Migrant Workers Suffer Inhospitable Work Conditions

But, in this corner of Nacharam, a small three-storey building is home to dozens of migrant workers, who do not have the privilege to complain.

The men work in a chemical factory nearby. Some mentioned it’s an ammonia unit. “Yes, the smell is disturbing,” said Chandrashekhar, who came from Uttar Pradesh. “But we’ve gotten used to it now. It doesn’t matter anymore. Also, if we start complaining, who would earn our living wage?”

Each floor in that building has around 10 rooms. Each room has five or six men. A stove in the corner, a few mats, some steel plates and a water can. Outside the rooms, under an asbestos sheet, is a makeshift bathing area and toilet. There’s barely any privacy. Not enough light. The dishwashing space is right next to it.

The balconies on the upper floors are shut with grills, up to the ceiling, resembling a cage. In many ways, it says what it is. A space people live in because they don’t have much choice.

“It is a contract work, when there’s no work, we go back home and wait for a call,” said Chandrashekhar who has a wife and two children back home, like most of the others.

These migrant workers, be it in Nacharam, Bachupally, construction sites or other industrial areas in Telangana, earn between `18,000 and `25,000 a month and work 12 to 13 hours a day. “It is an 8 to 8 shift,” said Raju, who is another migrant worker from UP.

He said the work is hard, but they are given masks. He had heard of the Sangareddy blast, and expressed grief and fear at the same time stating, “It was very sad. Those people had families too. We also work in a chemical factory, it could have happened to us.”

Indeed what happened in Sangareddy could happen anywhere, said Phillips Isidore, convenor of the Bonded Labour Coalition. “It’s not just about one factory. We’ve seen the conditions across sites. We walk in and it’s clear something is wrong. The working conditions are pathetic. The people there are scared to even talk.”

He called it a clear violation of human dignity. “We are still questioning how many hours a person should work. We cannot have people working 12 to 14 hours a day and pretend it’s fine. The wages don’t even cover what they need to survive. But it continues because the employer is powerful.”

Phillips said contractors were operating as part of a large, unregulated network. “Who are these contractors? Why are they not registered? They are dealing with people. Even cattle are accounted for. These men are not.”

He said we don't need another case study. “Everyone knows what's happening. These are not stories, these are facts. People like to listen when it sounds sad. But this isn’t about sadness. This is the reality.”

Across India, the laws exist. But in places like this, they don’t show up. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, the Occupational Safety Code, the Factories Act. All of it applies. But there is no one to ask if these workers were trained to handle chemicals, if anyone has done a safety check in the last few years.

In Nacharam, few of the chemical factories will move 80 kms away soon. The pressure from the new posh apartments nearby, who have been complaining about the smell has worked. But the workers will also go with the factory to the same work, same risks, same rooms, same smell, just somewhere else.

Back in Sangareddy, the government said the families would be looked after. There were announcements where officials were told to make sure food, water and washrooms were arranged. But at the site, police personnel were seen shooing family members away.

It has been four days since the incident and people who had travelled from Bihar and Jharkhand looking for their sons and brothers are still being pushed back from the gate. Shouted at and mistreated. But dare they complain. Even in death, the workers say, there is no dignity.