Will come out with proposal on financial assistance to rescued bonded labourers: NHRC to Supreme Court

New Delhi: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday told the Supreme Court it would hold discussion with stake holders and come out with a "concrete proposal" to resolve the issue of immediate financial assistance to the rescued bonded labourers.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and K V Viswanathan was hearing a petition seeking enforcement of the fundamental rights of people trafficked as bonded workers.

The issue of immediate financial assistance to them cropped up during the arguments in the matter.

Senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for one of the petitioners, said not even 10 per cent of such labourers were paid financial assistance or compensation.

He said the petitioner organisation has rescued around 11,000 children but financial assistance was paid to only 719 of them.

The counsel appearing for the NHRC said she can sit with the stake holders and discuss this issue.

The bench told the NHRC counsel to hold talks with the petitioners and other stake holders finalise the modalities.

"The counsel for NHRC states that she will have discussion with all stake holders and come out with a concrete proposal so as to resolve the issue of immediate financial assistance to rescued bonded labourers," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing after four weeks.

In July 2022, the apex court had agreed to hear the petition and sought responses from the Centre, the NHRC and some states and union territories on the plea.

One of the petitioners has said that he and some other bonded workers were rescued and released on February 28, 2019 from a brick kiln in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh to where they were trafficked by an unregistered contractor from their native village in Bihar's Gaya district.

The petitioner said he and his fellow workers were forced to work without payment of minimum statutory wages and their fundamental rights to movement and employment were severely curtailed.