CHILDREN IN BRICK KILNS

A multi- location study in five states

Conducted and published by:

Aide et Action International- South Asia 16/20, Gilchrist Avenue, Harrington Road, Chetpet, Chennai 600031, Tamil Nadu, India Ph: 044 28365516 Year : 2011

Join us on : www.aea-southasia.org contact us at contact@aea-southasia.org

Migration Information & Resource Centre (MiRC) House No:3, Subhadra Villa, Jagamara, Bhubaneswar-751030, Orissa, India www.aea-southasia.org

About us:
Aide et Action International (AEAI), a developmental organisation, works in 26 countries across South Asia, South East Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. AEAI envision a world where dignity is ensured for all men, women and children through education a lever for human development. AEAI-South Asia works in three countries: India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. Our projects impact the most disadvantaged groups and are spread across nineteen states and one union territory in India, three regions in Nepal, and three locations in Sri Lanka. We work to ensure education for all, specially the disadvantaged and marginalised, by addressing the inadequacies of the education system. Migration being one of the themes, our plan is to engage with migrant population to promote safe migration, reduce distress migration and ensure continued education for migrant children. Migration Information & Resource Centre (MiRC): MiRC functions under Aide et Action International South Asia to facilitate thematic work on migrant children's rights to education and protection. It addresses issues related to internal migration and its impact on children both at source and destination locations in India. Our migration initiative is spread across 3 states in India- Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Odisha, and is soon going to expand to other states and neighboring South Asian countries where migration figure is predominately high.

Contents
Preface Executive Summary Chapter 1 Introduction Magnitude of seasonal migration Contextualising seasonal migration Migration - children and the law Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act gaps in design Loopholes in implementation of the law Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008 Chapter 2 Rationale of the study Methodology Sampling Data collection and analysis Chapter 3 Findings from the study Demographic and socio-economic profile Status and rights of child migrants Recommended areas of intervention: a) Recommendations for policy b) Recommendations for source area c) Recommendations for destination area d) Recommendations for NGO/ civil society organisations Chapter 4 Conclusion Reference 32 35 29 29 30 31 17 17 26 14 15 15 16 5 6 7 9 10 12 13 1 2

Key Initiatives of MiRC:

MiRC works closely with academic institutions and government departments, dealing with labour and rural development to engage in research and advocacy on social, economic, child rights and education issues surrounding migration. MiRC is involved in educating, facilitating agencies, civil society organisations, and government and donor agencies to understand, plan and manage migration intervention, focusing on child rights and education, labour entitlement and rights With the growing mobility of migrants, MiRC is instrumental in coordinating and collaborating with various stakeholders for facilitating inter-state management and coordination on migration. MiRC engages with various media electronic and print to provide a voice to migrants and document successful cases on child education, migration reduction, safe practice and protection of labour rights.

For futher information, write to us at: Migration Information & Resource Centre (MiRC) Aide et Action International South Asia, House No-3, Subhadra Villa, Jagamara, Khandagiri Bhubaneswar-751030, Odisha, India +91 674 2350503 / www.aea-southasia.org

Preface
Indian Brick kilns industry is the second largest brick producer in the world, second to China, and having more than 100,00 operating units producing about 14 billion bricks annually. Brick kilns in India employ migrant families from poorer region who primarily belongs to dalit, tribal and other backward communities. Brick making being seasonal in nature and function, operates during the dry seasons of the year and prior to the onset of the monsoons (usually during the end of May and the first week of June), the furnace in the brick Kilns close down production. Generally brick kiln requires manual labour for molding, stacking, head loading, firing and transporting. A large number of migrant families including women and children are recruited by labour agent and are employed in the brick kilns through a system of advance. Child labour is an integral part of the brick making labour unit. There are works specially designated for children in the brick kiln. The debt or the advance which the people borrow from the middleman also has a small component of wage for a child to work in brick kiln. Poor families due to abject poverty and distress, move with their families and live as bonded labourers for 6-8 months to produce brick. They receive a meager income and work under testing conditions. Aide et Action International South Asia has been working in brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to ensure education to the children of migrant families. It is also focusing on the nutrition and issues related to child protection. The present study is an attempt to document the condition of children living in a number of worksites located in Bihar, Orissa, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The study illustrates the harsh condition of children who live with their parents in work sites for 6-8 months and struggle to access bare minimum facilities for human survival. The study reveals as how the children are being forced to work in the brick kiln as part of non paid family labour, and subjected to abuse and human exploitation. The children in brick kiln are far away from the ambit of accessing nutritious food, school, drinking water, sanitation and other social security in the worksites. With the enactment of Right to Education, Child protection and nutritional security of children being given a priority in a welfare state, the excluded children, women and workers in the brick kiln are yet to catch the attention of the policy makers to access and benefit from such schemes and programmes. We at Aide et Action International are quite optimistic, that, this study will definitely help make the children in brick kiln visible and their issues are heard for a meaningful policy and programme intervention, both by policy makers, Government and the Civil Society Organissations. We owe our special thanks to AEAI-SA's regional office in Tamil Nadu (Chennai), Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad), Bihar (Patna) for facilitating the study in their respective area. We thank Prayas Centre for Labour in Ahmedabad for the support in facilitating the study in the brick kilns in Gandhi Nagar. Last but not the least, I thank Mr. Pradeep Baisakh our former colleague in MiRC who coordinated the study. I sincerely thank Arpan who has done the editing, and AEAI-SA's Communication unit for their support in bringing out the final layout of the study. Umi Daniel Head, Migration Information Resource Centre (MiRC) Aide et Action International South Asia

Executive summary
The significance of children's education and the detrimental effects of child labour (not just for the child, but for the society as a whole) can never be over-estimated. These issues have been discussed extensively and policies have been formulated since the time of independence. So have the issues of rural poverty, caste discrimination, seasonal migrations and labour exploitation. However, these problems have persisted, partly because of lack of political will, and partly because of their sheer magnitude and the complexity involved. And in recent times, some of these problems have become intertwined in a more hideous form. The present report discusses how seasonal migration, which has become an ever-growing stream due to widespread rural distress, encourages child labour and creates school drop-outs among children in India. Hitherto, migration has been considered as a male domain and this view has been supported by policy. However, in the last two decades, there has been an increasing trend of household migration, which includes women and children. Also, seasonal migration has now become a routine livelihood strategy of the rural poor due to lack of any alternatives, including the failure of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guaratee Act (MNREGA) to create any reliable livelihood option. With a well-entrenched system of contractors and the complete lack of official registration (of workers, contractors or the worksites), this kind of migration is known to be marred by a series of processes which are out rightly illegal and exploitative. Therefore, this study tries to investigate the profile of migrants, their status, and conditions, with a special focus on children who migrate with families and eventually get socialised into a 'circle of migration1', thus making intergenerational mobility next to impossible. The study was made in five destination areas2 of seasonal migrants, in one such industry of brick kilns.

suffer from multiple layers of exclusion. A high population of historically disadvantaged castes also points to rural distress, where depleting forests and other natural resources, and consequent failure of government schemes, have induced large-scale migration among the poor.

While analysing the access to government food-security and livelihood schemes among migrants, it was found that the number of Antodaya card holders among brick kiln workers is low. Majority of the families belong to the BPL category, while non-card-holders, although low, are a significant percentage of the total. This can mean two important things one, that the errors of exclusion and inclusion are so huge, that many families do not have access to ration cards, or Antodaya/BPL ration cards, despite fitting into the category; or two, that it is not only the poor people who migrate to the brick kilns to work but some from the above poverty line who go out when there is not enough work at the home place.
Worse still, it was found that under the MGNREGS, almost half of the migrants do not have job cards, which means that they remain outside the purview of the scheme, despite the need. Second, almost half the people who migrate seasonally do have job cards, yet, due to delay and uncertainty in the system; they too are choosing to migrate. Thus, the three major reasons for migration, as reported, are better wages, debts, and lack of work at the native place all which are interrelated and cannot be analysed in isolation from one another. A significant majority of seasonal migration happens from the BIMARU (Bihar, Maharashra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh) states, with a high proportion of tribal states such as Orissa, Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand. Almost all migrants come through contractors after incurring a debt, which may range from a couple of thousand rupees to tens of thousands of rupees. Since a substantial part of their earnings are deducted against the advance, most workers are paid less than Rs 500 per week or between Rs 500-1,000 per week. This is the weekly wage of the daily toil of a whole family (about 3-4 members), for more than eight hours a day, under minimal worksite facilities. It was found that the migrant workers live a life of absolute deprivation, with dismal conditions of worksite facilities. Most of the houses were kuccha, with a variety that includes thatched, tin, plastic, and asbestos houses. Most houses reported having the facility of electricity, however this is usually provided by contractors to enable work even after dusk and does not actually light up little camps of migrant houses. It is clear that a significant majority of houses use firewood as a cooking medium. This is because firewood is a cheaper option as compared to kerosene and is mainly collected free from the trees and plants in and around the brick kilns, by the women and/or children. Open defecation, lack of reasonable health facilities, and unavailability of clean drinking water pose a great threat to the health and wellbeing of the children. Although, it is a relief that almost all migrants have access to water in somewhat nearby places, despite the quality issues which remain. Children-specific findings show that morbidity rates among children are high, although the frequency of a child falling ill depends on various factors, including the age and immunity of child. Types of morbidity too range across multiple diseases and include cold/fever, allergy, infections, and diarrhoea. The causes of these diseases are mainly traced to impure water, lack of proper food, and lack of accommodation, clothing or medical support. Child labour seems to go unchecked in the brick kilns despite the existence of laws against it. Children help their parents in the brick kilns and parents also allow it since it earns them extra income. The division of labour in the brick kiln is such that there is a very clear demarcation of work for children. It may be kept in mind that many parents are aware of the risk of revealing the fact that their child works in the kilns, therefore the figures cited from the research may actually be an underestimation due to non-reporting by the families. It is also evident from the data that most children eventually drop out of school because of migration. Only some, who migrate to nearby places, which may be within the state, are able to go back to the native village to appear for their exams. However, in the absence of regular classes, their performance and learning remains at dismal levels.

