Reducing Vulnerability to Bonded Labour in India through Promotion of Decent Work

The project addresses the problem of vulnerability to labour exploitation in the informal economy in India. It builds on the lessons learnt so far from the ongoing pilot project in Tamil Nadu to address the root causes of bonded labour situations. By promoting decent work and social protection for poor women and men in selected informal industries in at least two new states in north India, and operationalizing the concept of convergence for the benefit of the ultra-poor, the project aims to demonstrate that sustainable solutions can be found that will result in a progressive upgrading of the living and working conditions of poor families. This should lead to a reduction in their reliance on employers and recruiters for their social and economic needs, and hence a reduction in vulnerability to bonded labour. Improvements in working conditions will be secured by strengthening the capacity of key stakeholders for social dialogue to resolve workplace problems and implement improvements that will contribute to increased productivity. The project seeks also to promote better employment arrangements for workers by ensuring transparency of wage payments and deductions made. The project will focus on brick-kilns sector in pilot clusters of workplaces, working in both source and destination areas of migrant workers. It aims to replicate good practices of the ILO project on the issue in Tamil Nadu, test out innovative approaches in new areas based on state specific needs and generate new learnings that could subsequently be applied by the state governments and their partners on a much wider scale. The project responds to a demand from the Indian Ministry of Labour and Employment and will contribute to third priority “eliminating unacceptable forms of work” of the Decent Work Country Programme for India.

Project symbol

IND/11/50/FLA

Admin unit

DWT/CO-New Delhi

Start date

01/12/2011

End date

30/11/2013

Total allocation

475000

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

469866

Development Partners

Belgium, Government of Flanders, Department of Foreign Affairs

Country/Countries

India

Outcomes

Forced Labour