On May 1, as the world commemorates International Labour Day to honour the dignity of work and workers’ rights, the stories of millions in India trapped in bonded labour cast a dark shadow.

About Bonded Labour

• Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976: It defines bonded labour as forced work by a debtor (or their family) for a creditor due to a loan, social obligation, or hereditary debt, often without wages or for nominal pay, either for a fixed or indefinite period. 
• National Commission on Labour: The term ‘bonded labour’ has been defined as “labour which remains in bondage for a specific period for the debt incurred”. 

Scale of the Problem

• Global Slavery Index 2023: Among the G20 nations, India tops the list with 11 million people working as forced labourers, followed by China, Russia, Indonesia, Turkey and the U.S.
  • 50 million people are estimated to be living in conditions of modern slavery, marking a 25% rise over the last five years.
• India aims to eliminate bonded labour by 2030, in line with SDG Target 8.7.
  • To meet the 2030 target of eradicating bonded labour, around 11 lakh individuals would need to have been rescued annually since 2021.

Types of Bonded Labour in India

• Debt-based Bonded Labour (Debt Bondage): When a person or their family works to repay a loan or advance given by the employer or landlord, often for an indefinite period.
• Caste-based or Customary Bonded Labour: When a person is forced to work because of their caste or social status, irrespective of loans.
  • Known systems/customs: Adiyamar, Baramasia, Bhagela, Cherumar, GarruGalu, etc.
• Hereditary Bonded Labour: When bonded status passes from parent to child due to non-repayment of ancestral debts.
• Forced Labour without Debt (Coercion-based Bondage): Labour extracted using physical force, threats, or restrictions on movement, without debt or advance.
• Sexual Exploitation-linked Bondage: Women and children forced into prostitution or sexual work under bonded conditions.
• Child Bonded Labour: Children trapped in bonded situations due to family debts or trafficking.
  • Sectors: Brick kilns, carpet weaving, zari work, domestic work, begging rings.

Constitutional Provisions on Bonded Labour

• Fundamental Rights
  • Article 21: Right to Life and Personal Liberty
    • Ensures the right to live with dignity.
    • Any system like bonded labour that deprives a person of dignity violates Article 21.
  • Article 23: Prohibition of Traffic in Human Beings and Forced Labour
    • Explicitly prohibits Human trafficking, Begar (forced unpaid labour) and Other forms of forced labour, including bonded labour.
    • Violation is an offence punishable under law.
  • Article 24: Prohibition of Employment of Children in Hazardous Jobs
    • Prohibits employment of children below 14 years in factories, mines, or hazardous occupations.
    • Important for addressing bonded child labour.
• Directive Principles of State Policy
  • Article 39: Directs the state to secure the right to adequate means of livelihood for all citizens.
    • Indirectly linked to preventing economic compulsion that leads to bonded labour.
  • Article 42: Ensures just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
    • Calls on the state to create labour conditions that rule out exploitative practices.
  • Article 43: Directs the state to secure Living wage, Decent standard of life and Social and cultural opportunities for workers.
  • Article 46: Promotes educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and other weaker sections.
    • Helps address the social roots of bonded labour among marginalized groups.

