Despite the fact that International Labor’s Day is being celebrated around the world on May 1, the laborers of five brick kilns in Duduwa Rural Municipality-3 and Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City-21 are working daily.The workers in the brick kilns are busy working from 11 in the morning to four pm in the extreme heat of April. Satruhan Giri, 44, one of the laborers of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City-14 expressed that they have to cook in a hut made of bricks and sleep under the sky while working in the kiln.
Similarly, 28-year-old Rahish Sesh of Duduwa Municipality-6 expressed that it is difficult for them to earn their livelihood just by staying at home. So when he works to load bricks in a tractor, he gets a certain amount of wage.
Additionally, 30-year-old Rajjab Ali of Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City-13 added that despite having heard about the government making arrangements for the social security of the laborers, they have no idea how it works and supports the laborers. Furthermore, the laborers, busy working without taking labor’s day as an excuse, express that if they don’t work for one day, they will have to face problems in sustaining their daily lives.
Article 34 of the Constitution of N
epal 2015 states that, ‘Every laborer shall have the right to fair labor practice’ , and ‘Every laborer shall have the right to appropriate remuneration, facilities and contributory social security’. Likewise, the Labors Act, 2017 provides that the laborers cannot be employed without any contract, they should be provided with social security arrangements, they should get sufficient leaves including sick, home, any other emergency leaves and also shall get weekly and public holidays.
However, the laborers are compelled to work even on Labour’s day as it is very difficult for them to feed themselves and their families unless they work.