International Journal of Research and Review www.ijrrjournal.com E-ISSN: 2349-9788; P-ISSN: 2454-2237

Research Paper

Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Taluk, Thiruvallur District

Dr. S. Sudharsan

Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work (Aided), Madras Christian College, , .

ABSTRACT

This descriptive study on psychosocial conditions of brick kiln workers was conducted to comprehend People‟s view of the fast paced development that knocking at their doorstep with the promise of taking India forward. The relevant data was collected with the help of structured interview schedule from fifty respondents. The researcher made visits to brick kilns the fifty respondents while gathering the data. The findings of the study clearly signify that the families in brick kilns fell into debt to meet basic needs.

Keywords: Brick kiln workers, family, psychosocial conditions.

INTRODUCTION General objective: A Study on Psycho India is the second largest producer Social Conditions of Brick kiln workers in of clay fired bricks, accounting for more Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District than 10 percent of global production. India Specific objectives is estimated to have more than 100,000 1. To study the socio-economic condition brick kilns, producing about 150-200 billion of the respondents bricks annually, employing about 10 million 2. To understand their occupational workers and consuming about 25 million background of the respondents tons of coal annually. India‟s brick sector is 3. To study the livelihood conditions of the characterized by traditional firing respondents technologies; environmental pollution; 4. To elicit the rehabilitation opinion from reliance on manual labour and low the respondents. mechanization rate; dominance of small- Limitations of the study: During the study scale brick kilns with limited financial, the researcher found all of the respondents technical and managerial capacity; belonged to the same community. These dominance of single raw material (clay) and people to some extent answered similarly. product (solid clay brick); and lack of institutional capacity for the development of METHODOLOGY the sector Field of study: This study was conducted in Importance of study: This research acts as Poonamallee Taluk of District. an essence to analyze the brick kiln works Thiruvallur District was bifurcated from as a psychosocial issue. This study will east while Kanchipuram District on 01-12- serve as a baseline for designing 1997. The district Thiruvallur has an area of interventions and measuring the progress of 3418 sqkm. distributed over 14 Panchayat implementation of ratified constitutional Unions in 8 Taluks. The District lies in procedures to eliminate forced labour and between 12-10 degree and 13-15 degree worst forms of labour in . north latitude and 79 -15 degree and 18 -2

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 177 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019 S. Sudharsan. Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District degree east longitude. Thiruvallur is a also focus its attention on the objectives of coastal district, adjacent to metro of the study data collection methods, sampling, Chennai. It is bounded on the east by Bay of data processing and reporting. This research Bengal and Chennai city on the north by is a descriptive design. The study is aimed state Andhra Pradesh, on the south by at describing the social, economic and Kanchipuram District, on the west by cultural conditions of the Brick kiln Vellore District. At present Thiruvallur workers. The researcher has attempted to District comprise 8 taluks, 14 blocks and study the psychosocial conditions of the 816 villages. As regards to the hierarchy of respondents. Descriptive Research Design is administrative arrangement there are 6 a scientific method which involves municipalities, 19 town panchayats and 669 observing and describing the behavior of a village panchayats in the district. subject without influencing it any way. Thiruvallur district has a total population of Descriptive designs results in a description 27, 38,866 persons (as per 2001 census) of of the subject, whether in words, pictures, which male account for 13, 90,292 (51%) charts or tables and whether the data and female account for 13, 48,574 (49%). analysis shows statistical relationships or is Rural population comprises 45 percent and merely descriptive. Moreover this design urban 44 percent with sex ratio of 970/1000. does not confine the researcher within a The total geographical area of the frame work of understanding and analyzing. Thiruvallur district is 341810 hectares. Of There is a possibility of going beyond. this total area, the cropped area accounts for Sampling method: Sample is a microcosm 50.7% (173,409 hectares). The fallow land that is extracted from the population or comprising current and other fallow universe. A good sample represents the constitutes 17.7% of total area spread over population from which it selected. Simple 60578 hectares. Nearly 31.2% of land area Random Sampling is an alternative to to total geographical area is not available for random sampling. It consists of taking every cultivation. The forests cover 20092 „K‟th item in the population after a random hectares in the district is accounting for start with an item from 1 to “K”. Size of the 5.9% of the total land area. These are 6 sample refers to the number of items to be villages located abutting forest ranges in chosen from the universe to form a sample Thiruvallur, Uttukottai, and size. The size of the sample must be Poonamallee taluks forest areas in the optimum. The sample size is determined by district. the parameters of size of the population. FIELD OF STUDY: POONAMALLEE Considering all these facts the sample size is TALUK THIRUVALLUR DISTRICT 50 in this study. Universe: The universe of this study Sources of data: The search for answers to consists of all the households, living in research questions is called collection of “Brick kilns” of Poonamallee Taluk, data. Data are facts and other relevant Thiruvallur District. materials, past and present, serving a bases Research design: Research Design helps to for study and analysis. The researcher went decide upon issues like “what, when, where, to the field and collected the primary data how much, by which means etc. of the by means of face-to-face interview with the research study. A research design is the respondents. All the respondents were arrangement of conditions for collection and typical Brick kiln Workers of the rural analysis of data in a manner that aims to community. The researcher also gone combine relevance to the research purpose through reference materials and documented with economy in procedure. Research data from published secondary sources like design constitutes the blue print for the books journals, periodicals, reports websites collection, measurement and analysis of etc. the researcher also spent sufficient time data (Seltiz, 1962). Research design should

