Case primary details

Fact finding date

Case Incident details

Case summary

1. one Harmel Singh @ Meli S/o Gurdev Singh R/o Village Mehma Sarja, Tehsil Bathinda, Distt. Bathinda and has filed a self Declaration which revealed that;

a)      That he belongs to Mazhabi Sikh caste which has been declared as Scheduled Caste by the State of Punjab.

b)      That He and 3 other worker family (Total 18) are employed by M/s Singla Bricks Industry Village Baandi, Tehsil & Distt. Bathinda, Punjab whose present owner is Surinder Singla. This firm is a Brick Manufacturing Factory. The workers are employed as Brick Molders. They all are in debt bondage. The employer does not allow them to leave the brick kiln and neither provide any work or any wages are being paid to them. The workers do not wish to work there under in decent and sub human conditions and have made a request to liberate them from bondage. The full Details of their miseries are mention in the self declaration attached to this complaint as “Annexure A”.

c)      That the workers were brought to this Brick kiln by the Jamadar Shama Singh R/o Vill.Kiliya Wali Distt.Muktsar.

d)      That the owner advanced a bonded debt of Rs 5000 per family.

e)      That the brick kiln owner does not pay them their earned wages and only pays them Rs 2000-3000 per family after 15 days.

f)       That the worker mold at least 1500-2000 bricks in one day per family.

g)      That there is no facility of clean water and sanitation – toilets and washing facilities - at the Brick kiln.

h)      That the Brick kiln owner deducts the electricity bill from their wages by adding the same to their bonded debt.

i)        That if there is rains then the workers are not paid any wages nor does the owner given them adequate subsistence allowance. Where the petty amounts of money given towards of expenses are also added to their bonded debt. Therefore, the workers wish to leave the brick kiln and take up alternative employment elsewhere. This is not allowed by the brick kiln owner owing to the bonded debt.

j)        That the water pump was not working and work had completely stopped at the brick kiln so to themselves from starvation the bonded labour families and other families took up some work in an adjacent field for harvesting. When the Brick kiln owner came to know about this he called the workers to his office and abused them and beat them up.

k)      That not the Brick kiln owner has told the workers that they will be paid only half of their earned wages.

l)        That the house hold items of the workers are also at the brick kiln.

m)   That the brick kiln owner is demanding the bonded debt amount from the workers mentioned in Annexure A” and that the workers will not be allowed to leave the kiln with their belongings till the bonded debt is repaid.

n)      That now me Harmel Singh, Boota Singh S/o Binder Singh and Ramandeep Kaur w/o Boota Singh escape from the Brick kiln and now they are living at Vill. Goniyana Kalan at a relative’s house but the other family members are retrained from leaving the brick kiln.

o)      That signed complaint along with self declaration is being sent in a separate Post.

1. That no such complaint has been earlier made to this Honorable Commission or any other commission or any court of law according to the information received from the victim.