Modern-day slavery in the form of bonded-labour exists in the brick kilns in India. Entire families of men, women and children as bonded-labourers are working in these kilns for a pittance and in terrible conditions. They work 12 to 18 hours a day to pay off their undocumented debt in perpetuity, from generation to generation, to produce what is now termed as “blood-bricks” for the construction industry.

It is shameful that a great country like India, according to 2016 Global Slavery Index, has the highest number of people in the world trapped in modern-day slavery with 18.35 million victims of forced/bonded labour [1]. About 10 million of India’s “modern slaves” labour in appalling conditions in brick kilns [2] against the Minimum Wage Act of 1948, the Bonded Labour Act of 1976, the Interstate Migrant Workers Act of 1979, and Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act of 1986 [3].

In these brick kilns, there are horrific physical abuses and violations of health and safety regulations as well. One can see pregnant women, children, and adolescent girls working in kilns, in hot weather, for long hours. Their diet is poor; living quarters pathetic. There is no drinking water nearby. They live like slaves in unsanitary conditions. There is no facility for children’s education. Being bonded labourers, they cannot escape; recently, hands of those who tried to escape were chopped off [4].

Kiln workers, being in an unorganized sector, receive little oversight from the government agencies. Kiln owners and labour contractors who are profiting from slave labour have little interest in protecting the rights of the workers and providing them with safe humane work and living environment.

We believe, that unless there is a strong oversight of these kilns and consumers of the bricks produced by bonded-labourers in slave-like conditions say ‘NO to these blood-bricks’, kiln owners are not likely to modernize their operations, reduce pollution, or treat their workers with dignity and respect they deserve. With massive construction activities taking place in India’s growing economy, continuation of this medieval bonded-labour practice is neither moral nor acceptable in the modern era and above all it is illegal.

We, therefore, urge Honourable Prime Minister of India to:

·        Ensure that all brick-kilns in India be subjected to adequate government oversight, be required to obey ALL labour laws, and maintain records of the wages and debt of the workers whether directly or indirectly employed via labour contractors.

·        Establish a “GoodBrick” seal program. The seal of “GoodBrick,” after verification and regular monitoring, be given only to those kilns that produce bricks without bonded labourers and follow all labour laws. Such kilns should be asked to stamp “GoodBrick” seal on all bricks they produce along with the seal of the kiln they already stamp.

·        Require that all entities operating in construction industry such as real estate developers, public works departments, corporations, educational institutions, hospitals, or any other private or public building where construction takes place, document their sources of bricks and under penalty of perjury give an affidavit that the bricks used have “GoodBrick” seals.

·        Enforce 2011 United Nations and OECD guidelines according to which companies will have a direct responsibility to check on human rights abuses anywhere in their supply chains. These guidelines should also be applied on construction industry [5].

·        Launch a public awareness campaign against the use of blood-bricks and only to use bricks bearing “GoodBrick” seal. 

·        Bring to justice those engaged in bonded-labour practice and enact laws, at least as strong as the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015, with a budget and capability to ensure organizations are held to account for modern slavery in their supply chains, and to empower independent oversight [6].

We thank you for your consideration and a prompt action in eradicating modern-day slavery in brick kilns in India. We can be reached at NoBloodBricks@gmail.com

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Notes:

[1] Global Slavery Index http://www.globalslaveryindex.org/country/india/

[2] India's Bonded Laborers in Brick Kilns Slowly Learn They Have Rights, March 25, 2016 http://www.voanews.com/content/bonded-laborers-in-india-slowly-learn-they-have-rights/3252957.html

[3] Why India's brick kiln workers 'live like slaves' Jan 2, 2014 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-25556965

[4] The Hindu Article, Dec 19, 2013, Odisha contractor chops off hands of two labourers, http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/odisha-contractor-chops-off-hands-of-two-labourers/article5469620.ece and BBC News Magazine, 11 July 2014, Punished by axe: Bonded labour in India's brick kilns http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27486450

[5] 2011 United Nations and OECD guidelines endorsed by The Human Rights Council in its resolution 17/4 of 16 June 2011. http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf  

[6] UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted

Please see summary report on Brick Kilns in India at https://goo.gl/qOwB1Q