TEAM HERALD
CANACONA: Labour Day on Friday was as laborious as any other day for Canacona’s working class. Except for government and other public offices, it was business as usual for commercial establishments that required the services of labourers. Almost all shops had their shutters up, even those run by members of the Association of Businessmen of Canacona.
Some of the taluka’s residents criticized the year-round exploitation of labourers, while others claimed that Canacona’s commercial town ‘Chaudi’ could be the only place in the world where labourers toiled to earn profits for their masters on that day. They also claimed that labour exploitation was at its peak and that the authorities were not concerned about the betterment of the working class.
A local, Kishore Painguinkar, said, “As there is no awareness of labor laws to the working class in Canacona, people at the helm of affairs exploit them even to the level of exposing them inhumanly.”
“With no labour department keeping track of what’s happening in the taluka, no employer follows labour ethics or pays minimum wages as required under the law,” claimed another resident.
While the local businessmen also flouted labour ethics, many people pointed their fingers at outstation entrepreneurs, like Gujratis and Rajasthanis. The locals stated that these entrepreneurs were the prime culprits in labor exploitation. They employed minors, didn’t pay them properly, and did not provide them with basic necessities like toilets. Besides, they opened their shops early and closed only for a short time at night, which meant less time for the workers to sleep.
Upon seeing many shops open, a few people informed the police, who could only express helplessness in interfering with the businessmen. The residents could not even request the Collectorate, Mamlatdar or Labour Department to intervene as those offices were closed.
Reportedly, a police jeep stopped near some shops at Chaudi and took notes. Some of those shops owners owned their shutters in the afternoon, only to re-open in the evening.