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 178 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019 S. Sudharsan. Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District in interacting and discussing the topic of the voluntarily.” (Forced Labour Convention, study with different experts in the field. 1930). Tools of data collection: Interview Schedule was prepared to study the MAIN FINDINGS psychosocial conditions of brick kiln 1. Age category workers fulfilling all the objectives of the The study reveals that 38 percent of research. The following are the tools of data respondents are in the age group of 21-25 collection: year. It has been evident that significant Interview Schedule amount of 38 percent are in the category of The interview schedule consists of personal 26-30 year and 24 percent of young details, family details, socio economic respondents are in the age category above conditions, housing conditions, agriculture 30 and above years they are the productive land details, livestock details, saving and age group. indebtedness details, water and sanitation, 2. Gender social capital , common property resources Most of the respondents who had details, Impoverishment Risk Assessment, participated in this survey were males. attitude towards the project, psychological 3. Religion conditions , Resettlement and Rehabilitation Predominantly of the respondents is opinion details. Totally 30 questions following Hinduism as the major religion of excluding sub questions were included. the country. Preparation of tools: In consultation with 4. Caste: the experts and professors and social Cent percent of the respondent were workers in the particular field, the tools for Scheduled Caste this study are prepared. Pretesting: In order to find out the EDUCATIONAL STATUS: applicability and validity of the tool a well Educational profile of the household prepared interview schedule was given to 3 population heights low level of education respondents. Based on the pre testing the attainment; more than half (52%) of the researcher added, deleted and edited some respondents had no formal education. questions on these heads. The pre testing Notably 40 percent of the respondents was done. completed primary education. Findings also Actual data collection: The data collection indicate that 8 percent of the sample size was done at different stages in the month of received higher education, respectively December 2013. The researcher built rapport with brick kiln workers and Meet MARITAL STATUS: the respondents directly in their residence The study reveals that about more than half the data is collected of the respondents are married. So, this Definitions study sought to assess young people‟s Family: Family is a group of person united preferences about the age at which to marry by the ties of marriage, blood or adoption; and, among the unmarried, their preferences consisting of single household, interacting for love or arranged marriages. It is and their communicating with each other. possible, of course, that youth who were Respective social roles of husband and wife, married in adolescence might have reported mother and father, sons and daughters, the age at which they married as the brother and sisters creating a common preferred age. culture (Burgees and Locke, 1999). Type of family Forced Labour: “All work or service It reveals that majority 64 percent of the which is exacted from any person under the respondents are in the extended family. menace of any penalty and for which the Whereas 26 percent respondents are in joint said person has not offered himself family system.

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 179 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019 S. Sudharsan. Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District