Causes of Bonded Labour in India

• Economic Causes
  • Poverty: Millions of bonded labourers in South Asia, including India, come from the poorest sections. 
    • Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, religious minorities, and migrants.
  • Indebtedness: Debt typically starts with small loans or salary advances for medical bills, weddings, or religious ceremonies, which spiral into larger debts and lifelong bondage .
    • Advances taken from landlords or labour contractors bind the entire family over time.
  • Unemployment and underemployment: Lack of local employment pushes workers into exploitative arrangements, especially in rural areas like brick kilns, stone quarries, and mining .
    • ILO India Employment Report 2024 states approximately 90 percent of workers are informally employed with no social security.
  • Lack of access to formal credit: The interlinking of credit and labour markets forces the poor to rely on informal creditors, worsening over-indebtedness and exploitation .
• Social Causes
  • Caste system and social hierarchy: Bonded labour is concentrated among lower castes and marginalized groups, historically compelled into forced work (e.g., Dalits and Adivasis in agriculture, stone quarries) .
    • 80% of rescued bonded labourers are SC/STs
  • Customary obligations and social traditions: Customs like Adiyamar, Jeetha, Kamiya, etc., enforce hereditary bondage, often passed across generations .
  • Illiteracy and lack of awareness: Poor awareness about minimum wages, labour rights, and abolition laws (1976 Act) allows employers to exploit workers .
• Systemic and Structural Causes
  • Ineffective implementation of laws: Despite the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, highlight poor ground-level implementation and lack of proactive state action .
    • Only 12,760 bonded labourers were rescued (2016–2021) out of an estimated 1.84 crore.
  • Corruption and lack of accountability: NHRC reports suggest that local enforcement authorities often neglect or cover up cases; vigilance committees are weak or nonfunctional.
  • Migration and lack of social protection: Migrant workers are highly vulnerable, often recruited through contractors with deceptive promises, especially in brick kilns and construction sectors .
• Employer-Driven Causes
  • Labour shortages and demand for cheap labour: Employers in mining, brick kilns, and agriculture recruit bonded workers to ensure cheap and reliable labour supply .
  • Control over land and resources: Landlords provide loans during crises, tying entire families to agricultural work without clear repayment terms .
  • Profit maximization: Contractors advance small loans or wage advances to tie workers to exploitative contracts and maximize profit with minimal cost .
• Political and Governance Failures
  • Lack of political will: While laws exist, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and ILO have repeatedly reported poor identification, weak rehabilitation efforts, and slow fund disbursement .
  • Absence of effective rehabilitation schemes: Although the Central Sector Scheme offers ₹1- 3 lakh for rehabilitation, many victims fail to get timely support due to administrative gaps .
• Special Vulnerabilities
• • Children and women: Children are often trafficked or forced into bonded work; women and transgenders face extreme deprivation, sometimes linked to sexual exploitation (e.g., brothels, massage parlours) ​.
  • Marginalized communities: Bonded labour systems like ‘Kamaiya’ in Nepal and similar systems in India disproportionately affect Adivasis, Dalits, and minorities .

Link Between Bonded Labour and the Informal Sector

• Dominance of Bonded Labour in Informal Workspaces: Bonded labour overwhelmingly exists in the informal, unorganised sector where labour relations are undocumented and unregulated.
  • India’s total employment is approximately 47 crore, with 8 crore in the organised sector and 39 crore in the unorganised sector, as per a National Sample Survey Organization report.
• Lack of Legal Contracts and Social Protection: Informal workers generally have no written contracts, no job security, no minimum wage protection, and no social benefits.
  • According to the NHRC, bonded labourers often work without wages or only for nominal wages below minimum wage levels.
• Prevalence of Migrant and Marginalised Workers: Informal sectors heavily depend on migrant, Dalit, Adivasi, and minority workers, who are particularly vulnerable to bonded labour.
  • ILO reports highlight that migrant workers are often recruited through middlemen or contractors, offered wage advances, and then trapped in forced labour systems .
• Interlinking of Labour and Credit Markets: In informal settings, employers and moneylenders are often the same, meaning workers who borrow during crises are forced to repay through their labour.
  • According to ILO, lack of formal credit access leads to over-reliance on wage advances, loans, and employer-controlled debt, deepening bondage.

Government Efforts to Address Bonded Labour in India

• Legislative Framework
  • Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976: Abolishes the bonded labour system.
    • Provides penalties: Up to 3 years imprisonment + ₹2,000 fine for enforcing bonded labour. ​
• Rehabilitation and Relief Schemes
  • Central Sector Scheme for Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers, 2021: Released bonded labourers receive financial aid of up to ₹3 lakh, complemented by non-monetary support to sustain their livelihoods.
  • Link with other welfare schemes (housing, land, education, health, livelihood).
• Institutional Mechanisms
  • Vigilance Committees (under the 1976 Act): Set up in every district and sub-division. 
    • Functions:
      • Advise on implementation of the Act.
      • Oversee economic and social rehabilitation.
      • Coordinate rural banks, cooperatives for credit access.
      • Conduct surveys and defend freed bonded labourers.
• Other Laws
  • Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, Sections 143, 143(2) and 374: Punish human trafficking, slavery, and forced labour.
  • Minimum Wages Act, 1948: Ensures fair wage to prevent exploitation.
  • Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970: Regulates employment of contract labour.
  • Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979: Protects migrant workers, who are highly vulnerable to bonded conditions.
  • Child and Adolescent Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986: Prohibits bonded child labour.
  • SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989: Protects marginalized communities, often victims of bonded labour.

