CHENNAI: British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai, Oliver Ballhatchet MBE has profusely praised the State government for its constant efforts to eliminate the bonded labour system.“My congratulations to the chief minister of Tamil Nadu for heading one of the few state governments in India, leading the fight against the crime of bonded labour. In 2019, Tamil Nadu gave India its first-ever ‘Commentary on the Bonded Labour Act’, launched right here in Chennai, by my predecessor,” he said.
He was addressing the commemoration ceremony of the enactment of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, organised by the International Justice Mission (IJM) and British Deputy High Commission, Chennai.
The British envoy said
in 2019, Tamil Nadu launched a first of its kind in India, One-Stop Crisis Team (OSCT) in all 32 districts of Tamil Nadu, to prevent and tackle the issue of human trafficking. “Since its launch, this OSCT team and the State administration has rescued 122 victims of human trafficking including as many as 50 bonded labourers,” the British Deputy High Commissioner added. Justice Vineet Kothari, Executive Chairman, State Legal Services Authority, and Judge, Madras High Court, said to tackle the prevalence of bonded labour, the government needs to work towards stopping it.