Lawyer’s panel to check facilities for Games workers

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The Delhi High Court has set up a three-member committee of Delhi Legal Services Authority lawyers to inspect the facilities provided by the Delhi government to workers employed at the Commonwealth Games village.

The direction came after the court was informed by a petitioner that the government was not doing enough for the workers, who were living in inhuman conditions at Games construction sites.

The court in May directed the government to ensure that workers at various sites were registered with the Delhi Building and other Construction Workers Welfare Board (DBCWWB) to protect their rights.

The government Wednesday submitted that till now 3,000 workers had been registered.

However, petitioner People’s Union For Democratic Rights (PUDR) said that workers were still living in inhuman conditions.

A division bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan asked the lawyers’ to submit its report within two weeks.

A report titled ‘The 2010 Commonwealth Games: Whose Wealth, Whose Commons?’ released by the New Delhi-based Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) in May said workers employed at the Games village were not being paid the minimum wages.

‘Unskilled workers were being paid Rs.85-100 per day against the stipulated minimum wage of Rs.142 per day for eight hours of work. Skilled workers were being paid Rs.120-130 per day even though the stipulated wage is Rs.158 per day,’ the report said.

The report alleged that women were being paid less than men and that at least one-third of the workers were not paid their wages on time.

Through its petition, the PUDR had urged the court to ensure better facilities for workers, including insurance and medical services.

The PUDR said more than 70 workers, out of an estimated 415,000, have died at various Games sites.

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