Following the rescue of 43 Irula bonded labourers from a sugarcane plantation in Pudukkottai district on May 29, another batch of 273 labourers from Odisha was rescued from two brick kilns in Tiruvallur district on Monday.
Lured by middlemen to the State with promises of good wages and regular working hours, 91 families from Balangir, Nuapada, Bargarh and Nabarangpur districts arrived here six months ago.
Engaged to work in two brick kilns belonging to the same owner, they found themselves trapped in a life of slavery. “They were made to work for 17-20 hours daily,” Alice Suganya, director, case work, International Justice Mission, told Express. “While some had been tricked through payment of an advance, others had not even received any money,” she said. The kiln owner denied them freedom of movement or seek outside work. While the minimum wage for labourers is `153 per day, most families at the kiln were paid only `300 per week.
When RDO K Abhirami arrived at the site, many families pleaded for rescue.
One labourer, Vignesh, was promised high wages and lured from a stable job in Mumbai. When he rebelled against the owner, he was locked up for days without food. Six labourers, including four women, were brutally beaten by the owner and his henchmen when they asked to be released. Children above the age of three were also forced to work under harsh conditions.
