Study on Brick Kiln Workers

8/10/2019 Study on Brick Kiln Workers

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Table: Supportive Employer

When asked whether the brick kiln employers were supportive or not, 49.80% said that theiremployers always supported them, 35.74% said that they were occasionally supported while 14.46%said that their employer was not supportive. When asked the different ways in which the employerwould support them, the workers said that th eir employer would give them their kharchi orweekly allowances on a timely basis, take them to a doctor whenever they fell sick and give them

medicines, allow them to go back to their village to get ration and give them travel allowances, givethem mo ney whenever they needed to buy clothes and so on. This support is very generouslydeducted at the time their wages are calculated at the end of the year.


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Table: Relationship between ration card status and advance taken

RATION CARD * ADVANCE TAKEN Crosstabulation

Count

ADVANCE TAKEN

TotalN Y

RATION CARD N 0 141 141

Y 2 590 592

Total 2 731 733

A clear relationship is seen between ration card status and advance taken. 590 workers out of 731who took an advance also have ration cards.

Table: Relationship status between ration card status and advance taken for food

RATION CARD * ADVANCE TAKEN FOR FOOD

Crosstabulation

Count

ADVANCE FOR FOOD

TotalN Y

RATION CARD N 1 139 140

Y 5 590 595

Total 6 729 735

A clear relationship is seen between ration card status and advance for food. 590 workers out of 729who took an advance for food also have ration cards.

The food security scenario of the katkaris is very grim. They would initially derive their nutritionalrequirements from the jungle but every since they lost the rights under the guise of laws such as theForest Rights Act it drastically affected their food security. The loss of agricultural land, forestdegradation and weakening of forest rights hindered their access to food. In spite of a GR stipulatingall tribals to be covered under the Antodaya Yojana, our survey revealed that most of them had


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yellow ration cards. Also, families whose brick kilns are far away from their villages cannot afford tomake monthly trips to the village to get it from the ration shop and have to rely on the high pricedgrains from the open market.

Case studyLaxman Balu Barap

On the other side of Khandeshwar railway lines one can see vast stretches of land with piles of brickslying here and there. There are some small vegetable plantations too. Here people work rigorouslyon brick kilns. In extreme and scorching heat, these people are engaged into this hard manuallabour. The process in which the brick is made is interesting. There are four components of the brick,the mud/clay, the cover of the rice grain, water and ash. The cover and mud are mixed, for this thebig pieces are broken into minute pieces by means of hitting them with an axe kind of a tool. Thewife and children take out the big pieces of hay which will be difficult to mix, the pipelines are layedunderground which consistently pour water in the big ditches just next to where this mixing is goingon. The water is then utilized to turn the soil/mud mix into a thicker liquid. Then they are roasted. Allthis process is carried out in scorching heat as summers are the time when these brick kilns run full-fledged. Summers are the time when the Kathkari tribal groups come to peripheries of the cities forwork. The entire process means working every day in harsh heat, mostly with bare bodies or minimalclothes, being exposed to harmful gases and unhealthy conditions. Around these brick kiln areas thepeople live in small settlements occupying small spaces not even enough to live, with no electricity.Children are in extremely dirty and unhygeinic situations. The makeshift arrangements that theymake for their stay are in deplorable conditions without adequate electricity supply. This place is

also quite unsafe for women and lacks any safety measures . Sanitation facilities, as expected are notavailable, leading to open defecation alongside track areas exposing them to further risks.

32 year old Laxman has been working in a brick kiln opposite Khandeshwar station for a year. Heworks at the brick kiln along with his wife, Kamal and six children: Lalita, Savita, Sharad, Sonali,Reshma and Nirmala. Lamans brothers and other relatives also work at this brick kiln. Laxman andhis family, like most other workers in brick kiln units are from Maharashtra itself. They come from avillage called Gonda in the Mokhada Tehsil of Thane. Prior to working in the brick kiln, Laxman andhis family worked in a stone quarry. This year, there was no work at the quarries and so along withother families in Gonda, he came to work at the brick kiln.