The report is divided into four broad sections

Section 1 - The first section introduces the study and goes on to do a complete literature review and policy analysis of the issue. It notes the increase in magnitude and changes in the nature of migration, and concludes that there is lack of authentic data to comprehensively capture this complex and dynamic phenomenon. It argues that children are the most unrecognised and vulnerable group among migrants, especially since they have little control over the decisions that directly affect their life. Migration does not only drive them out of school, but also puts them at health and security risks. Since the payment at most brick kilns is on piece-rate basis, children become the unpaid hands and work for long hours in dire circumstances. Despite the SSA and the RTE, child migrants remain deprived and out of school. Adding to this is the powerlessness of their families who, in absence of help from the policies, laws or schemes, cannot provide them with any support. Government provisions do not reach seasonal migrants since they are neither acknowledged nor perceived positively by the policy makers who continue to deny them or consider them as a menace. Section 2 - This section discusses the objectives, methodology, and sampling of the study. Five Indian cities, namely Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Patna, and Bhubaneswar and Cuttack (clubbed together as twin cities) were covered by the study, based on purposive sampling. Data collection was done using both quantitative and qualitative methods to bring out their relative merit. Section 3 - This is the core of the report since it presents the findings of the study. These findings have been categorised under three headings demographic and socio-economic profile, worksite facilities, and children specific findings. The study provides explicit evidence for significant migration of women and children; and within children, a major proportion belong to the age group of 6-18 years, an age where formal education is critical for growth and development. Caste-wise analysis once again helps us conclude that a majority of those who migrate belong to SC or ST communities, and therefore

1 2

AIF, 2007 Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Patna, Bhubaneswar and Cuttack

The two most important reasons for school drop-outs are: lack of schools in the destination areas and; most of children are involved in work to support their parents. It must be noted that gender plays a very important role, wherein a girl child is more likely to drop out to take care of the household chores or to take care of the younger siblings, while freeing the mother to contribute to brick-making.
Section 4 - The last section constitutes recommendations drawn out from the findings. This section has been divided into recommendations related to policy, for source areas, for destination areas, and those for civil society or NGOs to take initiatives in. Through the findings and the recommendations, this study hopes to create the knowledge and awareness on the issues of seasonal migrants and their children; and to provide direction to policy makers so that urgent steps can be taken in the right direction.

Introduction

The brick kiln industry is a source of livelihood for many thousands of unskilled labourers from across states. Since brick-making is seasonal in nature, the work attracts an influx of migrant labourers, many of whom are landless farmers, also belonging to disadvantaged social communities. While the freedom to migrate within the country is an enshrined right under the Constitution of India, the nature of this seasonal migration is a result of intermittent drought, unequal distribution of land, lack of adequate irrigation facilities, low livelihood opportunities, and half-hearted execution of government schemes. All this is accompanied by an organised system of middlemen, facilitating the labour movement. Thus, this migration is not for accumulation but is marked by powerlessness and compulsions of bare survival. In most of this migration, children accompany parents, but are not classified as child labourers or child seasonal migrants. Seasonal migration often overlaps with the school calendar and deprives children of the most basic right of education, among many other rights. The present research is an attempt to capture migrant life in brick kilns, focussing on the child within the migrant community, seeking to investigate the rights and risks around seasonal migration to brick kilns.

Magnitude of seasonal migration

The Census and NSSO both provide data for migration. However, they do not adequately capture seasonal migration since their definition is not employment related; they list 'change from birthplace' and 'change in last usual place of residence'. The NCRL3 estimates that there are 10 million rural migrants who migrate seasonally, among whom 4.5 million are interstate migrants4. According to the NSSO 55th round (1999-2000), there were nearly 10.87 million short-term migrants. Of these, 8.45 million were residents of rural areas, of which 3.06 million were females and 5.39 million males5. However, both these are likely to be underestimated. The World Migration Report 2008 puts the number of internal migrants in India at 42 million6. Usually, poorer villages are the sending areas and urban centres or richer villages are the receiving areas of migrants7. The trend of ruralurban migration is increasing and fast becoming most common, due to the rise of a class of contractors, who provide advance money and connections to migrate. Eastern states such as Bihar, Orissa, Jharkhand, etc. are the major sending states from where seasonal labourers go out to different parts of the country to work. It is known that villagers from Orissa mostly migrate to brick-kilns of Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam, in Andhra Pradesh, as well as to some parts of Gujarat (such as Surat) to do various odd jobs, and in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack within Orissa.

Contextualising seasonal migration

Seasonal migration is a hideous symptom of rural distress, livelihood crisis, and chronic hunger. Much of the seasonal migration from rural areas is undertaken by poor families in desperate situations, for bare survival. The three features listed by Smita10 to explain the differences between 'distress migration' and 'migration for accumulation' are: A lack of alternatives in sending areas, which force entire families, including children to migrate in search of work and pushes children into hazardous labour and the vicious migration cycle. Work which is based on debt bondage, generates little or no surplus for the labourer at the end of the season, and is merely for survival, and Work which involves large scale violation of labour laws and child rights. Many significant changes have occurred in the nature of seasonal migration since last two decades. From a phenomenon of years marred by natural calamity, it has become a routine strategy for coping with crisis in livelihood and food security in the village. It is no longer limited to overcoming seasonal shortages, but has become a primary source of income for many.

An estimate by the Migration Information and Resource Centre (MiRC), made in 2009 based on the migration register, suggests that from Balangir alone about 1.5 lakh people migrate out to other states to work. These are mostly semi-skilled workers who are unorganised and exploited in industries such as brick kilns.
A study of brick kilns around Hyderabad suggests that 35 per cent of migrants are children, of which 22 per cent are in school going age of 6-14 years8. In Balangir, a study found 38 per cent of the migrants to be OBCs, 20 per cent as STs and 40 per cent as SCs9. It is estimated that children (0-14 years) accompanying migrant families are one-third of the total migrant population, while children in the elementary school age group (0-6 years) are 20 per cent, i.e. a total of 6 million.

Migration is now undertaken by the nuclear family, including wife and children, and is no longer a restricted male domain. The key reason lies in the payment on piecerate basis, which allows women and children to work as unregistered labour and invisible labour.
The trend of increasing migration of children and women creates newer policy questions and challenges; given their greater vulnerability. Migration is no longer related to labour scarcity in one area, and a corresponding labour surplus in another. For instance, the city of Hyderabad is a sending as well as receiving area. It has been argued that the employers and contractors find labour from outside to discipline local workforce and to control the cost of labour11. The payment is so low, that it is more profitable to transport large numbers of labourers to long distances and pay a class of intermediaries. This phenomenon is increasing complexity and the trends suggest that local labour is being displaced by the migrant labour. Thus, ''the traditional causes of distress migration are getting interlocked with the employer's intent of labour control12. Another important change is the growth of a class of contractors, who are employed by factory owners to 'provide' families for work. These contractors go around in the villages to identify disadvantaged families, extend loans in return of

3 4 5 6 7

National Commission on Rural Labour Srivastava Ravi, 2005 ibid The World Migration Report 2008, Chapter 7 Dev and Evenson 2003, Kundu 2003

8 9

From Hunger to suffering, Action Aid, 2005 Survey of 7 blocks by CADMB (Community Action Against Drought Mitigation in Bolangir Smita (2007) Locked Homes, Empty Schools: the impact of seasonal migration on the rural poor, American Indian Foundation, Zubaan Publishers, New Delhi Srivastava and Sasikumar, 2003 Locked Homes, Empty Schools, the impact of seasonal migration on the rural poor, American Indian Foundation, 2007

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obligation to migrate and arrange for their travel to the worksites. The presence of contactors has increased the magnitude of rural-urban migration and the 'advance' offered has enabled even the poorest of the families to migrate. Previously, poorest of the poor could not migrate, as this too required some resources and social capital. Even in situations of seasonal shortages, life's exigencies and lack of alternatives, migration is not an easy option. It tears apart families and necessitates cruel choices.

