AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRACTICE OF BONDED LABOR IN INDIA.

The Concept of ‘Forced Labour’

Human trafficking and Forced Labour is an issue which is very much prevalent even in Modern India. In India, we have a long history of Forced Labour. Historically the Zamindars (landowners) and the British Raj used to compel the local communities to work for them with very little or no remuneration paid. They used to treat these laborers as a slave with no basic rights and dignity attributed to them. Around the globe as well, the system of slavery was very much prevalent in large parts of Colonial regimes as, with Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela being two of the most vocal critics of slavery in the second half of the 20th century. In India, Although Forced Labour is banned under the constitutional provisions along with other legislations still Forced Labour is a concept which has gripped the informal sector. Not only workers in India but Even Indian workers who go to work outside as laborers are suffered from this phenomenon, the Gulf countries being the prominent example. The workers are forced to live in pathetic conditions and often forced into a kind of slavery. Their passports are snatched and the contact with the outside world is often cut. Even in India migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal are forced into human trafficking and made to work as forced Labour. Keeping in mind the above-mentioned situations, in this article, we will be analyzing the concept of Forced Labour and the legal remedies available to deal with it.

 

Introduction

The standard definition of Forced Labour accepted by ILO is according to the ILO forced Labour Convention of 1930[1] which defines forced or compulsory labor as “all kinds of works and services which is extracted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily”. In Layman’s term Forced Labour can be explained as situations where persons are forced to work against his/her will through the means of violence, coercion, or any other involuntary work generally under the threat of punishment. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 recognizes dignity as an inherent aspect of human life, and the UN general assembly through various articles of UDHR has put forward a step for the abolition of forced labor. The important articles which deal with these concepts are as follows: Article 4[2] which talked about Abolition of slavery, article 13(1)[3] which talks about freedom of movement and residence within the boundary of any country and article 23(1) [4]which talks about one’s right to work, to free choice of employment and to protect against employment.

Forced Labour and Indian Law

In the Indian scenario, the concept of forced labor can be traced back to earlier times where Hierarchy in the form of the Varna system was present. The labor class at the bottom of the hierarchy generally used to take loans from feudal landlords and in a lot of cases due to high-interest rates along with other factors they were unable to return the loan amount and thus used to become highly indebted, therefore in lieu of the loans they used to work for these landowners unconditionally and was forced into being their slaves. Post-Independence the situation changed and Constitutional provision was added in this regard. Article 23[5] and 24[6]of the Indian constitution which talks about Rights against exploitation was added as a fundamental right provided by our constitution-makers. Article 23 of the constitution of India prohibits any sort of forced Labour and considers it as an offense under the Indian Law. However, the state has given the privilege to impose compulsory service on individuals for public services but the state while imposing such services should not discriminate against any individual on the basis of race, religion, caste, or class or any of them.[7]   The concept of Bonded labor is also violative of the ethos of article 21[8] of the constitution of India as Article 21 guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, It includes right to free movement, right to eat, sleep and employment according to your own conscience and pleasure, and no one should be forced to do anything which he doesn’t want to do. Forcing anyone into such inhuman practices is also violative of ones Right to life and personal liberty. In the year 1976, specific legislation to prohibit the practice of forced labor was legislated which came to be known as the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. This act made all the practices of bonded or forced labor as invalid and illegal. This act is also supported by other legislations such as the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The control labor (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, and the interstate migrant workmen (Regulation of employment and conditions of service) Act, 1979. Because of these legislations, the situation might have mildly improved as compared to earlier times however forced labor as an evil concept still has a strong presence in our society.

Supreme Court and Forced Labour

The supreme court of India and other legal forums from time to time has reiterated the principle of prohibition of forced labor as per the constitutional provisions. The Hon’ble SC in the Asiad workers case[9] held that non-payment of minimum wages is violative of workers right to life while in Bandhua Mukti Morcha case[10] it said that workers cannot be kept in bondage just because of non-payment of debt by the workers himself or even by his ancestors. Further In the case of Sanjit Roy v. State of Rajasthan[11] the Hon’ble Supreme court restricted the state from paying the labors less than prescribed minimum wages in the name Public Service and said that such practice will amount to forced labor and will be clearly violative of Article 23 of Indian Constitution. There are many other cases where the Supreme Court has undertaken the concept of forced labor and has always ruled in favor of withholding the principle of article 23 of the Constitution. The approach of our judiciary has always been pro workers and this has helped in strengthen the principles of labor law in India in recent times.

Conclusion

The constitutional provisions are there, the legislations are there, the government machinery is there, there are a plethora of judgments by various courts in India which has from time to time has reiterated the principles of labor law and stepped in to ban the practice of forced labor in any form. However, in spite of all this the concept of forced or bonded labor is very much present in our working system. A large of workers in the informal sector are brought in through the medium of Human Trafficking and are forced to work as bonded laborers. It is important for the government to look at two aspects the first being the recovery of these forced laborers through strict vigilance or through the establishment of a strong force to tackle such problems and the second being the rehabilitation of the released workers because if these laborers are put on themselves in the open world then they will again be very vulnerable and might become the subject of further exploitation. Hence we would like to conclude by saying that ultimately it zeroes down to the state to control the activities of forced labor. A strong push from the government will definitely curb such practices and will ultimately make the lives of these laborers better along with making India a better society.

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***Raja Reeshav Roy, 4th Year, BA LLB Student, National Law University, Jodhpur.

***Prince Pathak, 3rd Year, Student., Faculty of Law, Banaras Hindu University.

[1] Article 2, ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

[2]  Article 4, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

[3] Article 13(1), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

[4] Article 23(1), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948.

[5] Article 23, The Constitution of India, 1950.

[6] Article 24, The Constitution of India, 1950.

[7] Article 23(1), The constitution of India,1950.

[8] Article 21, The Constitution of India,1950.

[9] People’s Union For Democratic Rights vs Union Of India & Others, AIR 1982 SC 1473.

[10] Bandhua Mukti Morcha vs Union Of India & Others, AIR 1984 SC 802.

[11] Sanjit Roy v. The State of Rajasthan, AIR 1983 SC 328.