Big Lottery Fund
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Lottery funding to anti-slavery charity to tackle bonded labour in Indian brick kilns
A London-based charity has been awarded
£486,296 from the Big Lottery Fund to tackle the illegal practice of
bonded labour in Indian brick kilns.
Anti-Slavery International, which made the ‘12 Years a Slave’ director Steve McQueen a
patron in February, receives the grant for work towards eradicating bonded
labour within 250 brick kilns in
the Punjab and bordering states. The project aims to help 50,000 people – mainly
members of the Dalit (‘untouchable’) caste who are migrant workers
from poor rural communities who have been tricked or trapped into work to pay
off loans.
Peter Ainsworth, Big Lottery Fund Chair, said: “According to the International
Labour Organisation more than 20 million men, women and children around the
world are in slavery, forced to work for little or no pay and at the complete
mercy of their masters. We are very proud to be able to make the award to
Anti-Slavery International to help reduce bonded labour in brick kilns in
India.
“Our International Communities programme
is supporting practical ways of tackling the causes of poverty, deprivation and
exploitation to help secure better futures for some of the world’s
poorest and most vulnerable people.”
Around 12,500 children under the age of 14
will be removed from work in the brick kilns and be given access to an
education. The 37,500 workers over 14 years old will receive access to state
benefits, entitlements and work programmes resulting in improved income
security, reducing their vulnerability to debt. They will be supported to gain
improved wages, employment-related protection, safer working environments and
proper contracts. They will also be supported in organising workplace
associations which assert and protect their rights at a local level, represent
members at state level and are affiliated with federations at a national
level.
This project will also support the release of
875 women and 440 children from extreme cases of exploitation and abusive
treatment including physical and sexual abuse. They will be protected and
helped to gain compensation for illegal treatment.
Anti-Slavery International Funding Officer Rod Leith said: “Vulnerable, poor people are
recruited locally or from their home communities in other states by agents of
the kiln owners. They are given a loan to move their family to the kiln areas
where they are employed to dig and mould brick and fire them in kilns. They
then spend the entire nine-month season trying to repay the loan and their
wives and children always end up working with them. They don’t get paid a
salary but simply work to pay off the loan. This is often not achievable so
they have to return the following season to try to pay off the loan. The value
of their work becomes invariably greater than the original sum of money
borrowed and in some cases workers return to the same kiln year on year to pay
off a cycle of debt.
“The children tend to turn the bricks to
dry them after being moulded. The conditions are terrible. The only proper
buildings are the kilns themselves, housing is rudimentary, overcrowded with no
toilets. Most if not all of these kilns are in contravention of laws and the
entire sector is unregulated but most of the workers are illiterate, innumerate
and unaware of their rights so they rarely complain to the authorities. As
members of traditionally discriminated castes, living on site in situations of
extreme poverty, and bound by their debts, workers are highly vulnerable if
they seek to assert their rights, and lack confidence in the authorities’
commitment to their plight.
“This grant from the Big Lottery Fund
will enable workers on site, and when they return to their communities at the
end of the season, to access benefits and entitlements reducing their
vulnerability to debt and lessen the hold that the kiln owners have on them.
Work will be done to improve the working conditions and gain recognition of
workers’ rights under employment and labour legislation. This project
will also remove men, women and children from the most extreme cases of
exploitation and bondage through court action.”
The grant to Anti-Slavery
International is one of 12 being
made to UK charities and other organisations through the Big Lottery
Fund’ International Communities programme which supports projects tackling the
causes of poverty and deprivation and the impact they have on people’s
lives. To date the programme has awarded £36 million and in the 2013-14
financial year £20 million has been awarded.
Other grants being announced
are:
|
Applicant |
Location |
Award |
Aim |
|
Signpost International |
Philippines |
£235,812 |
To improve access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education. New rainwater harvesting tanks will collect more than 830,000 litres a year |
|
University of Sussex |
Ethiopia |
£499,203 |
To help prevent the spread of podoconiosis – a disease of the lymph vessels of the feet and legs that is caused by chronic exposure to irritant soils |
|
Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund |
El Salvador, Nicaragua |
£499,995 |
To improve local food production and the income of families in poor rural areas, working with 3,430 small scale farmers to mitigate climate change |
|
Maternity Worldwide |
Malawi |
£498,027 |
To improve maternal and newborn health in 80 villages |
|
ActionAid |
Rwanda |
£489,858 |
Improve food security and income for female smallholder farmers |
|
Handicap International |
Cambodia |
£500,000 |
To reduce poverty of people with disabilities |
|
Helpage International UK |
Pakistan |
£481,241 |
To reduce poverty amongst older people in rural areas following destructive effects of flooding |
|
Restless Development |
Uganda |
£498,119 |
To improve sexual and reproductive health of young people |
|
Voluntary Services Overseas |
Bangladesh |
£499,993 |
To diversify livelihood strategies of farmers to reduce climate change impact |
|
WaterAid |
Pakistan |
£491,622 |
To gain access to safe water and better sanitation |
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Notes to editors
- The Big Lottery Fund is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- The Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since its inception in 2004 the Fund has awarded close to £6bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- In the year ending 31 March 2013, 28% of total National Lottery revenue was returned to the Good Causes
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, over £31 billion has now been raised and more than 400,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