Laxman, his wife and 3 eldest children are involved in the brick making process. The family as a unitis paid Rs 900 for every 1000 bricks that they make. Laxman and his family make around 1200 bricksin a day. They employer will not count bricks that are broken or cracked. Kamal said, Even if dogsrun over the bricks and night and break them, the employer will not include them in his count. Butwe need to sleep at night so invariably end up losing 20- 25 bricks a day. They have taken anadvance from the brick kiln employer amounting to Rs 12,000. Every week, the employer gives themRs 700- 800, an amount known as Khauti to buy basic necessities such as grains, soap, oil etc. Theiremployer will give them their due at a time when work at the brick kiln has finished and the workersare ready to go back to their village. He deducts the advance and khauti from their due hand hands

over their remaining earnings.


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Life at the brick kilns is difficult. The entire family wakes up at 5 am and prepares a mixture of waterand mud. They put this mixture in moulds and let them dry. In the afternoon, the bricks are taken tothe furnace for baking. Since there is absolutely no electricity or light at the brick kilns, they retireand go to sleep early by around 7 or 8 pm. The employer has provided small grass huts right next tothe trenched that have been dug to mix mud and water where the families live. These houses aresusceptible to catching fire very easily. Recently, the Baraps neighbors were cooking rice outside

their house when the grass caught fire and their entire house along with their sparse belongingsturned to ash. The brick kiln employer compensated them and gave them money to make a houseagain. There are no toilets at the brick kiln either and the workers are forced to defecate and showerin the open in fields a little away from the kiln. There is a large moat of water besides the kiln, whichis not very clean but is used by children as a swimming tank. Water from this moat is also used forcooking and washing.

Laxman has no choice but to bring the children from the village to the brick kiln because there isnobody to look after the children in the village in their absence. Also, he mentioned that theashramshala(school) next to his house did not give his children admission and preferred to admitstudents who were not from their village. He does not like working at the brick kiln but there are noother opportunities to earn a livelihood back kin their village. He has a MGNREGA job card butclaimed that they get work for only one week in a month which is not sufficient to meet the needs ofhis family. Besides a job card, the only other identity proof that Laxman has is a ration card and avoter card. However, the ration card is of no use to them at the brick kiln because they purchasetheir goods from a shop close where goods are not given to them at subsidized rates but generalmarket prices. Almost all their earnings are spent on buying grains and hence they barely end upsaving any of their earnings.

Working at the brick kiln has left them with a chronic ache in their back, feet and joints. When thepain gets unbearable, they approach the brick kiln owner who takes them to a doctor and givesthem pain killers. Laxman stated that almost all the men would spend Rs 20-30 on alcohol every dayin an attempt to easy their pain and suffering. He said that while women would not drink alcohol,they would eat mutton and fish to get energy.

PHOTO ESSAY OF KATKARI BRICK KILN WORKERS


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Katkaris are going to be stuck in a system of bondage and exploitation in the years to come if stepsare not taken to break this cycle. With the advances in technology it is sad to see human bodies toilwhere machines could have easily done the job. Also, government apathy towards the tribals isalarming. After more than 66 years of Indian independence, there are clusters of the populationwhich are bonded and have no freedom.

Creating an enabling environment

There are several large industries which dot the belt around Khalapur. The strongest reason why theKatkaris have not found employment with them are because they are uneducated. However, as pergovernment regulations, it is mandatory for large companies to participate in CSR activities. If someof their profits are channelled into uplifting these tribes who live on the margins of society byconducting skill development programs, building schools, setting up small scale cottage industriesetc. for the locals, the katkaris may begin to attempt to find alternate means of livelihood.

So far, the katkaris are so used to taking an advance from their employer every year that the find itdifficult to mo ve on to occupations which may not offer such visible benefits. Hence attemptsmust be made to encourage the katkaris to refuse to take advance and demand wages regularly. Thiscan be experimented on a pilot basis where an organization can assist a few families to get out ofthe debt trap by repaying their debt and ensure that they do not take an advance again bymonitoring their payments and expenditure.

The survey highlights the immediate concerns and needs of workers and will enable MRC to act asfacilitators which would help the migrants move onto a path of upward mobility and step away froma cycle of dependency. In the short run, establishing Child Learning Centres at the brick kiln units or

construction sites; provision of health care facilities would help MRC establish a rapport with themigrants as well as their employers. Further, we could link the workers to different governmentschemes and policies which have been made for their benefit which illiteracy along with a host ofother factors disable them to take advantage of. If workers are aware of their rights andresponsibilities, they would have a better bargaining power and would be in a better position tonegotiate with their employers for a better wage and facilities. This can be facilitated by setting up abasic services facilitation centre especially for migrant workers. We could also advocate on theirbehalf and ensure that workers get access to basic services such as clean water, toilets, shelter andelectricity. At this stage we must pressurize the employers to ensure the wellbeing of the workers byorganizing labour collectives and encouraging migrant workers to unionize themselves.

