In north India, the many pressing challenges that brick kiln workers face in having their rights protected have been extensively documented. From circumstances of debt bondage, to wage theft and the lack of minimum wage payments, to gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and abuse, a wide swath of rights and entitlements are the focus of an array of workers and organizations seeking to foster change.
There is a diverse range of stakeholders involved in brick kiln workers’ rights. A great deal of advocacy takes place by charitable humanitarian initiatives and anti-slavery organizations. Far less recognized is the vital role that unions and workers themselves play in worker organizing, education, and action.
While union representation for kiln workers is highly uneven across the country, the global union Building and Wood Workers International and its local affiliated unions across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and other states are active in getting workers registered for insurance and welfare schemes, holding labor actions and working on pro-worker policy and law at the state, federal and international levels.
An activist holds up a poster with the International Labour Organization’s Violence and Harassment Convention (C-190)
