THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The death of a migrant labourer at Chuzhattukotta near Malayinkeezhu on Monday has once again brought to the fore the lack of proper safety measures in the construction sector. It is mostly the other state labourers, who are employed in large in numbers in construction firms, who have to bear the brunt of these major security lapses. A 33-year-old West Bengal native was the unfortunate one to be crushed to death after a concrete block caved in on Monday. Eleven other labourers who too were trapped under the debris received serious injuries. The injured men are from Assam, Bihar and Tamil Nadu. Though the influx of migrant labourers has been gaining strength during the last eight years, the officialdom is yet to keep a proper record of the number of inter-state labourers who are engaged in daily labour in the State. This has helped the contractors to pursue their exploitation of the labourers. Besides, some contractors sub-lease the workers to make quick money. Speaking to City Express, Labour Commissioner T T Antony said the Commission has already submitted certain guidelines to the government to ensure security of the labourers. But they are still to be passed. ”We have asked the government to introduce safety auditing and to modify the building rules to ensure safety of the labourers engaged in construction activities. But the proposals are still awaiting government nod,” he said. It was the unearthing of criminal links of certain migrant workers along with the plight of the genuine interstate labourers which forced the Police Department to mull the idea of issuing identity cards to the labourers. This novel idea was announced by none other than Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan in a press conference. Before him, it was his predecessors who directed the Police Department to compile data on the migrant labourers working in each police station limit. “The identity card was meant to provide a two-way facility. It could help the police to learn the background of the migrant labourers and their activities in their home states. It also could come to the aid of the labourers in times of danger like accidents or illnesses. We have just started the preliminary data collection of the workers,” City Police Commissioner T J Jose said. When asked about the number of migrant workers in the city, the Commissioner replied in an unconvincing manner, suggesting that he did not have a clear idea.
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