Ten bonded labourers from Orissa, including three women, were rescued from a hollow block unit in Tiruneermalai near Tambaram on Monday.
Staff from the office of the Revenue Divisional Officer, Tambaram, rescued them with the help of two non-governmental organisations with police protection on Monday morning. They were brought to Tambaram and handed certificates identifying them as “victims of forced labour” that entitled them to government rehabilitation funds. They were also given Rs. 1,000 each.
Inhuman conditions
Officials said they actied on a complaint from Tamil Nadu Bhagat Singh Human Rights Protection Committee that a number of people were working in inhuman conditions at the hollow block unit, De Leo Constructions.
A statement from IJM said the management paid them only Rs. 46 per day, far below the stipulated minimum wage of Rs.113.6 per day. Vinod, one of the workers, said they hailed from Rayagada district of Orissa and had been working in quarries and other construction sites in Chennai for about three years.
They joined the hollow block making unit in Tiruneermalai unit three months ago and were promised wages between Rs. 250 and Rs. 500 a day.
Further investigations are on by the Kancheepuram district administration. The labourers were sent to Orissa later in the evening.