Distress in migration
Lost childhood and torture Sushila Deep (name changed) a Dalit girl from Balangir, migrated along with 40 other migrants to Hyderabad to work in a brick kiln. Among these migrants, 20 are children. They have to work for long hours in inhuman conditions. The owner and his allies always harass and abuse them. One day the brick kiln owner, Feroz Khan, his brother Ayub Khan, and a labour agent Sanju Sagaria from Bolangir, kidnapped Sushila and two other minor tribal girls. They were raped under captivity for many days. Finally they were rescued with the help of NGOs and government representatives. When rescued, the children were severely malnourished. A person had become disabled and a woman lost her mental balance due to the inhuman abuse and torture unleashed on them by the owners. With the help of Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, all the victims were rescued, criminal cases filed against the culprits and all the released workers were sent back to Balangir. Finally, justice was delivered to the poor girl but two more of the accused are still at large. We will try our best to pursue the other two girls to appear before the court, as per the request of the judge) to punish those who are equal partners in the crime committed on the poor, helpless tribal, and Dalit migrant labourers.

A unit in brick making

The work unit in brick kilns is known as Pathuria and comprises of man, woman and child. The series of work is: mixing clay, making mud balls, moulding, carrying wet bricks for drying, flipping them when dry, carrying head loads of dried bricks for firing and finally loading ready bricks onto trucks for transport. This work requires 14-16 hours a day, from a whole family, with meagre income and no labour law benefits. Children form an important part of these operations, many a times working b e y o n d t h e i r s t re n g t h . M a n y operations, such as walking over semi-dried bricks to flip them, have to be done specially by children.

Interstate migrants are particularly vulnerable, given that they are unfamiliar with the local people, geography, language, and systems. They have no address and are unable to maintain minimum contact with their homes. Almost always, they get less than minimum wages and much of it is anyway deducted against the advance.

Pathuria, a labour unit in a brick kiln, comprises of man, woman and a child

Migration - children and the law

Long working hours and no holidays are a rule. Migrant workers live in sub-human conditions, often living in fragile, makeshift houses. They are regularly overworked and eat much less than what is required for heavy manual labour. Their diet is not only insufficient and monotonous, but also unhealthy and lacking in nutrition. The reports of abuse and Source: Umi Daniel, http://orissamigration.blogspot.com exploitation of seasonal labour is easy to come by. Despite braving hardships, the families return with little or no surplus. Distress migration creates long-term indebtedness for families, fails to generate cash returns and perpetuates below subsistence level livelihoods (Mosse, 2005).

In the village, their life is nearly uprooted

Seasonal migrants, who are anyway the poorest and the most powerless, face reduced interaction with the rest of the village and other communities, leading to a decline in their representation in the local institutions. Their needs and aspirations are taken far less seriously, due to their sporadic presence in the village. Many find their homes or small plots of land encroached upon and cattle, dead when they return. In a village, which has a large SC/ST population and migration levels that can go up to 90 -100 per cent, villages remain empty for most of the year. There is no living activity; no celebration of festivals, no active public institutions and the community assets fall into disuse13. Who goes and who stays back, how to take care of those left behind and the cattle are difficult questions, which the families resolve after great deliberation. Often, when there are difficult choices to be made, a family has to choose the lesser evil. The elderly, who are almost always left behind, in the absence of their grown children, become more critically dependent on the rudimentary social support network of the village; or are most often left to fend for themselves. On the other hand, children, who mostly accompany their parents, drop out from the school and are invariably drawn to work in the destination areas.

India recognised the Right to Education as a fundamental right in 2009. The country is also striving to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), of which the second goal is to achieve universal primary education by 2015. However, through the more ambitious Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme, the Indian government is working to achieve Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) by 2010. India is also a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989). Amidst this positive scenario, there is little attention to the plight of the children of migrant labourers, although year after year their ranks are swelling. In India, the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the State education departments do not even have data with respect to this category of children, let alone a strategic plan in place to address related concerns. Urgent steps are thus needed for their education and development if the UEE targets and the MDGs are to be achieved14.

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ibid

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Smita, May 2008, Distress seasonal migration and its impact on children's education, CREATE PATHWAYS TO ACCESS Research Monograph No. 28

The Indian constitution lists basic provisions relating to the conditions of employment, non-discrimination, and right to work (e.g. Articles 23(1), 39, 42, and 43). The country has ratified and is a signatory to a number of UN and ILO declarations and conventions. Thus, there exists a body of labour laws and policies, which theoretically protect and regulate the employment conditions and rights of migrant workers. However, large loopholes remain in both, the design of the law and its actual implementation. This section will discuss two important regulations - Migrant Workmen (Regulation and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 (ISMW) and the Unorganised Sector Workers Act, 2004. While the former deals specifically with malpractices associated with the recruitment and employment of workers who migrate across state boundaries, the later seeks to bring myriad informal sector workers under the social security cover.

No provision to monitor unregistered contractors and establishments

Another very significant shortcoming is that the Act covers only those migrants who have migrated through registered contractors. However, most of the contractors are neither registered, nor are the establishments (factories or work sites). There is no provision to monitor unregistered contractors and establishments. Moreover, many states have not yet appointed licensing, registering, and inspecting authorities.

Victims of fate
Bilasini had migrated with her husband, a stepson, and an infant daughter in the hope of earning money and being able to repay old debt. However, in just two months, she returned widowed and without her son. After two months of toil, Khirasindhu, her husband, was incapacitated with severe stomach camps. He was taken to a hospital by the kiln owner, the labour contractor, and the munshi or accountant of the kiln, Suresh. On Bilasini's insistence, their son Sujan accompanied his father. Two days later, the labour contractor tersely informed her that her husband had died after an operation. She saw two fresh long cuts in the region of his stomach and his upper limbs were swollen. Their son was nowhere to be found. She was told that he had disappeared, and was lost in the teeming city of Hyderabad. Bilasini could not comprehend what had happened. Passers-by whispered to her about the illegal trade in organs that thrived in the city, suggesting that her husband's kidneys had probably been stolen. The boy may have protested, therefore he was taken away. Only God knew where, and what had become of him. The body was forcefully taken away from her for cremation a day later and no case was registered despite her visit to the police station. Source: Mander Harsh, 2001, Unheard voices

No provision for transfer of entitlements such as ration cards, pensions, etc. in the Act.
Most of these schemes are based on population strength and allocation of food grains or budgetary allowance depending on population size. In a scenario where a significant proportion of the population moves out of the village for several months, year on year, without their entitlements being transferred, their share of allocation for entitlements remain unaccounted for. This allows for a nexus of corruption and malpractices to grow in all government schemes, in the source area (AIF, 2007). The work load in many government institutions such as anganwadis, PHCs, and schools is reduced (ibid). Also,

Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act gaps in design

The Act makes no provision for crches, literacy classes for children and/or mobile medical units at the establishment employing migrant labourers.
Employment schemes such as the NREGA have failed to check migration in the areas even where they have been successfully implemented. This is because in cases of migration there is no limit to the number of working days and more than one member of the family can work.

No special provisions for children and women workers, given their specific vulnerabilities.
Children accompanying parents on migration are not counted as child labourers. However, in reality, especially when the payment is on piecerate basis, almost all children are invariably pulled into working with adults (ibid). There is no provision for schools near the brick kilns, and even if there were, the language of instruction would make it impossible for children migrating from different states to access schooling. Thus, most of these children eventually become dropouts. Education is indispensable to break this barrier of poverty and exploitation, and therefore keeping children away from schools is one of way of ensuring inter-generational supply of powerless migrants.

The Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of employment and conditions of service) Act, 1979, is the only legislation for the safety and regulation of migration. A good percentage of migrant population is left out of its ambit as it applies only to people who cross state boundaries. Also, since the Act only provides for 'regulation of employment and conditions of service'; a more comprehensive view of migration and its associated struggles are left unaddressed in the law. It takes no note of people's dependence on migration for survival and their powerlessness vis--vis contractors and employers. The implementation of the Act is more difficult to address due to poverty, illiteracy, powerlessness, and lack of collective organisation of the labourers. Unfortunately, the Act takes no notice of these facts and that most of the migrants actually belong to the historically-disadvantaged communities. This, worsened by the seasonal and fluctuating nature of employment, difference of language, customs, geography, and the unfamiliarity of court procedures, makes it almost impossible for a migrant labourer to have any bargaining capacity. Neither does the Act acknowledge such issues and provide guidelines for interstate cooperation, nor is there any positive affirmation of the migrant's contribution to the economy.