We started 3 child learning centres at brick kilns in Kharghar, Taloja and Khandeshwar. Teachersfrom nearby communities were appointed to teach children between the ages of 3-15 for two hoursevery day. The brick kiln employers supported us by giving us space besides the kiln so that theparents could keep an eye on the children while they worked. We are in the process of attemptingto ensure that these children are enrolled in schools when they go back to their villages during themonsoons.

These workers are not registered anyway which is a cause of most of their problems. Source anddestination linkages crucial-not difficult as area is close by-ensure that they get government

schemes- insurance, health, housing- not registered with construction workers welfare board-advocacy efforts to ensure the same.


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Badiwadi 10 1.4 9.2

Bhilwalewadi 6 .8 10.0

chichvaliwadi 28 3.8 13.8

Dandwadi 4 .5 14.4

Dhahivliwadi 6 .8 15.2

Dhamniwad 5 .7 15.9

Dharniwadi 9 1.2 17.1

Dolwaliwadi 3 .4 17.5

Dongarwadi 20 2.7 20.2

Donvatwadi 7 .9 21.2

Durshet 49 6.6 27.8

Gadavali(Kantroli) 1 .1 28.0

Ghodavali(Kantroli)

1 .1 28.1

Ghodvalivadi 14 1.9 30.0

Godavali(Kantroli ) 8 1.1 31.1

Gohewadi 8 1.1 32.2

Halbu 3 .4 32.6

Heramvadi 1 .1 32.7

Honawadi 14 1.9 34.6

Horalewadi 7 .9 35.5

kairewadi 7 .9 36.5

Kandhroli TarfeVankhal

15 2.0 38.5

Kandhroli Vadi 2 .3 38.8


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Kandroliwadi 2 .3 39.1

Kantroli 2 .3 39.3

Karivaliwadi 13 1.8 41.1

katalachi Wadi 5 .7 41.8

Khanavwadi 14 1.9 43.7

Kharpudiwadi 26 3.5 47.2

Kharsundi 2 .3 47.5

Kharsundiwadi 5 .7 48.2

Kharvaiwadi 5 .7 48.8

koparwadi 3 .4 49.3

Kumbhivali wadi 10 1.4 50.6

Lohapwadi 3 .4 51.0

Mahdwadi 9 1.2 52.2

Mankivaliwadi 5 .7 52.9

Mhasobawadi 16 2.2 55.1

Mirkut 5 .7 55.8

Morbewadi 5 .7 56.4

Nadadwadi 5 .7 57.1

Nadodhe 2 .3 57.4

Nadodhewadi 29 3.9 61.3

Narangi Dattawadi 3 .4 61.7

Narsary Wadi 5 .7 62.4

Navandewadi 26 3.5 65.9

Palibu 5 .7 66.6


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Pansilvadi 1 .1 66.8

Pansilwadi 8 1.1 67.8

Parkhandewadi 16 2.2 70.0

Poiwadi 6 .8 70.8

Pondhavadi 11 1.5 72.3

Ranasayeewadi 15 2.0 74.4

Salawadi 1 .1 74.5

Sangdewadi 10 1.4 75.8

Sarangvadi 5 .7 76.5

Shindivadi 3 .4 76.9

Shiravali 5 .7 77.6

Sindiwadi 6 .8 78.4

Takaiwadi 11 1.5 79.9

Talavliwadi 7 .9 80.9

Tembatewadi 3 .4 81.3

Tembewadi 11 1.5 82.8

Thane-Nhavewadi 2 .3 83.0

Thembrevadi 13 1.8 84.8

Ujkoliwadi 10 1.4 86.2

Vadgavwadi 11 1.5 87.7

Vanivadi 11 1.5 89.1

Vanvewadi 10 1.4 90.5

Vashivali wadi 31 4.2 94.7

Vavarlewadi 5 .7 95.4


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Warosewadi 15 2.0 97.4

Wawoshiwadi 19 2.6 100.0

