Jacob Hembrom SJ
01 May is a day of commemoration of the working class. The roots of the Labour Day can be traced to the second part of the 19th century when there were revolutions, and organizations around which industrial workers rallied. Countries like Germany, France, England, and US saw working demand for reducing work time from 12-15 hours a day to eight hours.
Today, in our context the matter is not just overtime duty, but there are various issues which invite us to look into. We are in a special period of the year where everyone is shocked and perturbed by seeing thousands of deaths every day.
We remember what the daily laborers went through last year in the beginning of the lockdown. We can never forget the scene of a woman, clad in rags, carrying a baby in her arms and, on her head, a bundle wrapped in an old cloth. A man, walking ahead of her, carries an iron box with a child holding on to his hand. Similar groups walk ahead of them.
The plight of India’s hapless migrant labors came into sharp focus when 16 were crushed by a speeding goods train near Aurangabad in Maharashtra state around 5 A. M. on May 8, 2020. This is the reality in which our fellow brethren live. In spite of the lockdown in the country this year, so many company agents came with huge buses and took men back to their companies and factories for work. At whose risk are they taken, is the question many ask?
This year we have not yet seen such great Exodus, but, I am sure, in a month or two, we may witness it. This time we may not notice their big baggage, but, certainly, there could be the invisible baggage of Corona. The pandemic has highlighted the real working and living conditions of most workers.
The unfolding crisis makes one stop and wonder how can this be the situation of most Indian workers even after 70 years of independence? This is the condition of our migrant workers going with lots of hope and dreams to earn their livelihood. Who should be responsible for their well being? How safe and healthy are they in their work place? How well and justly are they treated during their work? These are the questions that remain unanswered.