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Loopholes in implementation of the law

Despite the Act having been passed three decades ago, some crucial conceptual and implementation questions have still been left unaddressed, which, unfortunately render the whole Act ineffective. These are: 4. Non-enforcement of important regulations: such as minimum wages, displacement allowance, medical facilities, and protective clothing fails to protect migrants from exploitation and vulnerability. The work hours are long, usually consuming 12-14 hours a day, and involve heavy manual labour.

Behind the industry

The brick kiln industry is ruthlessly exploitative and highly evolved. It is profitable enough to get all relevant people to turn a blind eye to its illegality. 'Officially', nearly 100 per cent of the brick kilns in Hyderabad are illegal. They simply do not have the licenses to operate; or the necessary registration for migrant workers. None of the worker welfare requirements within the 1967 Inter-state Migrants Act are met. Unofficially, a most influential web of landowners (who rent the land), politicians (who are often the landowners), policemen, labour, and revenue officials (who all turn a blind eye), Panchayat officials (who may own land, kilns, or be Sardars), and a host of other petty and not so petty officials, make lucrative 'bonuses' from the industry. Source: - Thomson, Koy (2005) Critical Stories of Change, Action Aid International

1. Lack of positive perception related to migration: The legislation of the Inter-state Migrants Act did not bring about any change in the official perception of migration. Migration continues to be considered 'a problem', a negative phenomenon; and is perceived as a threat to the social and economic stability of the destination state. In both, explicit and implicit ways, many government programmes (particularly those of rural development) seek to control migration rather than regulate it. Their contribution to the economy, both at source and destination, continues to be unacknowledged. Despite the widespread prevalence of distress migration, migrants remain invisible as there is none to assume responsibility. The sending villages and local functionaries write off the migrants, ignoring their entitlements, as they are not physically present for much of the time. On the other hand, recipient villages see these seasonal migrants as visitors who do not belong and will sooner or later return to their permanent home. They live dreadful lives in temporary tents near work sites, put up by the contractor or employer. Migrants' lives continue to be beyond the law, neglected by the state and society. 2. Lack of information and data gap: As discussed above, the data on nature and extent of migration is not captured by the NSSO and Census of India due to methodological hurdles. Besides numbers, government officials lack information and sensitivity to violations of migrant workers' rights, nature, and places of violation, etc., resulting in heavy underrecording of such violations. Government officials have no understanding of the working and living conditions of migrants, their needs and vulnerabilities, and the importance of migration, as an indispensable means of survival for the poor. Since the Act applies only to workers migrating through contractors and not to workers migrating out of their free will, it is easy for contractors to be unregistered and show as if the labour migrated on their own volition. In a nutshell, the government needs to record not only the statistical data on migrants and their profile, but also identify and list the contractors and the establishments. 3. Lack of political will: One of the major hurdles in the implementation of Inter-state Migrants Act is the lack of political will. Seasonal migrants, though being most vulnerable and poor, do not find significant place in policy discourse or planning and are largely ignored. Migrant labourers often do not cast votes and are left uncounted in census. They are therefore, in a sense, invisible. Any effort to trace and register migrants and therefore bring them under the purview of law, is completely lacking. Some state governments have yet not framed or notified rules to implement the Act. Lack of political will has led to a laxity in the appointment of authorities for licensing, registering, and inspecting. States at the destination are reluctant to allow the inspecting authority of another state to make inspections in their state (despite a ruling by Supreme Court in 1991). Moreover, any basic service to migrants would need better coordination among departments located in different sectors and different areas. With marked regional differences in language and state government regulations, such coordination may pose a great challenge which can only be managed by serious political will.

Unorganised Workers Social Security Act, 2008

The Unorganised Workers Social Security Act seeks to provide social security to 93-94 per cent of India's workforce, which has so far remained outside the preview of any facilities enjoyed by the organised workers. It lists 11 schemes relating to old age and disability cover, health, and maternity benefits; and insurance schemes. Besides these, it provides setting up of 'Social Security Advisory Boards' at the central and state levels, which will have the powers of recommendation, advice, review, and monitoring.

The Act provides for biometric registration, with a unique identification number, and issue of 'smart cards' to about 400 million unorganised workers.
Although the Act has positive features, it has been argued that it extents only a few schemes to the informal sector in the name of social security and creates advisory boards which have only ornamental powers. Moreover, with regards to the coverage of migrant workers; implementing this Act will be an enormous task, since the migrant workers are neither registered nor do they have a regular employer or a place of employment.

The coverage benefit of the Act has already been questioned by agricultural, construction, and a host of other workers who seem to have been excluded by the law.
Although the impact of the Act is still to be seen, it can be said that the Act will require strong political will to reach migrant labour.

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Rationale of the study

development of personality. With children who are largely uneducated and underdeveloped, intergenerational upward mobility becomes difficult, and there are greater chances that the exploitative system continues unabated. Therefore, the present study is an attempt to investigate and document the lives and challenges of seasonal migration, with particular reference to children. Some of the important aspects of this are: why and how children migrate, what is their subjective experience, how does it impact their growth and development, how they build their social networks, and how they exercise their agency in the whole process. All of this will vary with the social and community setting, including caste, age, and gender and its interplay with the characteristics of each individual child. An effort has been made to make the findings useful for policy advocacy, particularly so in the light of the most recent Right to Education Act.

Methodology
This study was conducted in five locations where the brick kiln industry thrives on the labour of seasonal migrants. The methodology adopted was based on mixed-method, employing both the approaches of quantitative and qualitative research. Quantitative research helps in generalisations and policy advocacy, while qualitative study is important to present holistic understanding and subjective experiences.

Sampling
The sampling for the study was purposive, based on our prior experience, work areas, and judgment of local teams. In such a sampling, one must observe caution in generalisation; however, it is most effective in maintaining heterogeneity of major social and spatial groups. Five Indian cities were chosen for the study including two twin cities: 1.Hyderabad, the city which has a serious concentration of brick kilns to cut-down the cost of transport of bricks to the city construction sites from shorter distances. Most of the labour force in Hyderabad comes from depressed areas in Orissa, particularly districts such as Balangir, Nuapada, Kalahandi, etc., which have strong push factors for people to migrate. 2.Chennai, where above 1 lakh labourers, mostly inter-state migrants; work in about 300 brick kilns, spread in and around the city. 3. Ahmedabad, one of the major cities in the state of Gujarat, which has witnessed very fast development over the last two decades. Consequently, construction of roads, houses, and other infrastructural facilities has also taken place in a rapid manner. In order to cope with the growing demand of bricks for these constructions, a number of brick kiln units have been developed in the city and outskirts. It has been estimated that above 1 lakh labourers, mostly inter-state migrants, work in about 300-400 brick kilns spread in and around Ahmedabad. 4.Bhubaneswar and Cuttack cities within Orissa. Districts of western Orissa such as Balangir, Nuapada, Bargarh, Kalahandi, etc., have witnessed distressed migration for the last three decades. While most of them go to work in brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and other southern states, a significant number of people move to the brick kilns in areas around Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, and Berhampur. People from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, and Jharkhand also come to work in these brick kilns. Within these cities, we randomly selected locations and brick kilns. To select a sampling unit which was a household, we again used a purposive sampling method. Only those households, where a child had also migrated, were surveyed. The table below provides sampling details for the study. In Hyderabad, a sample size of 100 households (HH) with child migrants was chosen randomly from 5 brick kilns. In Ahmedabad, a sample size of 80 households (HH) was covered from 14 brick kilns. In Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, the two selected locations - Trisuliya (Cuttack district) and Hi Tech area (Bhubaneswar) - covered 8 households between them. Finally, 170 households were studied from 13 brick kilns in and around Patna.

Amidst this whole scenario of migration, the most vulnerable and unrecognised are the children. A child has very little control over the decisions of his/her life and is usually governed by the decisions of elders. When a child accompanies parents in migration, his/her education suffers the greatest in the process. Despite the recent policy focus on Right to Education, and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), for universalisation of elementary education, thousands of children continue to be deprived of learning due to seasonal migration. Seasonal migration leads to school drop-outs since the child is Objectives of the study: unable to attend school for at least 7-8 months in a year. Despite Creating migration and labour profiles The study attempts by local CSOs to provide some education, the same has aims to provide a socio-economic profile of the been difficult due to prevalence of child labour. labourers and seeks to understand the nature of

Despite national policies and international protocols being strongly against child labour, in practice, not much has been done to ensure its prevention. Moreover, where the family is indebted to the employer and wages are calculated on piece-rate basis, child labourers become invisible and unpaid.
Besides these, nutritional and health aspects of children are under severe threat since the food and living conditions at work sites are sub-human and deny even the basic standards. The violence both physical and psychological that accompanies seasonal migration and work in brick kilns, leads to gross violation of a child's fundamental rights and hinders growth and

migration while capturing the condition of workers in the brick kiln sites. Ascertaining the status of children in the work site The study aims to ascertain the role of children at worksites and the availability of different facilities related to children's nutrition, education, and health as well as protection/violation of various child rights. To explore the possibility of providing elementary education to migrant children in the brick kilns. To share the study findings with the state government and CSOs to engage policy makers by initiating dialogue and sensitising them towards the education, health, and other rights of migrant children.

