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<p>Bonded labor exists across the thousands of brick kilns in the South Asian Region (SAR). Research clearly documents deplorable housing and inhumane working conditions of Pakistani, Nepalese and Indian laborers. Yet, the bulk of information comes from large-scale surveys and secondary data analyses. The lived experiences of laborers have not been afforded the same attention, despite the need to contextualize workers’ perceptions and insight into their own lives. Thus, this study was intended to explore the socio-economic and personal factors influencing bonded labourers in the brick kiln industry of India. Guided by the life-course developmental theory Elder Jr (Child Development 69(1):1–12, 1998), 13 focus group discussions were conducted with male (<i>n</i> = 47) and female <i>(n</i> = 43) bonded laborers in that Indian state of Punjab. We asked four research questions: (1) What factors compel laborers to enter the brick kiln industry and migrate for work? (2) How do bonded laborers describe and adapt to contextual factors (e.g., living and working conditions) that impact health and well-being? (3) How do bonded laborers describe social relationships—with family, kiln owners and kiln contractors? And (4) What aspirations do bonded laborers have for their children and to what extent are they able to promote those aspirations? Data were analyzed using thematic analysis Braun &amp; Clarke (Qualitative Research in Psychology 3:77–101, 2006). Participants described landlessness, poverty, and lack of education as factors precipitating their work in the brick kiln industry. Women <i>typically</i> married into brick kiln families whereas males often reported kiln labour as familial and intergenerational. Participants worked long hours and described living conditions as “slum like.” With few exceptions, children migrated with parents seasonally and often worked alongside their parents, attending school sporadically in their home villages during the off-season. Yet, most participants hoped their children would be educated and employable beyond the kiln industry. Results revealed provide significant information for continued research, policy, and advocacy including the necessity of medical and educational resources available to migratory kiln laborers, transparency in communicating and paying government rates for all kiln work, and standardized methods for maintaining debt records among illiterate laborers.</p>

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“We Want to Go Home”: Migration, Family Dynamics, and Employment among Bonded Laborers in India’s Brick Kiln Industry

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年1月23日

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  • Rochelle L. Dalla,
  • Resham Sethi,
  • Hardeep Dholpuria,
  • Veerpal Kaur,
  • Amandeep Kaur

摘要

Bonded labor exists across the thousands of brick kilns in the South Asian Region (SAR). Research clearly documents deplorable housing and inhumane working conditions of Pakistani, Nepalese and Indian laborers. Yet, the bulk of information comes from large-scale surveys and secondary data analyses. The lived experiences of laborers have not been afforded the same attention, despite the need to contextualize workers’ perceptions and insight into their own lives. Thus, this study was intended to explore the socio-economic and personal factors influencing bonded labourers in the brick kiln industry of India. Guided by the life-course developmental theory Elder Jr (Child Development 69(1):1–12, 1998), 13 focus group discussions were conducted with male (n = 47) and female (n = 43) bonded laborers in that Indian state of Punjab. We asked four research questions: (1) What factors compel laborers to enter the brick kiln industry and migrate for work? (2) How do bonded laborers describe and adapt to contextual factors (e.g., living and working conditions) that impact health and well-being? (3) How do bonded laborers describe social relationships—with family, kiln owners and kiln contractors? And (4) What aspirations do bonded laborers have for their children and to what extent are they able to promote those aspirations? Data were analyzed using thematic analysis Braun & Clarke (Qualitative Research in Psychology 3:77–101, 2006). Participants described landlessness, poverty, and lack of education as factors precipitating their work in the brick kiln industry. Women typically married into brick kiln families whereas males often reported kiln labour as familial and intergenerational. Participants worked long hours and described living conditions as “slum like.” With few exceptions, children migrated with parents seasonally and often worked alongside their parents, attending school sporadically in their home villages during the off-season. Yet, most participants hoped their children would be educated and employable beyond the kiln industry. Results revealed provide significant information for continued research, policy, and advocacy including the necessity of medical and educational resources available to migratory kiln laborers, transparency in communicating and paying government rates for all kiln work, and standardized methods for maintaining debt records among illiterate laborers.