Mine Labour issues: Caste and Gender

Mines Labours are divided into castes and gender. Their lots of problems are raising at the working place, which are exploited to them.

I visited to some mines for the data collections about the problems of mine workers and spreading the awareness about the scheme of DMFT. People don’t know about the DMFT. There is no any NGO, which is working for the mine labour issues. So, people are not aware about their rights. The workers who are working in mines 95% to 98% are  ST and SC. Very few upper caste people are working, but their work as a manager or secretary. At only one mine of mica I find 6 upper caste mine worker (gurjar-men and women), others are bhil community. In most of the mines (granites), used the machines for cutting the stones. There are working most of the upper caste men, not women. machines , used for the more production in less time. They are giving the training to worker and they become a skilled labour. So, there daily earning is 350 to 400 Rs. Where, there is no machine work, there are working scheduled caste and scheduled tribe. It's a very hard work. Sometimes its very dangerous to them. Their daily earning is 250 to 300 Rs.

The wages are depends upon the gender. Because, they divided the work into two parts. Hard work and light work. In their perspective men  are hard worker, who are break the stones and women are light worker, who are collecting these stones. So, their wages are less than the men. If men got Rs 300, women got Rs 250 or 200.

At, the mines some girls was working and their age is below the 18 years. When I asked to them about their education, they said that is, “ If we go to the school, so who will do the work and how can we get the food.” These girls didn’t get an admission and they didn't saw the face of school. There is no consciousness about the education. Their first question is to solve the problem of stomach.

At the workplace there is no any type of washrooms for women and men. There is no pure water for drinking. There is no any type of sheds for the rest of labours. There is lack of basic resources.

The ownership of the upper caste on the mines sector is exploited to the lower caste. Men are dominated on the work, by that reason their wages are more than women.

Sharad Kodane