5.Patna The capital of developing Bihar attracts thousands of migrants from nearby districts to work in the brick kilns. These migrants are from ST & SC communities.

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Map of India

Findings from the study

Demographic and socio-economic profile

3
Children Eligible for Education (6-18 years) 90 (21%) 111 (28.7%) 104 (69%) 193 (23%) 124 (38%)

Patna

This section presents the demographic and socio-economic profile of migrant households in brick kiln industry across five sample cities.

Ahmedabad

Table 1: Population details:

Cuttack Bhubaneswar

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna

Total Population 429 387 374 848 327

Male 231(54%) 214(55%) 247(66%) 511(60%) 210(64%)

Female 198 (46%) 173 (45%) 127 (34%) 337 (40%) 117 (36%)

Total Child Population 124 (23%) 193 (49.9%) 166 (44%) 238 (28%) 136 (41.6%)

Hyderabad

Chennai

Table 1 (below) shows at 2 critical trends: a) Despite city wise variations, the number of women and children migrating with men are significant15. b) A significant proportion of children migrating along with families fall between 6-18 years, an age where formal education is critical for growth and development.

City-wise sampling
City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna TOTAL No.of locations 5 14 2 5 13 39 No. of households 100 80 84 80 70 514

Moreover, as discussed before, this trend raises newer policy issues and requires special intervention from government as well as civil society organisations.

Table 2: Caste of migrants (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna ST 45 2.5 67.5 20.1 40 SC 27 92.5 25 68.6 15 OBC 28 5 6 10.7 45 GEN 0 0 1.2 0.6 0

Data collection and analysis

Data collection included gathering information on the socio- economic profile of labourers, recruitment system, payment mode, child health, education, and child labour, etc. The tools used were: House hold survey of families at the worksites Focus group discussion Direct and indirect observation Referrals to secondary sources Findings from each of these tools were carefully recorded and analysed. The findings have been presented here in two sets. One, the demographic and socio-economic profile and general living conditions of migrants and two, conditions of children who migrate.

Caste-wise analysis once again helps us conclude that a majority of those who migrate belong to the SC or ST communities, and therefore suffer from multiple layers of exclusion. A high population of disadvantaged castes also points to rural distress, where depleting forests and other natural resources, and consequent failure of government schemes have induced large-scale migration among poor. Particularly in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the findings point to a significant percentage of schedule tribes (STs) in the population migrating in search of livelihood from depressed districts such as Balangir and Mayurbhanj. Although a number of government projects are implemented in the tribal belt of Orissa, a large number of people still cannot secure their livelihood with seasonal migration.

15

It may be noted here that the sampling is done with the families having children. Therefore, this figure of the percentage of the children may not necessarily reflect the child percentage of the total population in the brick kilns as there are some families without children also, though their number is small.

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Table 3: Religion (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna HINDU 100 90 32.1 97.6 100 2.4 7.5 2.5 67.9 MUSLIM STs

above 14 years and within 18 years generally work with their families as a unit and do not go to the school. However, since it is normal in rural areas that children of slightly higher ages tend to study in lower classes, we can well consider the children above 14 years to be included as those covered in SSA. Although findings from Chennai show that most of the children are continuing their study at their migration place, the quality of education is something to question.

The data on religion is almost as per the demographic profile of the area covered. It is important to note that majority of the migrant labourers are Hindus. In Ahmedabad and Patna, a small portion of the population at the worksites, is also Muslim. In Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, 67.9 per cent of the population is from tribal communities. They do not follow any religion. It is noteworthy that there were households who said they are Hindu by religion although they are tribals.

Table 5: Status of ration card holders (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna BPL 59 66.3 38.1 57.4 67.5 APL 14 2.5 16.7 3.5 7.5 ANTODAYA 7 11.2 6 38.5 6.3 NO CARD 20 20 39.3 0.6 18.8

Table 4: Population of children in the migrated place (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna 0-6 YEARS 27 42 31 19 9 6-14 YEARS 46 45 59 45 71 14-18 YEARS 27 13 10 36 20

Graph 2: Percentage of households having ration cards

% of Households having Ration Cards
BPL 66.3 54 57.4 38.1 39.3 APL ANTODAYA NO CARD 67.5

It must be noted that children belonging to all age groups are found in the brick kilns. There may be a slight increase in numbers between 6-14 years since more number of children are found in this category.

Graph 1: Percentage of children at the brick kiln sites

38.5 % of Children at the Worksite 27 71 59 46 27 27 13 Hyderabad Ahmedabad 42 45 31 10 Bhubaneswar and Cuttack 19 45 36 20 9 Patna 0-6 YEARS 6-14 YEARS 14-18 YEARS The above graph shows the availability and nature of ration cards among seasonal migrants in the brick kiln industry. Although ration cards become dysfunctional in the destination area, the card holding and card type reflects the economic status of the family and their access to the Public Distribution System. Across cities, it was found that the number of Antodaya card holders, meant for poorest of the poor, among brick kiln workers is low. Majority of the families belong to the BPL category, while non-card holders, although low, are a significant percentage of the total. This can mean two important things one, that the errors of exclusion and inclusion are so huge that many families do not have access to ration cards, or Antodaya/BPL ration cards, despite fitting into the category; or two, that it is not only the poor people who migrate to the brick kilns to work but also people from the above poverty line who migrate when there is not enough work at the home place. Hyderabad 14 7 2.5 Ahmedabad 20 11.2 6 Bhubaneswar and Cuttack 3.5 0.6 Patna 20 16.7 7.5 6.3 18.8

Chennai

Chennai

The age between 0-6 years is crucial for the cognitive development of children; without proper parenting and in the harsh conditions of living at a factory worksite, it can only be assumed that seasonal migration causes lifelong damage instead of building stronger, healthier children among poor. These children do not get anganwadi facilities at the worksites. It may also be noted that the children in the age group of 6-14 years are supposed to be mandatorily covered under the SSA. But these age groups are not covered as there is a lack of school facilities near the worksites. Further, it is observed that in some of the worksites there are schools in adjacent areas but these children do not have access to them. Children

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Table 6: MGNREGS card (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna CARDHOLDER 57 51 53.6 40.8 41.3 NO CARD 43 49 42.9 59.2 58.7 3.6 NO ANSWER

Table 8: State-wise data of migrated families (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna 100 0 98.7 Orissa 95 Maharashtra 4 10 0 0 0 A.P. 1 0 0 0 0 Chhattisgarh 0 47.5 0 0 1.3 U.P. Rajasthan 0 13.8 0 1.2 0 0 28.8 0 0 0 Bihar Jharkhand 0 0 0 69.8 0 0 0 0 29 0

A lot has been discussed about the potential of MGNREGS, particularly for generating employment and controlling migration from rural areas. However, a cursory look at the data above (table 6) shows that almost half of the migrants do not have job cards issued under the scheme, which means that they remain outside the preview of the scheme despite the need. Second, while nearly half the people who migrate seasonally do have job cards, they are still choosing to migrate due to some loophole in the system. The reason may lie in MGNREGS not generating enough work, or the earnings either being low or late. Qualitative discussions reveal that work under MGNREGS is scarce and uncertain and is therefore not a dependable source of income for people who therefore prefer migration where some advance money is guaranteed along with some payment at the work place.

The state-wise details of migrants show what could have been a good guess significant instances of seasonal migration happen in a high proportion of tribal states such as Orissa, Chhattisgarh or Jharkhand as well as in BIMARU states. The brick kilns of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack and Patna show that the brick kiln workers are from within the state (Jharkhand was a part of undivided Bihar), while long distance migration is highest in Orissa. Within Orissa, most migrants constitute from the Balangir district. However, a part of the reason might lie in purposive sampling, which may have resulted in more migrants being covered in destination areas for Orissa.

Payment under MGNREGS

Details of payment under MGNREGS have been received from three cities Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, Patna and Chennai. Findings from Bhubaneswar and Cuttack show only about 18 families from the sample size benefited under the scheme. Within that a payment of less than Rs 2000 was made to 10 families, followed by a payment between Rs 20004000 to 6 persons and a payment scale between Rs 40006000 to only 2 families. In neither case is this sufficient to arrest migration. Moreover, other than the aforesaid figure, no other families, numbering 27 (61 per cent), got any benefit from the scheme despite carrying a card. The story is not much different in Patna, where only 4 households out of the 69 having job cards, received a meagre sum amounting to less than Rs 2000. The rest simply did not get any benefit under the scheme. Similarly in Chennai, only 1 (1.3 per cent) household out of 80 HH having job cards, received a meagre sum amounting to less than Rs 40000. It is unfortunate that a high budgeted scheme such as the MGNREGS, which provides hundred days of employment and create durable livelihood alternatives for local communities, has failed to mitigate their problems.

