Metro project: Labourers face risks, health hazards and exploitation
The poor working conditions have taken a toll on the labourers with dozens of them suffering from various diseases.
Almost all labourers are vulnerable to various kinds of skin and respiratory diseases. PHOTO: FILE
RAWALPINDI:
Hundreds of labourers working on the Metro Bus Project in the twin cities are not only vulnerable to the risks involved in construction, and health hazards but also exploitation owing to the apathy of the government.
They not only work without protective gears but also live in squalor and inhumane conditions with most of them having no access to clean drinking water and food.
Most of the labourers, who live in tents scattered along the ninth avenue, could be seen sitting or sleeping on ‘sheets’ of cut paper cartons put on the ground in harsh weather.
This poor working condition has taken a toll on the labourers’ health with dozens of them suffering from various diseases.
The labourers work in dusty and hazardous environment with most of them without wearing gloves and masks and other working gear while removing dirt and mud handling chemicals. In the chilly cold while they work day and night but without wearing warm cloths. Around 3,000 labourers are working on the 24-kilometre-long project, which will facilitate over 100,000 commuters to travel between Rawalpindi and Islamabad daily.
Muhammad Gulzar, 45, is one of them who fell victim to dengue and suffered from diarrhea twice.
Metro Bus Project Chairman Hanif Abbasi said that though work in such a harsh weather was difficult, this was the only option the labourers have.
“The extreme poverty and our necessities have compelled us to work in such harsh conditions,” Gulzar said. He said that one of his co-workers suffered from serious kidney problem recently. He was diagnosed with kidney stone after hospitalization.
Almost all labourers are vulnerable to various kinds of skin and respiratory diseases due to unhealthy nature of their work.
The labourers working at the site also talked about the limited safety equipment and lack of facilities. “Some of them have been provided with accommodation at a plaza but the rest live in tents,” Gulzar said.
Some labourers said that though they have been given helmets they never use them, as, according to them, they were not weather-friendly.
Mujahid Satti, another labourer, said that he has been given a plastic helmet which gets hot in summer and cold in winter.
Most of the workers drink water from tankers brought for sprinkling it on dug-up roads to settle dust and mix construction chemicals.
The labourers work in two shifts, racing against the time to complete the project before the stipulated time.
“A contractor is bind to provide safety gears to the labourers and educate them to use it,” said an official at the Rawalpindi commissioner’s office. He said that no compensation or medical treatment is given to the labourers.
Abbasi, however, said that every worker has been provided with a helmet but none of them wear it. “Some of the labourers use the safety gears but those who do not, should be forced to use them for their own security,” Abbasi said.
The labourers, however, contradicted his claim saying except for the plastic helmets they have not been given proper equipment. In case of any emergency or if they fell ill, the labourers have to take care themselves. Besides, no compensation is given to the family if a labourer dies.
For instance neither a case was registered against the contractor nor was compensation given to the family of a labourer when he lost his life after falling from a pile a few months back.
Regarding the compensation amount, Abbasi claimed that though it was the contractor’s responsibility to compensate them, the provincial government gives compensation to them and bears their treatment costs.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2014.
Hundreds of labourers working on the Metro Bus Project in the twin cities are not only vulnerable to the risks involved in construction, and health hazards but also exploitation owing to the apathy of the government.
They not only work without protective gears but also live in squalor and inhumane conditions with most of them having no access to clean drinking water and food.
Most of the labourers, who live in tents scattered along the ninth avenue, could be seen sitting or sleeping on ‘sheets’ of cut paper cartons put on the ground in harsh weather.
This poor working condition has taken a toll on the labourers’ health with dozens of them suffering from various diseases.
The labourers work in dusty and hazardous environment with most of them without wearing gloves and masks and other working gear while removing dirt and mud handling chemicals. In the chilly cold while they work day and night but without wearing warm cloths. Around 3,000 labourers are working on the 24-kilometre-long project, which will facilitate over 100,000 commuters to travel between Rawalpindi and Islamabad daily.
Muhammad Gulzar, 45, is one of them who fell victim to dengue and suffered from diarrhea twice.
Metro Bus Project Chairman Hanif Abbasi said that though work in such a harsh weather was difficult, this was the only option the labourers have.
“The extreme poverty and our necessities have compelled us to work in such harsh conditions,” Gulzar said. He said that one of his co-workers suffered from serious kidney problem recently. He was diagnosed with kidney stone after hospitalization.
Almost all labourers are vulnerable to various kinds of skin and respiratory diseases due to unhealthy nature of their work.
The labourers working at the site also talked about the limited safety equipment and lack of facilities. “Some of them have been provided with accommodation at a plaza but the rest live in tents,” Gulzar said.
Some labourers said that though they have been given helmets they never use them, as, according to them, they were not weather-friendly.
Mujahid Satti, another labourer, said that he has been given a plastic helmet which gets hot in summer and cold in winter.
Most of the workers drink water from tankers brought for sprinkling it on dug-up roads to settle dust and mix construction chemicals.
The labourers work in two shifts, racing against the time to complete the project before the stipulated time.
“A contractor is bind to provide safety gears to the labourers and educate them to use it,” said an official at the Rawalpindi commissioner’s office. He said that no compensation or medical treatment is given to the labourers.
Abbasi, however, said that every worker has been provided with a helmet but none of them wear it. “Some of the labourers use the safety gears but those who do not, should be forced to use them for their own security,” Abbasi said.
The labourers, however, contradicted his claim saying except for the plastic helmets they have not been given proper equipment. In case of any emergency or if they fell ill, the labourers have to take care themselves. Besides, no compensation is given to the family if a labourer dies.
For instance neither a case was registered against the contractor nor was compensation given to the family of a labourer when he lost his life after falling from a pile a few months back.
Regarding the compensation amount, Abbasi claimed that though it was the contractor’s responsibility to compensate them, the provincial government gives compensation to them and bears their treatment costs.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 2nd, 2014.