On February 14, 2017, as love was being celebrated the world over, a group of NGOs united around their commitment to young migrant workers. The meeting was convened by Cividep in collaboration with Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Sriperumbudur. Tapping into their extensive engagement with marginalized communities around Chennai, the gathering identified common challenges: unscrupulous labour recruiters, limited legal proficiency of community workers, and working with government agencies. After exchanging lessons learnt, the group brainstormed on a collective course of action focusing on educating workers on their rights and extending NGO support to vulnerable sections of workers.
At the end of the day, the participants declared together – “We, as members of civil society, work for the development of our nation, and believe in equality, justice, and the dignity of all human beings. We take a pledge to work together to uphold the rights of the most vulnerable workers irrespective of their age, gender, class, caste, religion, physical ability, sexual orientation, and employment status.”