Table 9: System of middlemen (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Contractor / Local Broker 92 92.5 98 98.2 100 Relatives 2 0 2 0 0 Direct Contact 6 7.3 0 1.8 0

Table 9 shows that a significant majority of families migrate through contractors. It may be noted that a two-tier system of labour contractors is in practice one is the local village contractor, and the other, is the big area contractor, also known as 'sardar', who recruits people through local middlemen or directly.

Table 7: Reason for migration (in percentage)

City BETTER WAGE DEBTS Forced by Middlemen Lack of Work at Native Place Other

Table 10: Frequency of visit to native place (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Very often 2 0 0 8.3 0 Once in a Season 0 11.2 0 25.5 0 During Festivals 1 0 0 1 0 When target is over 97 88.8 100 65 100

Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna

17 25 51.2 51.1 5

55 2.5 1.2 18.9 23 22.5 1.3

26 70 46.4 30 45.7

2 1.3 1.2 3.8

Patna

The three major reasons for migration better wage, debts, and lack of work at native place cannot be analysed in isolation from one another. In fact, these three reasons are different dimensions of the same phenomenon and the difference is only of where the chain starts and how it is articulated and by the specific respondents. It is because of lack of work that people are forced into low paying exploitative jobs and therefore, left with no alternative but of incurring debt for emergency or even day to day expenses. Here, the work available at the destination place is not different from unskilled/semi-skilled manual labour and the wages (given below) are not anything much above the stipulated minimum wages. Also, most of the families have migrated while incurring a debt through middlemen. Hence, reasons for migration reflect absolute collapse of rural livelihood, forcing poor to urban areas for bare survival.

The table above shows that visits to the native place generated varied responses among respondents. Majority of families leave for their native place only after the season is over. This in fact, is the character of seasonal migration where workers come to the worksite and return home only after they complete work at the end of the season. The misery of these brick kiln workers is such that they are not even allowed to visit their native places even if a death, personal issue or emergency occurs in the village. They are also deprived of the right to cast their votes and end up being excluded from the census as they are usually kept captive and watched by the brick kiln owners.

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Table 11: Advance money taken (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna 14 60.9 24 23.7 2.5 20 5.9 13.8 23 0.6 22.5 61.3 18 1 8.9 Less than Rs. 5,000 2 Rs 5,000 Rs 10,000 8 Rs 10,000 Rs 15,000 17 Rs 15,000 Rs 20,000 40 More than Rs 20,000 27 Nil 6

Graph 3: Type of house (in percentage)

% of Type of Housing
1 0 0 0

99

100

100 100

100

Pucca Kucha

The above table shows that the amount of advance taken by different families varies to a great extent. Starting from less than Rs 5,000, it may go up to more than Rs 20,000. The higher the debt, the lesser are the weekly wages (due to deductions) and the higher is the target. In Patna around 61 per cent of the households take less than Rs 5,000 as advance money as most of the migrants are within the state. Where as in Chennai, 61.3 per cent of the households take more than Rs 20,000 as advance since the migrants work outside the state. In Hyderabad 40 per cent of households have taken an advance of Rs 15,00020,000.

Hyderabad

Ahmedabad

Bhubaneswar and Cuttack

Chennai

Patna

Table 12: Money received on weekends (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Less than Rs 500 90 1.2 100 70 83.5 Rs 500 Rs 1,000 10 58.8 0 25 16.2 Rs 1,000 Rs 1,500 0 40 0 5 0

The above table clearly proves that almost all houses in the destination area are kuccha, with the exception of a few. Within kuccha houses, there is a variety that includes thatched, tin, plastic and asbestos houses. In Ahmedabad, data suggests that workers are provided with mostly tinned or thatched houses for living. About 60 per cent of the people are given tin accommodation and 35 per cent are given thatched houses. The rest manage with polythene-covered make-shift arrangements. The overall arrangement for accommodation is way below the decent level. Similarly, in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, out of the total households surveyed, it was found that all of them had thatched roofs. This shows their dwelling to be semi-permanent to permanent (very rare) in nature. They have made the brick kilns their home. It also indicated that owners of the brick kilns are not providing suitable living structure to their employees. In Patna, the living conditions of the migrants are poor. 35 per cent (59) of the households live in houses with a thatched roof out of the total of 169 responses. Tiled houses are only 40 per cent (64) while pucca and asbestos houses are 13 per cent and 9 per cent respectively. The city of Chennai has all thatched houses.

Table 12 brings out the plight of seasonal migrants in brick kiln, most strongly. A huge number of workers are paid less than Rs 500 per week or between Rs 5001,000 per week. Only in Ahmedabad the wages seem to be a little higher for a few workers. To lay further emphasis this is the weekly wage of the daily toil of a whole family (at least 3-4 members), for more than 8 hours a day under little facilities of work. In Patna, as in other cities, depending on the advance taken, the weekly payments labourers get just enough to cover their basic expenses which vary from Rs 500-1,000. Those who had taken less advance, receive a little more. However paltry, this money, termed as 'kharchi', is utilised to meet the weekly food and other basic expenses of the family, leaving little or no surplus at the end of the week.

Table 14: Availability of electricity

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Yes 100 1.3 8 55.4 100 98.8 92 44.6 No

Worksite facilities
This section provides information on some basic facilities at the worksites. It is important that these facilities meet a decent standard to promote health and wellbeing of the migrant population, particularly children, since they are likely to be the most vulnerable.

Chennai Patna

Table 13: Type of house (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Kuchha 99 100 100 87 100 Puccha 1 0 0 13 0

In Hyderabad and Chennai, all the households in the brick kilns normally have electricity, as can be seen from the table above. However, the study in Hyderabad makes a very crucial observation. The purpose for which these households have been provided with electricity is hardly positive. It may be noted here that all the brick kilns are well electrified with tube lights so that workers can work in night. Most of the times the small dwelling cottages of the workers are right near the brick-making place. Given the size of the houses there is practically no scope for taking electricity inside the house as that would be dangerous. Here 100 per cent lighting therefore means not the lighting in the houses but outside. In fact many of the household chores are done outside the cottage and in the open. Cottages are used only to sleep. In Patna, where almost half of the houses did not have electricity, the workers use kerosene for lighting purposes. In Bhubaneswar-Cuttack and Ahmedabad, the households are not provided with electricity.

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Table 15: Medium of cooking (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Firewood 98 98.25 44 53.3 100 Kerosene 2 1.25 56 0.6 46.5 Coal

Table 19: Distance at which water is available (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Near 15 78.8 55.2 16 66.3 Very Near 85 11.3 54.8 84 33.8 Far 0 10 0 0 0

It is clear that a significant majority of houses use firewood as a cooking medium. This is because firewood is a cheaper option as compared to kerosene and is mainly collected free from the trees and plants in and around the brick kilns by the women and/or children. In Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, the households use both kerosene and firewood as the medium of cooking.

Since availability of drinking water is closely related to the illness index of the workers, the degree of its accessibility to the target population assumes significance. The above table clearly suggests that the source of water is quite accessible since it is provided by the contractor, along with the water that is used for the kilns.

Table 16: Toilet facility (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Own 1 0 0 1.2 0 Community 2 5 0 20.1 1.2 Open Defecation 37 95 100 78.7 98.8
City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Contractor 100 96.3 100 98 100

Table 20: Who provides water (in percentage)

Panchayat / Municipality 0 1.3 0 2 0

Unfortunately, a significant majority of migrant families continue to defecate in the open. This may be so since creating their own infrastructure on a seasonal basis is nearly impractical and community options may either be absent or chargeable. This creates the issue of sanitation and hygiene, leading to various health problems in the brick kilns, which will also be seen in the next section of findings.

Table 17: Availability of water (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Yes 100 100 100 100 98.8 No 0 0 0 0 1.2

It is evident from the table above that the employer supplies water to all the workers in the brick kilns but the purity of water is still a question to reckon with.

Table 21: Health facility accessed

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Hand Pump 65 83.8 92.9 86.4 98.8 Chennai Patna Govt. Hospital 60 55 1.2 30.2 58 Private Clinic 25 40 94 39.1 22.8 Quack 5 5 3.6 28.4 10.5 Traditional Methods 10 0 1.2 2.4 9

Although drinking water is available to almost all houses, one can be somewhat sceptical about its quality, which in the absence of filtering mechanisms, largely depends on the source (see table below).

Table 18: Source of water (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna Well 10.5 3.8 0 0 1.3 Bore 24.5 12.5 7.1 13.6 0

Although there is a diversity of sources from which health facility is accessed by the workers, 'private clinics' appears to be the largest single option for many. This is also because private clinics are readily accessible and have lesser issues such as long queues, poor treatment, unavailability of medicines, etc. However, visiting private clinics certainly puts extra pressure on the already tight budgets of the workers.

Hand pumps are the most important source of drinking water across cities. However in Hyderabad, bore wells are the chief source of drinking water, although in some cases it is obtained from tube wells as well.

