18th Jan, 2012 Delhi :  On a day, which was recorded as the coldest day of the season in Delhi, Shyam (name changed) was found embroidering a silk garment in just one shirt, pant and worn out slippers. The shivering of his hands was continuously disturbing the movement of the needle through the silk threads, but he had no other option.

12 such children were rescued on the morning of 17th Jan, 2012 by police in raids in North-West district of Delhi from sweet shops, leather and garment units and roadside dhabas on a complaint filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

The rescue operations were led by SDM S.K. Nigam in Daya Basti, Sarai Rohilla and SDM Ajay Kumar in Inder Enclave, Saraswati Vihar accompanied by police, members from Labour Department and Bachpan Bachao Andolan. 5 people were arrested on the location and police is investigating further.

6 children were rescued from two sweet shops in north-west district, 2 from Zari unit, 2 from leather purse making unit, and 2 were rescued from roadside dhabas/hotels respectively.

The youngest one being 9 year old, most of the children belong to the villages of U.P. and Bihar and used to work for more than 12 hours a day without any wages. They were found in a wretched physical condition clad in bare minimum clothes, some even having skin diseases and it seemed that they had not taken a bath for weeks. Trafficked to Delhi from their native villages, they were held in bondage in these industries and units.
Mr. R.S. Chaurasia, chairperson , BBA said, “It is unfortunate on the part of police and labour department that children in large numbers are still working in unregistered factories and shops in residential areas. It shows that a lot more work is still required to eliminate trafficking and forced labour of children.”

17 Jan, 2012 Delhi  : All activists, leaders and staff of Bachpan Bachao Andolan has expressed deep sorrow at the loss of Mr. Hazari Lal Jatolia, one of its founding pillars who passed away this morning. Mr. Jatolia was a leader and voice of hundreds of thousands of socially backward and downtrodden people. He was one of the leaders who led the struggle for “Harijan” right to entry at the historic Nathwara temple where backward castes were not allowed to enter for centuries.

He has been an outstanding social activist for the last five decades initiating several campaigns for the rights of most deprived sections of society including Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, and has spearheaded the Rin Mukti Andolan (debt relief movement) in India, that has resulted in over 200,000 debt ridden families getting relief. Read the rest of this entry »

16th Jan, 2011 Delhi   On a complaint filed by Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) stating the exploitation of labourers to National Human Rights Commission, an order is issued by the Labour Department for making the payments of the labourers through cheque or crediting the amount directly into their account through ECS to ensure that all employees are paid minimum wages notified by the government. The order also reveals the rates of minimum wages for different class of employees in scheduled employments under its jurisdiction.

BBA chairperson Mr. R. S. Chaurasia had sent a complaint to the National Human Rights Commission stating therein that names of 3/4th labourers are not even mentioned in the attendance register or payment of wages register. They are also not issued any appointment letter nor job cards thus confirming their position in an exploitative situation. The complaint recommended the payments to be made to all the labourers through cheque or ECS.

The Commission considered the report and thus forwarded it to the Labour Department that has finally issued an order advising the employers to make payment to the labourers through cheque or ECS. It is an appreciable step taken by the commission on priority basis and reflects the support of the commission in building of a labour friendly society.