Formulate strategy to address inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers: SC to Centre

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to hold a meeting with all the states and union territories and formulate a proposal to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of bonded labourers, including children.

A Bench led by Justice BR Gavai termed the situation as "alarming" after figures placed before it showed that in Uttar Pradesh only 1,101 of the 5,264 bonded labourers released received immediate financial assistance. More than 4,100 of them did not receive financial assistance, it pointed out.

"We find that in order to address the issue of inter-state trafficking of children, the issue needs to be addressed by the union as well as all the states in a unified manner," the Bench said, while hearing a PIL seeking enforcement of fundamental rights of trafficked bonded labourers.

Directing the Ministry of Labour and Employment Secretary to have a meeting with his counterparts in all the states and union territories and formulate a proposal to deal with the problem, it posted the matter for hearing after six weeks.

"Taking into consideration the importance of the matter, we find that it will be appropriate to have the assistance of the Attorney General. We, therefore, request the Attorney General to assist us in the matter," said the Bench – which also included Justice KV Viswanathan.

The top court noted that the problem was in the disbursal of immediate financial assistance to the rescued children as in some cases minors were taken from their home states and forced into bonded labour in adjoining states.

Suggesting that the proposal should have a simplified procedure to assist the scheme of providing immediate financial assistance to the rescued child labourers, it asked the Centre to take on board the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) while finalising the procedure.

The directions came after the petitioners’ counsel flagged the issue of the immediate disbursal of financial assistance to the rescued bonded labourers. He said it was an inter-state issue as there were cases wherein people from Bihar were taken to Uttar Pradesh for bonded labour.

The UP counsel said they had compiled the district-wise data along with the number of bonded labourers released and the disbursements made to them and he would place it on record.

As the court sought to know how the Uttar Pradesh Government prevented bonded labour, the counsel said he would place on record the procedure being followed in the state.

In July 2022, the top court agreed to hear the petition and sought responses from the Centre, the NHRC and some states and union territories on the plea that workers were being forced to work without the payment of minimum statutory wages and their fundamental rights to movement and employment were severely curtailed.

One of the petitioners claimed he and some other bonded workers were rescued and released on February 28, 2019 from a brick kiln in Shahjahanpur district in Uttar Pradesh before being trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native in Bihar's Gaya district.