The report said that 63% of workers rescued after 2016 did not receive even the interim travel assistance.
| Photo Credit: Anashwara R
Most rescued bonded labourers have not received compensation or basic rehabilitation support, and largely belong to the marginalised caste groups, according to a report released on Friday.
Titled ‘Migrant Bonded Labour in India’, the report was released by the National Campaign Committee for the Eradication of Bonded Labour (NCCEBL) at the Press Club of India in New Delhi.
As per the report, 63% of workers rescued after 2016 did not receive even the interim travel assistance mandated immediately upon rescue. Despite eligibility for ₹2 lakh, more than half the rescued children (53.8%) and one-third of rescued women (33%) received no compensation at all. Only one woman received an amount between ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh. Not a single male respondent received the ₹1 lakh compensation due to them. Rehabilitation is provided only after a release certificate is issued.
Under the Central Sector Scheme for the Rehabilitation of Bonded Labourers 2016, an adult male is entitled to ₹1 lakh, women and children to ₹2 lakh, and individuals belonging to extreme cases – including transgender persons, survivors of sexual exploitation, or persons with disabilities – to ₹3 lakh.
The caste profile of rescued migrant labourers also emerged as a stark pattern. All surveyed workers belonged to marginalised castes – 63% from Scheduled Castes, 13% from Scheduled Tribes, and 24% from Other Backward Classes. None belonged to the general category. “These figures show that bonded labour in India is not just an economic issue, but a structural outcome of the caste system,” said the report based on testimonies from around 950labourers. It is authored by Nirmal Gorana, Pankhuri Agarwal, Preethi Krishnan, Aishwarya Thanigaivel, and Vinayak Krishnan.
(Anashwara R contributed to this report)
Published – November 29, 2025 02:01 am IST