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Status and rights of child migrants

This section of the report discusses the status of children and the impact on their fundamental rights, particularly health and education, due to migration. A brief on the status of children, divided as per age grips is given below: 1) Issues of children in the age group of 0-5 years: Children between the ages of 0-5 years are the most vulnerable. At the brick kilns, these children rarely get milk or other health care facilities (such as immunisation). Due to heavy work load, they suffer from a lack of careful parenting. Sometimes mothers tie the child with a rope around their waists and leave bricks on the other end of the rope to balance it. Many a times, small children hurt themselves with these bricks and due to improper care it leads to infection. Sometimes the mothers just leaves the children (aged 2-5 years) in the dust and sand ridden ground, which leads to various infections such as allergies and skin diseases. 2) Issues of children in the age group of 5-16 years: The children in this age group are engaged in brick-making. While most boys are engaged as patla ( brick-making ), the girls help in the house hold chores and take care of the younger siblings. Naturally, they drop out of school and compromise on their present and future growth and development. Sometimes, these children suffer from serious illnesses due to overwork or lack of facilities, which results in families taking extra cash in advance from the contractor/owner, and in turn have to toil more than the usual to repay it. 4. Issues of children in the age group of 15-18 years: The children in this age group are mainly drop-outs from school, after a particular period of study (Standards 3-5). They are now full-fledged workers in the brick kilns and many of them are married; and may be working with their wives.

Table 24: Types of morbidity (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna Cold / Fever 48 41.3 42.9 40.8 50 Allergy 22 20 10.7 4.1 5 Infections 0 7.5 13.1 8.3 30 Diarrhoea 2.3 1.3 8.3 27.2 0 No answer 27.7 37.5 25 19.6 15

As with the frequency of falling ill, types of morbidity too range across multiple diseases. Since these children are mostly engaged in giving shape to the wet mud and spend all day working in water and mud, there is a high instance of cold/fever or allergies.

Table 25: Reason for diseases (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna Inadequate / Impure Cold due to poor Insufficient Lack of proper N.A / clothing medical support No Answer water poor quality food accommodation 5.9 32 48 2 12.1 0 1.3 3.6 5.3 2 5 2.4 39.1 28 31.2 72.7 32 40 5 0 3.6 0 20 6 1.2 30 37.5 15.5 18.8 0

Table 22: Morbidity among children (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna Children with Morbidity 69 63.8 75 80.5 91.3 Children without Morbidity 31 26.2 25 19.5 8.8 No Answer 0 10 0 0 0

Self reporting on 'reason for diseases' shows that the living conditions in the brick kilns are a cause of serious concern. Inadequate and poor quality food as well as poor accommodation are the main reasons for the diseases. Lack of proper medical support also contributes to the children being ill.

Table 26: Child labour (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Children working 48 26.3 57.1 30.2 72.5 Children not Working 52 73.7 42.9 66.9 27.5

From the above description and the data of previous sections, it is evident that life in brick kiln worksites is marred by the lack of proper toilet/sanitation facilities, health care access, and availability of nutritious food. This results in morbidity and health problems for the migrant children. The table below shows that a significant majority of children live with morbidity during migration.

Table 23: Frequency of a child falling ill (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna Once during a season 5.8 22.5 28.6 4.7 18..2 Twice during a season 36.3 16.3 34.5 10.1 10.4 Thrice during a season 19.7 18.8 15.5 27.8 45.3 More than thrice 30.2 5 3.6 38.5 20.1 No answer 8 37.5 17.9 0 6

Cuttack and Bhubaneswar Chennai Patna

The frequency of a child falling ill depends on various factors, including the age and immunity of the child. However, it seems that all children fall ill at least once during a season, while some, particularly the younger ones, fall ill more than thrice in a season.

Child labour seems to go unabated in the brick kilns despite the existence of laws against it. Children help their parents in the brick kilns and parents also allow this since it earns them extra income. It may be kept in mind that many parents are aware about the risk of revealing the fact that their child works in the kilns. It may however be noted that the real figure of child labour may be higher than what the families admitted. It has also been observed that mostly the older children in the age group of 618 years work as child labourers. Irrespective of the age at which a child starts working in the brick kiln, it must be stressed that the work involved is hazardous, involves long arduous hours close to fire, and amidst air pollution. Therefore, it is a serious cause of concern with respect to their education, safety, and protection of child rights.

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Table 27: Educational status of child migrants (in percentage)

City
Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna

Non Starter
27 49 35 24 9

Drop out
28 41 60 70 25

School Going
55 14 5 6 66

Recommended areas of intervention:

A) Recommendations for policy
Children accompanying parents during seasonal migration should be counted as child migrants, and their labour should be banned at all worksites. Independent labour migration of the children (below 18 years) should be treated as trafficking. Since a large number of people are migrating for many months in a year, there must be a provision of transfer of entitlements across states, based on accurate information of migrants and worksites, and inter-state cooperation; and must involve simple procedures, which can be followed by migrants without much hassle. Inter-state as well as intra-state communication and coordination among different governments and departments should be strengthened to ensure compliance with all the legal and constitutional provisions regarding labour. Child rights and income generation schemes must be integrated at the policy level to address these issues together since one affects the other and vice versa. The budget allocation for proper implementation of the laws relating to protection of child rights should be made adequate. Since the issue at hand is huge and sensitive, the government needs to work systematically with NGOs and CBOs, which are already providing relief and services to migrant population, at both source and destination area. A detailed mapping of migrant workers and their children should be done by the government throughout identified significant destination areas and in high concentration sending areas, particularly the tribal belt of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Orissa; and the BIMARU states of Bihar, Rajasthan and UP. The government authorities should not miss to issue National Identity Cards to the migrant workers

The above-mentioned data indicates that only a minority of children are able to continue with schooling, due to migration. Even those who go to school do not attend school while at brick kilns but rejoin their native village school after the season is over. In Ahmedabad, it was found that only in 2-3 per cent of the cases, the child is able to avail of education by going to a neighbourhood school. In rest of the cases, the children lose out on education at the destination areas and eventually drop out in the village school too. In Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, it was found that the school-going children go home to attend the final exams in MarchApril and then return to join parents at work. This is slightly a different from the practice in Hyderabad and Chennai brick kilns where the inter-state workers do Chapeswar Rana, 14 years, son of not send their children to for the annual exams, eventually forcing them to drop Ugrasen Rana left school in class out from the schools. Despite this, we still find a good percentage of children who drop out even in intra-state migration16. The status of education in these six when he was only 12 years old. brick kilns poses a serious concern and calls for immediate action. In Chennai In a close interaction with and Hyderabad, the percentage of school-going children is high only because of Chapeswar, he expressed his the worksite schools that are being run with the collaboration of SSA and Aide et interest to study, but says How can Action. I continue my education, if I work here? I have no interest to work As for school drop outs, the two most important causes are: here. I want to study but there are (1) Lack of school in the destination areas no schools nearby. I have no friends here. I miss my school friends. If a (2) Most of children are involved in work to support their parents. school is opened here, I will go to It must be noted that gender plays a very important role and a girl child is more likely to drop out to take care of the household chores or to take care of her school. younger siblings, thus freeing the mother to contribute to brick-making.

Table 28: Assistance required for children's education (in percentage)

City Hyderabad Ahmedabad Bhubaneswar and Cuttack Chennai Patna School 66 71.3 90.5 76.9 92.5 Finance 0 8.8 1.2 7.7 7.5 Any other 34 20 1.2 15.4 0 No Answer 0 0 3.6 0 0

B) Recommendations for source area

Efforts by the government agencies to check seasonal migration by providing alternative options to farmers during the non-agricultural season such as livestock farming or pisciculture. Easy and timely availability of bank loans at lower interest rates through cooperative credit societies or rural banks to avoid accumulation of debts. Criminal charges should be filed against contractors exploiting migrant labourers by keeping them in bondage. Sensitisation of labourers to make them aware of their rights and the alternative options of livelihood. Systemic inadequacies of and implementation loopholes in the MGNREGS scheme at the source areas must be addressed. Government should ensure that Job Card holders should be compulsorily provided with 100 days work, with no delay in payment. Records of the migrant people from the state to be maintained by labour department in the district and finally at the state level in the labour commission's office.

The above table reflects that parents explicitly recognise the need for a proper school, closer to brick kilns, as a much-needed facility so that children do not drop out of school when migrating and their education does not suffer a setback. Brick kilns are usually on the outskirts of towns and villages and there are no schools at the work sites. Also, since the medium of instruction changes with the state, child migrants are unable to benefit from its presence. This also points to a very significant area of intervention for the government and the NGOs working with brick kilns, since there is a clear positive response from parents that they would send their children to avail of education if schools were opened at the worksite.
16

It may be noted that while considering the eligible children for going to school, here the age group from 6-18 years is considered instead of 6-14 years. This is so because we feel that in villages children of even 17-18 years age group read in class 8, which is the mandatory minimum education guarantee provided under RTEA.

