INDIA NEWS
In Maharashtra’s steel belt, Ravi feeds molten scrap into furnaces—barefoot and unpaid for days off.
By Aniket Chakraborty
June 7, 2025
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Migrating from drought-hit Barabanki, his $175 wage supports five family members and comes late each month.
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There’s no contract, no leave, no safety gear—and missing three shifts resets him as a ‘new hire’.
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Women like Sumitha in Andhra’s shrimp factories peel for export markets, earning $4.50/day—cash, no payslip.
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Inside seafood units, menstrual pain is no excuse. “We just keep working,” she says.
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Young workers like Minnu call it an “open prison,” where cameras watch every unpaid hour of labour.
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The ILO calls it forced labour. India calls it informal work. The lines blur across 390 million unorganised jobs.
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From Tamil Nadu textiles to Madhya Pradesh cotton farms, indicators of modern slavery are alarmingly common.
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Labour codes exist on paper, but most workers can’t unionise or even ask for proof of employment.
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“We know we’re exploited,” says Ravi. “But what choice do we have when the land no longer feeds us?”
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