23.05.2006 - Source: Amnesty International

Annual Report 2006 ("Annual Report 2006") [ID 17251]

"Despite positive economic gains in recent years, approximately 300 million people remained mired in poverty. Following persistent reports over increasing rural unemployment and campaigns to empower the rural poor, the UPA government enacted legislation to guarantee minimum annual employment for all poor households in selected rural areas. However, guidelines for its implementation had not been fully framed by the end of the year. Twenty-one years after the Union Carbide Corporation’s (UCC) pesticide plant in Bhopal leaked toxic gases that took a heavy toll on lives and the environment, survivors continued to struggle for adequate compensation, medical help and rehabilitation. The plant site had still not been cleaned and toxic wastes continued to pollute groundwater. UCC and Dow Chemicals (which took over UCC in 2001) had publicly stated that they had no responsibility for the leak or its consequences. AI joined a year-long campaign by the Bhopal survivors and other organizations to call for an immediate clean-up of the pollutants from the site and the affected surroundings as well as a full remedy for the victims, and for those responsible to be brought to justice."

Document(s): Open document

10.04.2006 - Source: BBC News

At least 200 pilots want to leave Indian Air Force due to poor working and living conditions ("Pilot unrest in India's air force") [#48847],  [ID 8164]

Document(s): Open document

08.2005 - Source: Freedom House

Annual survey of political rights and civil liberties 2004 ("Freedom in the World 2005") [#41316],  [ID 8165]

"[...]Workers regularly exercise their rights to bargain collectively and strike. The Essential Services Maintenance Act enables the government to ban strikes in certain key industries and limits the right of public servants to strike. It is estimated that there are roughly 55 million child laborers in India. Many work in the informal sector in hazardous conditions, and several million are bonded laborers.[...]"

Document(s): Open document

25.05.2005 - Source: Amnesty International

300 million people in poverty ("Annual Report 2005") [#32264],  [ID 8166]

"[...]Despite positive economic gains in recent years, approximately 300 million people remained in poverty. [...]"

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Open document

14.01.2005 - Source: Human Rights Watch

The Indian government should ensure that tsunami victims receive assistance in an equitable manner without caste or religious bias ("India: End Caste Bias in Tsunami Relief") [#28432],  [ID 8167]

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25.02.2004 - Source: US Department of State

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003 ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003") [#19765],  [ID 8168]

"[...] Medical care is free to all citizens; however, availability and quality were problems, particularly in rural areas. [...]

State government laws set minimum wages, hours of work, and safety and health standards. The Factories Act mandates an 8-hour workday, a 49-hour workweek, and minimum working conditions. These standards were generally enforced and accepted in the modern industrial sector; however, not observed in order and less economically stable industries.
Minimum wages varied according to the state and to the sector of industry. Such wages provided only a minimal standard of living for a worker and were inadequate to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most workers employed in units subject to the Factories Act received more than the minimum wage, including mandated bonuses and other benefits. The state governments set a separate minimum wage for agricultural workers but did not enforce it effectively. Some industries, such as the apparel and footwear industries, did not have a prescribed minimum wage in any of the states in which such industries operated.

State governments were responsible for enforcement of the Factories Act. However, the large number of industries covered by a small number of factory inspectors and the inspectors' limited training and susceptibility to bribery resulted in lax enforcement.

The enforcement of safety and health standards also was poor. [...]

The law does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from work situations that endanger health and safety without jeopardizing their continued employment."

Document(s): Open document

25.02.2004 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: Forced or bonded labour ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003") [#19765],  [ID 8169]

"The Constitution prohibits forced or bonded labor, including by children; however, such practices were widespread. The Bonded Labor System (Abolition) Act prohibits all bonded labor, by adults and children. Offenders may be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison, but prosecutions were rare. Enforcement of this statute, which was the responsibility of state and local governments, varied from state to state and generally was not effective, due to inadequate resources and to societal acceptance of bonded or forced labor. On the occasions when inspectors referred violations for prosecution, long court backlogs and inadequate funding for legal counsel frequently resulted in acquittals. NGOs estimated that there were 20 to 65 million bonded laborers in the country, including a large number of children (see Section 6.d.). Persons born into a traditionally subordinate caste were expected to work without pay for those above them in the traditional social structure. For example, according to a Government report more than 85 percent of bonded laborers were scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.
A 1983 Supreme Court decision defined forced labor as work at less than the minimum wage, usually set by the state governments. Under this definition, which differed from that of the International Labor Organization (ILO), forced labor was widespread, especially in rural areas.

