Stories from The Spots: Mapping Chennai’s Labour Hotspots

It is a story that has been retold several times. Mani, a third-generation dhobi or washerman, and his family left their village in Melmaruvathur in Tamil Nadu to settle down at the Chetpet Dhobhikana, the second oldest such facility set up by the British in the 1900s in Chennai. Mani’s son is least interested in continuing the family occupation, which is now dominated by standalone laundry outlets. There are others to take his place and work for the laundry companies. A new set of migrants, including those from UP, West Bengal and Bihar, now work and live out of this run-down facility in Chennai.

Across the city, there are many such labour hotspots – some of them new, others thriving in older industrial belts to feed the demand for cheap labour. A Cividep team, which runs a labour helpline’s Tamil Nadu chapter, found many such areas where migrants congregate in the hope of finding a job. The ‘addas’ range from defunct mill premises to small-time tea shops and entire villages. While handing over the India Labour Line helpline number 1-800-833-9020, the team found that though the job profile might have changed in some cases, issues of poor wages and insecure employment remain. Here are some stories from the spots. (Pic above: Kaliyaperumal Narayanan talks to residents of Molachur village in Sunguvarchathram about the labour helpline. They are MGNREGA scheme workers.)

Workers Have Left The Mill

More than 100 workers, mostly Telugu-speaking women, wait for a contractor in the hopes of getting a construction site job for the day. They are standing opposite Binny Mills, one of Chennai’s oldest industrial establishments set up in 1876. It was the site of tremendous collectivisation that led to the formation of Madras Labour Union, a first for India. The mill has been partly demolished to make way for a high-rise complex; the rest has been kept intact for renting out for atmospheric film shoots. The migrant workers are standing at the same spot where where scores of mill workers would have gathered in the hopes of a better future.

Dhobikhana’s New Residents

Dhobikhanas like these used to be family enterprises run with clockwork precision. While one would start washing clothes as early as 4 am, the others would quickly hang the clean pieces to dry, and later iron them. The work would be over by 11 am, and the wash area would empty out only to reopen the next day morning. With younger family members moving out of the occupation, dhobis rely on migrant labour to help with the work. These workers are paid a monthly wage of Rs. 10,000 including food and accommodation. “Payment vantha mothalla labour ku kooli, michcham irukrathuthaan engalukku (Once we get paid, we pay the labourers first, the rest only we get,” says Mani who lives in government-provided housing (in pic). He says there would be nothing left after paying electricity, water, delivery and contract charges. Direct orders are less and work comes through laundry shops who don’t pay the dhobis much, according to the residents of the Dhobikhana.

That Spot Under The Bridge

This seems an unlikely location to find a job but plumbers, electricians, construction workers, sub-contractors and other unorganized workers swear by this spot in the suburbs. “Inga vanthu ninna thaan soru; illati en kudumbam pattini thaan (If I come here, I will get to buy food for my family; otherwise, they will go hungry,” says a worker. Job seekers are mostly from Chennai’s neighbouring towns such as Tiruverkadu and Nerkundram. For them, this spot under the Maduravoyal bridge is the place to go for jobs in Chennai’s outskirts. Construction site agents scout the area for workers and take them to the job sites.

Not An Easy Load To Carry

Headload workers are aplenty at Ambattur Industrial Estate, which has several units producing automobile components, garments and engineering products. Many of the headload workers are employed with small iron and steel factories to load and unload iron scrap. “Adipadama velaiku poitu vantha antha naal engalala marakkave mudiyathu (The days I come back from work without injuries are memorable),” says a worker about the nature of the job. Many of them are employed by contractors and spend decades working without any contract or social security. Now, migrants from UP, Bihar and West Bengal are also there. Around 10 of them, mostly from Odisha and Jharkhand, live in single-room line houses paying Rs. 1500 rent per month.

The City Builders

This spot near Kundrathur Main Road in Porur is the place where interstate workers come to live and look out for construction jobs. They prefer this area because the cost of living is less and the area is well-connected to Chennai airport, SIPCOT Industrial Park, and Sriperumbudur Special Economic Zone. Moreover, the suburb is a big construction hub with commercial buildings and hotels coming up. “Sikkanama vaazhnthu seththu vakkalam inga irunthaa,” sums up a worker who says he will be able to save if he lives here.