Awareness camps for migrant workers

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation will soon conduct awareness camps for migrant workers working at various construction sites under its limit. The awareness programme, which was actually scheduled to be conducted in June, was postponed due to monsoon.Officials said that the awareness camps would be conducted in July-end. The aim of the camps is to create an awareness among the labourers on better hygiene, healthy living and the need to resist exploitation.“We have plans to list out these migrant labourers and maintain a record about each one of them. The civic body has also given instructions to the contractors who brought them to the city to maintain a similar record,” said Kochi Corporation Health Standing Committee chairman T K Ashraf.The decision to organise such camps is in the wake of  Labour Minister Shibu Baby John’s instructions that the Labour Department should conduct raids on construction sites as part of a move to compulsorily register migrant workers and prevent their exploitation.However, Ashraf said that though the Corporation had planned to organise the camps in June, most of the construction works were temporarily halted owing to the monsoon rains. “The Corporation had conducted similar raids in May and found out that a majority of migrant construction workers working at the building sites were not even provided with basic facilities like food and shelter.  The decision to conduct awareness camps was taken after those raids,” he added.Ashraf said that along with camps on hygiene, programmes will be organised for creating awareness among the migrant labourers on the hazardous effects of using tobacco products. “A majority of these workers use tobacco products. Separate anti-tobacco campaigns will be organised for them,” he added.