Total 737 100.0

b) Village-Wise Distribution of Sample

Frequency Percent CumulativePercent

Aapti 27 3.7 3.7

Aasre 4 .5 4.2

Adoshi 2 .3 4.5

Anjarun 4 .5 5.0

Asare 17 2.3 7.3

Badiwadi 10 1.4 8.7

Bhilwale 6 .8 9.5

chichvali 28 3.8 13.3

Devnhave 15 2.0 15.3

Dharni 9 1.2 16.6

Dolwadi 3 .4 17.0

Donvat 7 .9 17.9

Durshet 49 6.6 24.6

Ghodvali 2 .3 24.8

Godavali 8 1.1 25.9

Gohe 8 1.1 27.0

Hal 3 .4 27.4

Honad 14 1.9 29.3


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Horale 27 3.7 33.0

kaire 7 .9 33.9

Kalote 2 .3 34.2

Kalote Rayti 9 1.2 35.4

Kandhroli 2 .3 35.7

Kandhroli TarfeVankhal

2 .3 36.0

Kandroli 2 .3 36.2

Kantroli 2 .3 36.5

Karivali 13 1.8 38.3

Khalapur 18 2.4 40.7

Khanav 14 1.9 42.6

Kharpudi 22 3.0 45.6

Kharsundi 7 .9 46.5

Kharvai 5 .7 47.2

Kopri 3 .4 47.6

Kumbhivali 10 1.4 49.0

Lohap 3 .4 49.4

Mahd 9 1.2 50.6

Mankivali 5 .7 51.3

Mohapada 3 .4 51.7

Mohpada 6 .8 52.5

Morbe 5 .7 53.2

Nadad 5 .7 53.9

Nadodhe 31 4.2 58.1


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Narangi 3 .4 58.5

Navande 26 3.5 62.0

Palibu 10 1.4 63.4

Pansil 1 .1 63.5

Parkhande 16 2.2 65.7

Ranasayee 15 2.0 67.7

Sala 1 .1 67.8

Sarang 5 .7 68.5

Savroli 11 1.5 70.0

Takai 11 1.5 71.5

Talavali 11 1.5 73.0

Tambadi 3 .4 73.4

Tembe 11 1.5 74.9

Thane-Nhave 12 1.6 76.5

Thembre 14 1.9 78.4

Ujkoli 10 1.4 79.8

vadgaov 11 1.5 81.3

Vanave 10 1.4 82.6

Vani 11 1.5 84.1

vasdgaov 16 2.2 86.3

vashivali 31 4.2 90.5

Vavandal 3 .4 90.9

vavarle 5 .7 91.6

Vinegaon 6 .8 92.4


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Vinegav 14 1.9 94.3

Warose 15 2.0 96.3

Wasabe 8 1.1 97.4

Wawoshi 19 2.6 100.0

Total 737 100.0

c) Gram Panchayat Distribution of Sample

Frequency Percent

Cumulative

Percent

Aapti 27 3.7 3.7

Atkargaon 2 .3 3.9

Chowk 55 7.5 11.4

Devnhave 15 2.0 13.4

Gohe 8 1.1 14.5

Honad 56 7.6 22.1

Horale 43 5.8 28.0

Isaambe 2 .3 28.2

Jamsang 26 3.5 31.8

Kalote 34 4.6 36.4

Kandroli 1 .1 36.5

Kandrpli 2 .3 36.8

Kantroli 10 1.4 38.1

Karivali 13 1.8 39.9

Khalapur 34 4.6 44.5

Khanav 14 1.9 46.4


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Kharsundi 13 1.8 48.2

Khopoli 14 1.9 50.1

Kumbhivali 4 .5 50.6

Mankivali 12 1.6 52.2

Mohapada 3 .4 52.6

Mohpada 7 .9 53.6

Mopada 8 1.1 54.7

Nadodhe 31 4.2 58.9

Narangi 10 1.4 60.2

Navande 26 3.5 63.8

Navdhe 5 .7 64.5

Sala Rembharo 1 .1 64.6

Sarang Thembri 22 3.0 67.6

Savroli 11 1.5 69.1

Shikali 15 2.0 71.1

Thane-Nhave 34 4.6 75.7

Ujkoli 10 1.4 77.1

Umbre 49 6.6 83.7

vadgaon 7 .9 84.7

Vadgaon 1 .1 84.8

vadgaov 69 9.4 94.2

Vavandal 3 .4 94.6

Vavarle 21 2.8 97.4

Wawoshi 19 2.6 100.0


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Total 737 100.0

Documents

Study on Brick Kiln Workers