The Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) urges the Telangana State Govt to further undertake rescue operations in war foot to secure the 8 trapped migrant workers in the Srisailam left bank canal tunnel and demands to black list the contractor for the criminal neglect of not ensuring the safety at work place. 

The incidents of water filling along with mud and silt in the tunnel work is not an unknown thing, it is usually anticipated and preventive steps are normally undertaken well in advance. This incident of Srisailam left bank canal (SLBC) tunnel being filled with water, mud and silt near Domalapet village of Amrabad mandalam that too within 30 minutes of the workers entering into tunnel shows the lack of proper tunnel engineering expertise with the contractor undertaking the work and supervision on the part of Telangana Govt respective Irrigation and public works department. It is criminal neglect on the part of both the contractor and the Govt department which has led to this incident and put the lives of the migrant workers at tragic stake and their families in distress.

Further as the workers involved in such hazardous work are all interstate migrant workers,ensuring the work place safety is on the state labour department and the concerned designated Authorities under the Inter State Migrant Workers Act 1979 (ISMWA). The incident shows the utter neglect on the part of the state labour department and labour ministry as such. Hence the State Govt has to conduct an enquiry as to whether the workers were registered under the ISMWA, and the Agent who brought the workers and supplied them to the contractor along with the contractor / sub contractor involved if any have to be booked for non compliance or non adherence of the provisions of the statute. Further the Union Labour ministry has to answer as to whether the concerned workers were covered under the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Employees State Insurance (ESI) and ensure statutory relief as per the Acts also. Given these sort of accidents recurring in most of the tunnel works in which the migrants workers are involved the repeal of ISMWA and Contract labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act 1970 subsuming them in diluted form  in the labour codes will only allow the contractors and employers go scot free playing with the lives of the workers. CITU reiterates its demand to repeal the labour codes and ensure effective implementation of the Inter State Migrant Workers Act and Contract Labour (Regulation & Abolition) Act.

Issued by
Tapan Sen
General Secretary