Jharkhand to Help Workers Stranded in Cameroon

• 16 Dec 2024

Why in News? 

After an intervention by Jharkhand Chief Minister, a group of 47 migrant workers from Jharkhand who are trapped in Cameroon have received partial payment of their wages. 

 Key Points 

• Pending Salaries and Legal Non-compliance: 
  • Workers employed by M/s Transrail Lighting Limited in Cameroon alleged non-payment of salaries for three months. 
  • The Chief Minister of Jharkhand directed the Labour Commissioner to register an First Information Report (FIR) against the employers and middlemen. 
  • The FIR noted violations of the Interstate Migrant Workers Act, 1979, including sending workers abroad without registration or requisite licenses. 
  • FIRs were filed in the Hazaribagh, Bokaro, and Giridih districts of Jharkhand. 
• Salary Payment Update: 
  • Transrail Lighting stated the workers were paid US Dollar 100 per month, promising to transfer the balance to their Indian accounts. 
  • The Labour Department has requested the company to provide contracts, salary records, and other relevant documents. 
  • A letter has been sent to the Protector of Emigrants (POE) and other authorities for necessary action. 
• Diplomatic Efforts: 
  • The Indian High Commission and the Union Ministry of External Affairs are actively facilitating discussions between the company and the stranded workers. 
  • Control room teams are maintaining contact with workers and officials to ensure their safety. 
  • Officials warned that failure to pay full salaries could result in the cancellation of agreements with contractors. 
• Previous Cases of Intervention: 
  • In July 2024, the Chief Minister intervened to bring back 27 stranded workers from Cameroon. 
  • Efforts are ongoing to repatriate 50 workers stranded in Malaysia, who have reached Visakhapatnam and are expected to return home soon. 

 Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 

• The Act seeks to regulate the employment of inter-State migrants and their conditions of service. 
• It is applicable to every establishment that employs five or more migrant workmen from other States; or if it had employed five or more such workmen on any day in the preceding 12 months. 
• It is also applicable to contractors who employed a similar number of inter-State workmen. 
• It envisages a system of registration of such establishments. The principal employer is prohibited from employing inter-State workmen without a certificate of registration from the relevant authority. 
• The law also lays down that every contractor who recruits workmen from one State for deployment in another State should obtain a licence to do so.