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Skill development courses/training programmes, which will contribute to the employment potential of the poor must be undertaken by concerned government departments. These must be particularly targeted at the youth. Need for special attention for bringing in migrant children into the purview of the RTEA rule framing. Transit schools, seasonal hostels, etc., to be established in the source area so that parents have a safe option for leaving children behind to continue their schooling.

D) Recommendations for NGO/civil society organisations

To equip migrants with information on their rights and entitlements; provide training and support with regards to market and job availability; give them support and confidence to deal with contractors/employers and government officials; developing mechanisms so that they can keep in touch with their families and friends back in the village. The whole agency of the contractors/dalals cannot be wished away. It is therefore necessary to work with them and sensitise them on the issue of migration in general and child migration in particular. It is necessary is to sensitise the political class, bureaucracy, and the media on the plight of migrant communities and back this up with proper data and analysis. There is need for in-depth research, analysis, and dissemination of conclusions; and bringing out reports and video documentations for a systematic approach to advocacy with various stake holders.

Strict action against this form of child labour so as to deter children from this work and encourage the parents to send them to schools.

C) Recommendations for destination area

Set of rules and regulations to provide proper ration, education, shelter, and sanitation facilities. Regular supervision by labour department of the host state to ensure that proper standards of health and hygiene. Social security schemes for the migrant workers and especially children working in the brick kilns must be implemented. Registered and fully functional schools should be set up in the brick kilns, to instruct in the regional language of the migrant children. ICDS facilities for children between 0-5 years are a necessity near the work sites. A mechanism of inter-state acknowledgement, by both the host and the guest states, where education given at destination areas should be made at the policy levels so that migrant children can be mainstreamed at the source schools after returning to their own village. Registered health units or mobile health units to be set up for the migrant population. Mandatory health insurance must be provided by the contractors for the labourers and their families.

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Conclusion

Caste-wise analysis finds that a majority of those who migrate belong to SC or ST communities, and therefore suffer from multiple layers of exclusion. This poses difficult questions about the present economic policies, which leads to widespread displacement, loss of livelihood, and depletion of forests and other natural resources; worsened by consequent failure of government schemes to reach out to the poor and marginalised in any meaningful way. Although it cannot be doubted that the families working in brick kilns are poor and need subsidised food, the number of Antodaya card holders among brick kiln workers is low.

Majority of the families belong to the BPL category, and non-card holders, although low, are a significant percentage of the total. This points to two important things one, that the errors of exclusion and inclusion in BPL list are huge, and two, that the lack of livelihood opportunities in the villages forces not just the poorest to migrate but also those who are above the poverty line.

Brick kilns are a major industry, employing significant number of seasonal labour migrants. It provides livelihood for millions of unskilled and semi-skilled labourers belonging to rural areas; many of whom are landless farmers, also belonging to disadvantaged social communities. On one hand, while migration is linked to rural distress and powerlessness of the poor, which therefore necessitates interventions in source area. On the other hand, it is important to recognise the significance of the brick-making industry in the lives of migrants and endeavour towards promoting better work conditions and wages for the employed. One of the most vulnerable and deprived groups among migrants, is that comprising children. Not only are children are the most unrecognised migrants, but they also suffer from stagnation in their growth and development due to lack of schooling, control, and decision-making over their lives and the physical and psychological violence that exploitative work in brick kilns brings. The migrant policy is India covers only a small fraction of inter-state migrants, and does not count children accompanying parents during migration. Besides this, implementation of laws and schemes suffers on various accounts lack of positive perception related to migration; information and data gap; lack of priority or political will; nexus between business, bureaucracy and politics; inter-state and inter-department coordination difficulties and finally, non-enforcement of protective regulations.

The research concludes two important things about the demographics of seasonal migration:
a)Despite city-wise variations, the number of women and children migrating with men is significant17. On an average, about one-third of the total migrants are children. b)A significant proportion of children migrating along with families are between the age group of 6-18 years - an age where formal education is critical for growth and development.

Almost half of the migrants do not have MNREGS job cards, while the other half who have job cards, report delay and uncertainty in the system. To conclude, the three major reasons for migration are better wage, debts, and lack of work at the native place all which are interrelated and cannot be analysed in isolation from one another. Almost all migration happens from backward regions of tribal and SC populated states through a system of contractors. Debts taken by contractors may range from a couple of thousand rupees to tens of thousands of rupees. Since a substantial part of the workers' earnings are deducted against the advance, most workers are paid less than Rs 500 per week or between Rs 500 Rs 1,000 per week. This is the weekly wage of the daily toil of a whole family (about 3-4 members), for more than 8 hours a day, under minimal worksite facilities. The study found migrant workers living a life of absolute deprivation, with little worksite facilities. Their houses are kuccha, lit by electricity supply in the kilns to enable work after dusk, and filled with smoke emanating from firewood fuel. Open defecation, lack of affordable health care facilities, and unavailability of clean drinking water pose a great threat to the health and wellbeing of children. Most migrants visit private clinics in instances of illness since the public facility is either unavailable or sub standard, while water, although accessible, is not filtered and therefore may not be safe for drinking purposes.

17

It may be noted here that the sampling is done with the families having children. So this figure of the percentage of the children may not necessarily reflect the child percentage of the total population in the brick kilns as there are some families without children also, though their number is small.

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References:
The lack of facilities such as pure water, proper food, accommodation, clothing, and medical support leads to high morbidity rates among children. Types of morbidity range across cold/fever, allergy, infections, and diarrhoea, with the frequency of a child falling ill depending on the age and immunity of child. Despite policy focus, several schemes and CSO efforts, child labour continues unabated in the brick kilns. This is due to extreme poverty and piece-rate payment, which forces parents to push their children to work.. Since the migration cycle overlaps with the school calendar, most migrant children eventually drop out of school. Among those who don't, absence of regular classes leads to poor learning outcomes and dismal performance levels. The two most important reasons for school drop outs are: lack of schools in the destination areas and; most of children are involved in work to support their parents. It must be noted that gender plays a very important role and a girl child is more likely to drop out to take care of the household chores or to take care of their younger siblings, thereby freeing the mother to contribute to brick-making. The recommendations drawn out from the findings of the study have been divided in different categories related to policy, for source areas, for destination areas, and those for civil society or NGOs to take initiative in. Policy recommendations include filling data gap; counting child migrants as child labourers; working out a mechanism for transfer of entitlements across states; achieving inter-state and inter-department coordination; creating partnerships with NGOs and CSOs, and enhancing budgetary allocations. Recommendations to be implemented in source area are: registering contractors and migrants; public education programmes on rights and entitlements of migrants; creating information support networks; arresting child labour, and promoting enrolment and retention; and finally, to promote livelihood options through credit availability, vocational training, and irrigation facilities. State machinery in the destination area needs to ensure that legal provisions such as minimum wages, shelter, protective clothing, and basic facilities of water, food, and health care are complied with. Besides these, ICDS and temporary schools should be set up in migrantion destination areas to ensure continuity in education, provide mobile health care units, and social security measures. Finally, civil society organisations have an important role to play in initiating dialogue, creating sensitivity, conducting research, documenting and disseminating information. 1. Deshingkar Priya and Grimm Sevan (2004) Voluntary Migration, an update, Overseas Development Institute, London 2. Drze Jean, Khera Reetika and Siddharth (Interim Survey Report, 21 October 2007) NREGA in Orissa: Ten Loopholes and the Silver Lining 3. Food Insecurity Atlas of Orissa (May 2000), VAM unit, World Food Programme, India/Robins, New Delhi 4. International Organisation for Migration (IOM), The World Migration Report, 2008, Chapter 7 5. Kothari Uma (2002) Migration and Chronic Poverty, Institute for Development, Policy and Management, University of Manchester, Working paper no. 16 6. Locked Homes, Empty Schools, the impact of seasonal migration on the rural poor, American Indian Foundation, 2007 7. Mishra Arima (2005) Local perceptions of famine, study of a village in Orissa, Economic and Political Weekly, February 2, 2005 8. Srivastava, Ravi S. (1998) Migration and the Labour Market in India, Invited Keynote paper, Conference issue, The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Vol. 41, No. 4, Oct.-Dec. pp. 583-617. 9. Srivastava, Ravi S. (2003) (with Sasikumar) An Overview of migration, its impacts and key issues, Paper No. 2, Migration and Development and Pro-poor Policy Choices in Asia, London: DFID. 10. Thomson, Koy (2005) Critical Stories of Change, Action Aid International 11. UNDP, Human Development Report (2009), Overcoming Barriers: Human Mobility and development Wandschneider Tiago (2004), Small rural towns and local economic development: Evidence from two poor states in India, Natural Resources Institute, International Conference on Local Development, Washington 16 18 June, 2004 session on Bringing Rural and Urban Together for Local Development

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