-year-old skilled worker (name withheld). “We are made to work at least 12 hours a day for Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000. When I left home in Champaran (Bihar), I was promised Rs 15,000 but I don’t even get Rs 13,000 after the deductions.”

Tears welled up in the eyes of the other man, a 32-year-old from Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh as he described his plight.

“My wife is pregnant, and the doctor said she would deliver in two weeks. I have been begging them to send me home, but to no avail,” he said. “The thekedar threatened to withhold the pending wages for the last six weeks. We went to the police station seeking help, but we were beaten up.”

Subcontractors’ network

At the labour colony in the Bommanahalli casting yard, workers said the company avoids direct payment to keep alive the network of subcontractors.

When the officer in-charge said workers gave wrong KYC documents, a worker from Jharkhand took him to task.

“I have studied BEd and I have submitted the KYC documents six times in the past seven months. Why are you still paying my thekedar and not me?” he demanded to know.

A labourer working on the Gottigere-Nagawara line and staying at the colony near Meenakshi temple echoed the concerns of other employees.

“The thekedar first said I won’t get my pending payment if I go home. Now, he has stopped talking about arranging my transport,” the labourer said.

Living conditions

The NGO report prompted the BMRCL to release documents showing decent living conditions. But the workers challenge the claims.

“That is not the condition in our colony,” a worker from Madhya Pradesh said.

However, at another colony in Kudlu Gate, a worker said things changed after media attention. “The toilets are cleaner now,” he said.

Ekta and Yashasvini, activists from NGO Maraa, point to a pattern of violations that has gone on without being noticed for over 10 years.

“Poor living conditions, violation of rules regarding work hours and poor transparency have continued for a decade now,” they said.

DH sent a detailed query to BMRCL managing director Ajay Seth, but there was no response until this report went to press.