Ethical Principles Violated in Bonded Labour

• Human Dignity: Every individual has inherent worth and deserves respect, freedom, and autonomy.
  • Bonded labour violates dignity by reducing people to instruments of labour, stripping away their choice, voice, and self-respect.
• Justice and Fairness: Justice demands fair treatment, fair wages, and equality before the law.
  • Bonded labour traps people in unjust, exploitative conditions, depriving them of wages, opportunities, and access to justice.
• Equality: Ethical governance is built on equal respect for all, irrespective of caste, class, or gender.
  • Bonded labour disproportionately affects Dalits, Adivasis, women, children, and migrants, deepening structural inequality.
• Freedom and Autonomy: Freedom to choose one’s work and autonomy over one’s life are fundamental ethical principles.
  • Bonded labourers lose this freedom, often confined to work under threat, debt, or custom.
• Compassion and Empathy: Ethical governance and leadership require compassion toward the suffering of vulnerable groups.
  • Indifference by employers, society, and sometimes the state reflects a grave failure of empathy.
• Integrity and Responsibility: Employers, government officials, and society have a moral responsibility to protect vulnerable people.
  • Collusion, negligence, or corruption in bonded labour cases show a breakdown of integrity.
• Social Responsibility and Common Good: Ethical societies balance individual interests with the collective good.
  • Bonded labour violates the common good by perpetuating poverty, exploitation, and social instability.

Way Forward to Eradicate Bonded Labour

• Strengthen Identification and Rescue Mechanisms: Activate and empower district vigilance committees to proactively identify bonded labourers through regular surveys, especially in high-risk sectors like brick kilns, mines, and agriculture. 
  • Use technology (e.g., digital tracking systems) to monitor rescued workers.
• Ensure Effective Law Enforcement and Accountability: Strictly implement the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, ensure prosecution of offenders, and fast-track cases in special courts. 
  • Hold district officials accountable for delays or negligence in addressing bonded labour.
• Improve Rehabilitation and Livelihood Support: Disburse Central Sector Scheme rehabilitation funds (₹1–3 lakh) promptly and ensure access to housing, land, education, healthcare, and skill development. 
  • Provide employable skill training to rescued workers to prevent return to bondage.
• Expand Access to Institutional Credit and Social Security: Improve access to formal credit, insurance, and microfinance for vulnerable groups, reducing dependence on informal moneylenders. 
  • Integrate bonded labourers into government social security schemes like PDS, MGNREGA, and health insurance.
• Address Caste and Social Discrimination: Launch targeted social awareness campaigns to break the acceptance of caste-based bonded labour systems (e.g., Holya, Jeetha, Padiyal). 
  • Empower Dalits, Adivasis, women, and children through education and community organizing.
• Strengthen Interstate Coordination on Migration and Trafficking: Create joint task forces and data-sharing systems between sending and receiving states to track and protect migrant workers. 
  • Monitor labour contractors and regulate recruitment practices.
• Involve Civil Society and Community Organizations: Partner with NGOs, workers’ unions, and grassroots groups to raise awareness, monitor bonded labour, and support victims. 
  • Build local leadership and community vigilance to challenge exploitative practices.

Conclusion

Bonded labour remains a stark violation of human dignity and constitutional rights, perpetuating systemic exploitation in India’s informal sector. Eradicating it demands robust enforcement, effective rehabilitation, and addressing socio-economic disparities to ensure freedom and justice for all workers.

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