Raids on high-rise building sites

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Labour Department has issued a show cause notice and stop memo to three major builders in the city for not fulfilling the necessary guidelines on minimum wages and security measures. The surprise raids were conducted on three properties in the city on Tuesday morning as part of a decision taken by Labour Minister Shibu Baby John. SRK Heights in Akkulam, Sree Dhanaya Homes at Pongumoodu and Cordial Corona at Nanthancode were the sites that were inspected. The inspection found that in all three project sites, the labourers were given below par wages. No security measures were taken for the safety of these labourers while constructing the high-rise buildings. Apart from these, the inspection team also found that the accommodation facilities provided to these labourers were in a pathetic condition.  In the project site at Akkulam, it was found that out of the 94 labourers employed, migrant workers numbered 72. Similarly, at the project site at Pongummoodu, 82 migrant workers were detected out of the total 88 persons employed there. Here, the inspection team found that no records were maintained on the labourers. At the Nanthancode project site, 47 migrant workers were found working.  According to the Labour Minister, similar raids will be carried out in the coming days and it has been decided to conduct surprise checks at least at three sites in a day.The decision is to go ahead with the prosecution steps against the builders and the contractors for flouting labour laws and norms.