Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - India (Ratification: 1954)

Previous comments

Articles 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. 1. Bonded labour. Monitoring mechanisms and effective implementation of the legislative framework. The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that regular awareness-raising programmes with field level officers, such as district magistrates, superintendents of the police and Labour Department officials at district and state levels, have been held on bonded labour by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the state human rights commissions. The Government adds that a total of 296,000 bonded labourers have been identified and released in the country, so far. As regards states, since 2019, 700 bonded labourers have been identified in Uttar Pradesh and 29 in Andhra Pradesh, as well as 158 bonded labourers in Tamil Nadu, between 2021 and 2022. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that all of these victims benefited from financial assistance under the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2016. In that regard, the Committee observes that the Central Sector Scheme was revised in 2021. The Government adds that, since 2019, in Uttar Pradesh, 158 employers have been convicted for bonded labour with penalties of imprisonment and a fine. The Committee notes that, according to the Crimes in India report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 592 cases of bonded labour under the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 (BLSA) were registered in 2021, which represented a decrease from the 1,232 cases registered in 2020. Furthermore, in 2021, 564 persons were arrested under the BLSA and 40 persons were convicted in 38 cases. While welcoming the various measures taken by the Government to eliminate bonded labour, the Committee notes the absence of information on: (i) the functioning and effectiveness of the vigilance committees established by state governments at the district and subdivisional level in order, inter alia, to assist the courts in monitoring and ensuring the proper implementation of the BLSA; and (ii) the penalties effectively applied to perpetrators of bonded labour. The Committee accordingly once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure the proper functioning and effectiveness of the vigilance committees established by all state governments, and the results achieved in terms of the number of bonded labourers identified, withdrawn and rehabilitated, including through the Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2021. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that the provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, are strictly and effectively enforced so as to enable the imposition of dissuasive penalties on persons who involve others in bonded labour. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the number of prosecutions and convictions regarding bonded labour. It further requests the Government to provide information on the specific penalties applied to perpetrators.

Magnitude of the problem. The Committee recalls that it has been repeatedly referring to the urgent need for a comprehensive, large-scale national survey on bonded labour, in order to ascertain the scope and order of magnitude of the practice. In relation to state-level surveys to be conducted to collect data on the magnitude of the problem of bonded labour in the country, the Committee notes that, according to the Crimes in India report from the NCRB, 22 out of the 36 states and union territories (UTs) did not report identifying any bonded labour victim or filing any case under the BLSA in 2021. In that regard, the Committee notes that the NHRC, in its advisory issued in December 2021, recommended to undertake periodic surveys for the identification of bonded labour. It further notes that, in the context of the 2022 universal periodic review, the United Nations country team indicated that, decades after the enactment of the BLSA, forced labour and bonded labour continued to be prevalent in India and disaggregated government statistics on bonded labour and forced labour are not available (A/HRC/WG.6/41/IND/2, 19 August 2022). The Committee therefore urges the Government to take all necessary measures to ensure that statistical information on the nature and trends of bonded labour is made available through compiling any relevant data collected at the state and union territory level. The Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will provide information without delay on the magnitude of the issue of bonded labour in the country.

2. Culturally sanctioned practice involving forced labour. In relation to lower castes and tribes often engaged, as a result of their social origin and under coercion, in manual scavenging, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that under the Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS): (i) 58,098 manual scavengers have been identified and released from manual scavenging with cash assistance; (ii) 18,800 manual scavengers benefited from various skill development programmes with monthly stipend; and (iii) 2,090 manual scavengers benefited from a capital subsidy for self-employment projects. The Government adds that a National Action Plan for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) has also been developed with a view to eliminating manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, and regular workshops are being organized in municipalities on safe cleaning practices. Furthermore, manual scavengers are eligible to receive a capital subsidy for the procurement of mechanized instruments and vehicles for cleaning sewers and septic tanks. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a mobile application called Swacchata Abhiyaan was launched in December 2020 to capture data on existing insanitary latrines and manual scavengers associated with their cleaning. The Government states that the data is now being verified by the concerned district administration. The Committee however notes that, in 2021, the NHRC issued recommendations on manual scavenging, while highlighting that periodic comprehensive surveys should be conducted, as a result of several anomalies found in existing surveys on manual scavenging. The NHRC also expressed serious concern over widespread continuance of manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning, despite existing laws and guidelines prohibiting this practice. In that regard, the Committee notes that, on 22 February 2023, the Supreme Court directed the Government to place on record, within six weeks, the steps taken to implement the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, including the steps towards rehabilitation of manual scavengers (Order W.P.(C) No. 324/2020). It further observes that, in March 2023, the Government informed the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment that a total number of 1,035 sanitation workers died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks. In 74 of these cases, compensation remains to be paid. In that regard, the Committee notes that as many as 347 manual scavengers died over the past five years, mainly in Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi states. While noting the measures taken by the Government to eliminate manual scavenging and the prohibition of such practices established in the national legislation, the Committee expresses its concern over the persistence of this practice, in situations that could amount to forced labour. The Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to ensure that the provisions of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013,and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Ordinance (No. 1) of 2014 (SCST Act of 2014) are strictly and effectively enforced, and the effective rehabilitation of manual scavengers is ensured. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the findings of any survey on manual scavenging, including the number, age group and gender of persons who are still working as manual scavengers.

3. Culturally sanctioned practices involving sexual exploitation. The Committee previously referred to the prevalence of the devadasi system, a culturally sanctioned practice in certain states of India, under which lower caste girls are dedicated without their consent to local “deities” or objects of worship and once initiated as devadasi are sexually exploited by followers of the “deity” within the local community as they grew up. The Committee notes the Government’s general statement that several laws have been adopted by the central and state governments to completely prohibit this practice, the legal framework being actively implemented in order to prevent and punish any such incidence. The Committee however notes that, on 14 October 2022, the NHRC sent notices to the central and state Governments of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra over the continued menace of the devadasi system in spite of laws criminalizing this practice. On that occasion, the NHRC indicated that more than 70,000 women were identified as devadasis in Karnataka, as well as 80,000 women in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, most of whom are from scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The Committee again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to bring an end to the devadasi system in practice, including through effective enforcement of the legislation adopted in the different states. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard and the results achieved in terms of the number of women and girls who have been withdrawn and rehabilitated. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions relating to the practice of devadasi, as well as the specific penalties imposed.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.