Bonded labor, the result of a private contractual relationship whereby a worker incurs or inherits debts to a contractor and then must work off the debt plus interest, was illegal but widespread. The Government estimated that between enactment of the Bonded (Abolition) Act in 1976 and March 2003, 283,158 bonded workers were released from their obligations. Other sources maintained that those released constituted only 5 percent of the total number of bonded laborers. State governments provided a sum of money to workers freed from bondage for their rehabilitation. The NHRC formed a high-level Central Action Group, which routinely reviewed compliance with the Bonded Labor System Act. The NHRC also appointed a special Rapporteur to work in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu and report on compliance. In addition, the NHRC instituted a system for receiving regular reports on bonded labor from the states. The NHRC also assessed the bonded labor problem, identifying state districts in which it especially was acute. It identified and evaluated NGOs working in these areas and conducted training in bonded labor law enforcement for district officials in the acutely affected areas. Some press reports in 2002 indicated that Tamil Nadu alone had 25,800 bonded laborers, in response to which the state government began implementing and continued to work on rehabilitation plans. Government officials worked to release other bonded laborers in many states. In West Bengal, organized traffic in illegal Bangladeshi immigrants was a source of bonded labor (see Section 6.f.).

NGOs such as the Bonded Labor Liberation Front and Society for Community Organization Trust worked to release bonded laborers throughout the year.

Female bondage, forced prostitution, and trafficking in women and children for the purpose of prostitution were widespread problems (see Section 6.f.). According to press reports, prison officials used prisoners as domestic servants and sold female prisoners to brothels (see Section 1.c.). Devadasis, prepubescent girls given to a Hindu deity or temple as "servants of God," were taken from their families and required to provide sexual services to priests and high caste Hindus. Reportedly many eventually were sold to urban brothels (see Sections 5 and 6.f.)."

Document(s): Open document

25.02.2004 - Source: US Department of State

USDOS: Conditions of work ("Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2003") [#19765],  [ID 8170]

"State government laws set minimum wages, hours of work, and safety and health standards. The Factories Act mandates an 8-hour workday, a 49-hour workweek, and minimum working conditions. These standards were generally enforced and accepted in the modern industrial sector; however, not observed in order and less economically stable industries.
Minimum wages varied according to the state and to the sector of industry. Such wages provided only a minimal standard of living for a worker and were inadequate to provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. Most workers employed in units subject to the Factories Act received more than the minimum wage, including mandated bonuses and other benefits. The state governments set a separate minimum wage for agricultural workers but did not enforce it effectively. Some industries, such as the apparel and footwear industries, did not have a prescribed minimum wage in any of the states in which such industries operated.

State governments were responsible for enforcement of the Factories Act. However, the large number of industries covered by a small number of factory inspectors and the inspectors' limited training and susceptibility to bribery resulted in lax enforcement.

The enforcement of safety and health standards also was poor.

Industrial accidents continued to occur frequently due to improper enforcement of existing laws. Chemical industries were the most prone to accidents. According to the Director General of Mines' safety rules, mining companies must seal the entrances to abandoned underground mines and opencast mines were to be bulldozed and reforested. These rules seldom were obeyed. According to the Government, during the period from January to September 2001, 192 persons were killed in mining accidents. In June, flooding of a mine killed 17 miners in Andhra Pradesh.

Safety conditions tended to be better in the EPZs.

The law does not provide workers with the right to remove themselves from work situations that endanger health and safety without jeopardizing their continued employment.

Legal foreign workers were protected under the law; however, illegal foreign workers had no protection."

Document(s): Open document

08.10.2003 - Source: BBC News

Several reports of policemen detaining people illegally, or beating them up to extort money ("Delhi police face tide of complaints") [#16601],  [ID 8171]

Document(s): Open document

02.2003 - Source: Asylum Aid

Report on domestic violence against women in India, Albania, China, Colombia and Kosovo (country background, legal framework, protection, situation of separated or divorced women, human trafficking, access to health service, minorities) ("Refugee Women and Domestic Violence") [#49019],  [ID 8172]

Document(s): Open document