Size of the family Consequences of Migration: The study revealed that 61.33 percent of the One fourth of the respondents are really respondent are living in medium size family disturbed psychologically due to migration. and it s also significantly reflects that 32 Further it is evident that no one is happy percent of the respondents are living in about the migration. It is mainly because it small size family. has greater impact on their livelihood. Migration – Sustainability: LIVELIHOOD CONDITIONS Most of the respondent‟s dominant strand of If we analyze the engagement of sample of migration stresses and the rationality of the brick kiln workers in various actives it will migrants on resettlement. Poverty and be founded that 60 percent them are conflict are one of the curses kept by the involved in non-agriculture activities. The Government on them, and the historical emergence of new livelihood in locality has patterns of behavior as been changed. The attracted the youth from other neighboring present loss on tenure right of land is critical areas with passage of time (7 years) these for „survival‟. migrated in Poonamallee Taluk for their It shows that nearly 50 percent of the kiln livelihood options. workers felt that there is poor working The study reveals that the kiln workers are conditions are available in the Kilns. The placed in various kinds of work about 96 necessity was not fulfilled for the kiln percent of them are involved in brick workers. There is no proper access to the making and they carries water for brick infrastructure facility in the kilns. preparation is about 40 percent., some of Psychological impact of Brick kiln them 24 percent are kiln operators. Workers Monthly family income It was identified that 32.67 percent have no The majority 84 percent of the respondents hope in their life with regard to the are earning below Rs.3500 as Monthly implementation of the forced labour and Income. they believed that the project would bring Type of shelter: considerable reduction in per capita income. It reveals that percent of the respondents are One fourth of the respondents are really living in hut house with mud wall provided disturbed psychologically. by Kiln Industry. It is significant that most Rehabilitation demanded of the respondents do not have proper The study revealed 100 percent of the housing facility. respondents are demanding for the It also reveals majority 80 percent of the rehabilitation in their life. In particular they respondents are not satisfied with their sought for livelihood rehabilitation. access to their food, shelter and services. Type of house structure and size of the FINDINGS OF FOCUS GROUP family DISCUSSION: The study reveals that 60 percent of the Following are some of the main findings respondents family size is medium (4-6 summarized from FGDs conducted in members) living in hut house is 16-67 Annambedu Village, Poonamallee Taluk, percent. Thiruvallur District. In the focus group Social Capital discussion some of the perceptions are: Before resettlement 100 percent of the respondents are satisfied with relationship in DISCUSSION – I the community, At present in Brick kiln the Problems Associated with Forced Labour thick social capital is diluting due to and Sustainability of Brick kiln Workers: migration. For the most part of the youth are  Majority of them said due to the impact not residing in resettled areas. of development (shift in agriculture)

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 180 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019 S. Sudharsan. Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District

forced to change their livelihood options Next decade should focus on these specific overnight. technical measures:  The group replied that “we lost the  Adoption of cleaner kiln technologies (Kulathaivam - in Tamil) our lord , flora (principally zig-zag and VSBK) and fauna, natural vegetation, herbless,  Promotion of internal fuel in brick and traditional food practices” in our making by mechanizing the brick ancestral village. making process  One of the youth raised his voice that “  Promotion of mechanized coal stoking Due to migration I lost my traditional systems land and culture”  Diversifying products (e.g. production  Young workers said in chorus “Wage is of hollow and perforated bricks) our right.”  Promotion of modern renewable energy  Migration is a statement that removing technologies in brick making Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) this is the cry of the young ones. This report has demonstrated is that  The group replied Clay (Kaliman) is our the problem with bonded labour lies not source for livelihood. only in the conditions endured by bonded  Most of them said now we are bonded labourers on a daily basis. Rather, this issue laborers in Industries but in the past we merits attention because of the cycles were enjoying the ownership of our perpetuated by this labour relationship of duties. bondage and servitude. The most obvious  Some of them said that Deprivation of cycle is that of debt. With intergenerational land and livelihood is a kind of transference of debt, children have no Terrorism. choice but to follow in the footsteps of their  Majority of them said after migration parents. At the same time, basic poverty youths are working in local brick kiln issues and subsistence needs force families industries. to take loan after loan, often paying for their IN-DEPTH OBSERVATION ANALYSIS winter‟s food with a loan that they spend an Housing characteristics of the brick kiln entire season paying back. workers underscore poor living condition Families in brick kilns fell into debt among the majority of the population in to meet basic needs. The vulnerability these Brick kiln Industries of Poonamallee taluk. households experienced as migrants is  Overall brick kiln household living in perpetuated by the exploitation of the brick kachcha house (constructed from mud, kiln industry to the point that families, upon thatch or other low-quality materials) return to Afghanistan, have little chance of  All the households had no electricity reintegration – defined as a process that  It main source of drinking water should result in the disappearance of obtained from an open pond. differences in legal rights and duties  No access to toilet facilities of any kind between returnees and their compatriots and was reported thought non-participatory the equal access of returnees to services, method productive assets and opportunities. Bonded labourers depend on their  The main source of cooking fuel was employers for shelter as well as their wood crop residue and dung cakes. livelihoods. With little access to land or

shelter due to their migratory background SUGGESSTIONS AND CONCLUSION and their lack of land tenure security, The way forward households are bound to their employers not The study recommends that the efforts to only by the terms of their contracts but also propagate cleaner brick kiln technologies by the fact that they cannot obtain shelter by over the other means. They are therefore dependent

