KOCHI: Jamiruddin, a migrant worker based in Kochi, has been due `12,000 in wages for more than a year. The owner of the restaurant near Pallikkara, where he works, made do with part payments, and that to at irregular intervals. Tired of this treatment, Jamiruddin, who hails from Assam, decided to file a complaint at the adalat organised by the Ernakulam District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) in Perumbavoor.
Although his employer agreed at the adalat to settle the matter by January of this year, he later accused Jamiruddin of theft and now insists on resolving the issue before law enforcement.
In a similar case, Lalan Ali, from West Bengal, filed a complaint a year ago for nearly Rs 1 lakh in unpaid salary. Employed in the construction sector, his contractor claimed that only Rs 20,000 was outstanding. More recently, Musharaf, also from West Bengal, came forward with a complaint against the same contractor, claiming around Rs 50,000 in pending pay.
They were afraid to report the situation to officials. Moreover, the contractor threatened them, claiming political connections. Ali also filed a report at the Perumbavoor adalat and is awaiting resolution.
Information with India Labourline (ILL), an NGO that deals with compensation and rights violations of migrant and informal-sector workers, reveals that wage theft has emerged as a significant issue, with the government struggling to address it. According to ILL, nearly Rs 2.45 crore in stolen wages was reported between October 2022 and January 2024.
During this period, ILL received 1,152 complaints from migrant workers in Kerala, seeking assistance for non-payment or withholding of wages through its helpline.
“We received 1,161 cases till February 10 and recovered `50,96,546,” indicates Disha D, ILL’s Kochi centre coordinator. “Nine of ten complaints received via the helpline are about pending wages. In cases where we intervened, over 85% of the complainants were from the construction sector, with the rest from the restaurant and hotel industry,” she said.
Ayaz Anwar, the programme director of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), says nearly one-third of the cases were settled through mediation. “We intervene with the assistance of the labour, police, and local self-government departments. We also take the help of people’s representatives of local bodies,” he added.
ILL pamphlets and literature in various languages are distributed in areas with a large migrant population and locations where they congregate, stresses Ayaz. “When one complaint is resolved, it gives others the courage to report their issues. Migrant workers are unable to complain as most of them don’t even know the full names or addresses of persons they work for. And that makes filing of complaints difficult,” he added.
Interestingly, some contract workers with Kochi Water Metro have filed a collective complaint for about Rs 1.4 lakh in unpaid wages. As workers from West Bengal, Odisha, Assam and Bihar form the largest chunk of migrant labourers in the state, they also account for the most complaints ILL receives.
Benoy Peter, the executive director of CMID, which runs ILL’s Kochi centre, pointed out that the state needs to evolve an effective mechanism for complaint resolution. “Most workers keep moving around and are unaware of whom to approach in case of grievances. We require a permanent mechanism,” he added.
When contacted, officials of the office of the labour commissioner said that despite inspections, the department is yet to come up with an effective mechanism to address the issue.