KOCHI: The Ernakulam District Labour Office on Tuesday issued a stop memo to three high-rise buildings under construction for having violated labour rules. The stop memo was issued to Marymatha Construction, for a commercial building complex at Infopark Phase 2, and Sunpaul Properties and MPS holdings for a commercial complex at Tripunithura. The company officials were unavailable for comment.
According to the Labour Department, the construction at these sites was carried out flouting all safety and labour rules.
“When we inspected the construction site, labourers were not following any kind of safety measures. They didn’t use safety belts, barricades, helmets or other safety equipment at the construction site,” said District Labour Officer V B Biju who conducted a surprise visit as per the direction of the Regional Joint Labour Commissioner K Sreelal.
According to Biju, some companies had not even paid the workers. “As per rule, labourers should be aware of the salary they draw. But in this case, they are clueless about the payments. Many of them haven’t received arrears for several weeks,” he said. The department also found the labour camps of these construction companies are functioning in unhygienic surroundings.
“The condition of the labour camps is pathetic as they don’t have any basic facilities. Some of them were even staying inside the under-construction building where water-leakage is rampant. This is unacceptable,” Biju said.
The officer said the surprise inspection was conducted to ensure the safety of labourers. “We don’t want to put the owner of the building into trouble. The drive was aimed mainly at ensuring the safety of both labourers and society. If the construction owners are ready to follow the rules, we will lift the ban,” he said.