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 181 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019 S. Sudharsan. Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District on employers at the most basic level: to International Programme on the Elimination provide for a roof for their families, which of Child Labour (ILO‐IPEC). acts as a big incentive and also a form of  Aunias, Dovelyn (2009), Guiding the implicit coercion. The most extreme and Invisible Hand: Making Migration widely cited penalty these bonded labourers Intermediaries Work for Development, can be subject to is the loss of their shelter. Human Development Research Paper, UNDP. Faced with the challenge of meeting basic  Basu, Kaushik and Zafiris Tzannatos subsistence needs, the cost of education, in (2003), “The Global Child Labor Problem: terms of lost income from child labour, is What Do We Know and What Can We too high for most families. Due to this lack Do?,” The World Bank Economic Review, of investment in human capital, child Vol. 17, No. 2, p. 147‐173. bonded labourers do not acquire the  Brown, Drusilla K. et al (2002), “The necessary skills to break the cycle of Determinants of Child Labor: Theory and poverty and repeat the same cycle with their Evidence,” Discussion Paper No. 486, children as adults; the same is true with School of Public Policy, University of adults who have no access to any skills Michigan. development or training beyond the work  Churchill, Craig and Isabelle Guérin (nd), that they have been repeating each work “Microfinance‐led strategies to eliminate season. As a result the cycle of illiteracy and bonded labour,” lack of skills ties into the cycle of poverty,  Edmonds, Eric (2008), “Defining child labour: A review of the definitions of child debt, vulnerability and dependence. labour in policy research,” Working Paper, From what we have learned about International Labour Organisation (ILO), the low‐margin brick industry, these cycles Geneva. will not be solved on their own through  Genicot, Garance (2002), “Bonded Labor economic growth and development, and and Serfdom: A Paradox of Voluntary given the projected contraction in the Choice,” Journal of Development construction sector, conditions will likely Economics, Vol. 67, Issue 1, 101‐127. get much worse. Therefore, eliminating  Gupta, J. (2003) “Informal Labour in Brick child bonded labour in brick kilns is Kilns: Need for Regulation‟, Economic and currently unrealistic in Poonamallee Taluk, Political Weekly, 2 August: 3282–92 particularly in the current context of  Hai, Akhtar Abdul et al (2010), transition. Donors need to focus on realistic, “Socio‐economic conditions of child labour: A case study for the fishing sector on low‐cost means of relieving the burden of Balochistan coast,” International Journal of debt and dependence and improving the Social Economics, Vol. 37, No. 4, p living and working conditions of bonded 316‐338. labourers. Interventions should be  HRW/Asia (1995), Contemporary Forms of coordinated with government actors at both Slavery in Pakistan, Human Rights the national and provincial level. Watch/Asia.  ILO (n.d.), “About child labour,” REFERENCES ww.ilo.org/ipec/facts/lang‐‐en/, accessed 24  ADB (2011a), “Economic trends and October 2011. prospects in Developing Asia: South Asia,”  ILO (2004), “Unfree labour in Pakistan: chapter from Asian Development Outlook Work, debt and bondage in brick kilns,” 2011: South‐South Economic Links, Asian Working paper no. 24, prepared by the Development Bank, p. 143‐146. Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and  ADB (2011b), “Key Indicators for Asia and Research for the ILO. the Pacific 2011,” Asian Development  ILO (2005), A Global Alliance Against Bank. Forced Labour, ILO, Geneva.  Altai Consulting (2008), “A Rapid  ILO (2011), “Questions and answers on the Assessment on Child Labour in Kabul,” hidden reality of children in domestic Research commissioned by the ILO work,”

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 182 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019 S. Sudharsan. Psychosocial Conditions of Brick Kiln Workers in Poonamallee Taluk, Thiruvallur District

 ILO‐IPEC (2003), Investing in Every Child:  UNICEF (2011), “Surkhroad District Brick An Economic Study of the Costs and Kiln Project” Report on the second phase Benefits of Eliminating and  Child Labour, International Programme on  recommendations for the third phase of the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), UNICEF‟s pilot project in Surkhroad ILO, Geneva. district, United  Kamber, Michael (2011), “In Afghan Kilns,  Nations Children‟s Fund (UNICEF). a Cycle of Debt and Servitude,” The New  USAID (n.d.) “USAID Country Profile: York Times, 15 Property Rights and Resource Governance,  March 2011. Afghanistan,” USAID, Land Tenure and  Pavgi, Kedar (2011), “The 7 Property Rights Portal, Afghanistan. Fastest‐Growing Cities in the World,”  World Bank (2005), Kabul Urban Policy Foreign Policy, 26 October, 2011, Notes Series, No. 4.  Swaminathan, Madhura. 1998. “Economic  World Bank (2011), “Issues and Challenges Growth and the Persistence of Child Labor: of Transition and Sustainable Growth in Evidence from an Indian City.” World Afghanistan,” Development, vol. 26, no. 8, pp 1513‐1528.  UN‐HABITAT (2008), Secure Land Rights for All, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHABITAT),Nairobi.

How to cite this article: Sudharsan S. Psychosocial conditions of brick kiln workers in Poonamallee taluk, Thiruvallur district. International Journal of Research and Review. 2019; 6(9):177-183.

******

International Journal of Research & Review (www.ijrrjournal.com) 183 Vol.6; Issue: 9; September 2019