BRO violating hiring norms of migrant workers says Jharkhand govt

The Jharkhand government on Tuesday accused the Border Roads Organization (BRO) of not complying with mutually agreed terms and conditions for hiring migrant workers from the state for projects in challenging terrains.

A strongly worded letter to the BRO director general said the central organization was "violating" the norms for the annual employment of casual wage workers (CPL) from Jharkhand. The report comes in the wake of "complaints" from workers about precarious working conditions.

"The Labour Commissioner of Jharkhand has in multiple communications to your office... repeatedly raised the issue of violation of provisions... These communications were also sent after receiving numerous complaints against CPL, so we are confident that this is not the first time that BRO has violated provisions," said the letter.

“Government of Jharkhand again urges BRO to register as a major employer and its employment agencies/contractors/colleagues/manpower suppliers to take over licenses from relevant state authorities… If BRO is found to be violating the requirements… the state will initiate strict action through relevant authorities …,” it said.

The labourers are mostly from Dumka and Santhal Pargana divisional districts and have been sent to Ladakh and other border areas, the paper added. BRO officials could not be reached for comment. The issue was also raised in the Jharkhand Assembly on Tuesday.