During the early hours, informal job markets, known as labour addas, in Hyderabad attract numerous young men who speak various languages such as Bengali, Odiya, and Hindi. These individuals are actively seeking employment from construction site supervisors.
Babul Shaik, a mason originally from Malda district in West Bengal, shared his story of struggle and determination. “I had to seek work because I have no land and only a modest home built by my father,” he stated. “Every morning, I head to the Zehra Nagar labour adda near my room, where I primarily take on plastering jobs, earning ₹1,000-1,200 a day.”
Laxmi, a 30-year-old helper from Chhattisgarh, narrates her daily routine at a construction site. “I work from 8 a.m. until 5 or 7 p.m., transporting materials and clearing debris. My daily wage ranges between ₹500-600,” she explained.
In the larger construction projects concentrated in West Hyderabad’s IT Corridor, contractors are responsible for sourcing migrant labourers. A property consultant stated, “It’s more favorable to work on substantial projects here rather than live under tarps at smaller setups.”
Informal sector worker rights organizations have identified approximately 220 labour addas throughout the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation. These addas are frequented by migrants hailing from states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand, with daily attendance ranging from 100 to 1,200 workers.
While precise statistics on migrant workers in Telangana remain elusive, estimates prior to the pandemic suggested numbers between 8 lakh to 10 lakh. The eShram portal currently lists over 44 lakh registered informal sector workers in Telangana. Official records in Hyderabad show 22,934 male and 4,457 female workers formally registered in the construction sector, while the Telangana Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (TBOCWB) claims a total of 15,06,171 workers in this segment.
“A significant portion of workers, particularly in construction, remain unregistered,” says Brother Varghese Theckanath, director of the Monfort Social Institute. This lack of registration results in denied access to crucial welfare benefits, including accident compensation and support for natural deaths.
TBOCWB’s Secretary and CEO E. Gangadhar highlighted the Board’s efforts over the last decade, noting they have disbursed ₹6 lakh each to 5,231 families of workers who died in accidents, ₹1 lakh to 48,266 families for natural deaths, and ₹5 lakh to 603 individuals who suffered disabilities.
However, tracking migrant workers continues to be a challenge. “The over 15 lakh registered primarily consist of construction workers from Telangana, not migrants from other states,” Gangadhar added, emphasizing the need for educational campaigns about the importance of registration.
Significantly, the TBOCWB is designed to include members representing both workers and employers, yet the representation for workers remains vacant. In 2022, a state announcement reserved 95% of jobs in government sectors for locals, which overlooked the private sector.
Reports indicate that many migrant workers lack awareness about the eShram portal and TBOCWB. The registration process can also be cumbersome. “To register at the MeeSeva centers, they must take a day off work, risking lost income, which is often not feasible,” an expert on informal sector workers mentioned.
Both Babul and Laxmi remain unaware of available schemes for construction workers. “Workers are generally uninformed about their rights and entitlements,” said U. Lingaiah, State Coordinator with a workers’ rights organization. “Last July, there were two accidental fatalities among construction workers from U.P. and Odisha in Mamidipally. We managed to secure ₹5 lakh for each family, but these workers were not registered.”
