Maharashtra: Metro rail construction workers protesting against unpaid wages terminated
23 April 2019: Over 100 workers employed by the Hindustan Construction Company Limited (HCC) and Al Fara’a Infraproject (AFI) working on the Pune Metro Project were terminated for protesting against non-payment of wages. The workers have been working without wages over the past 5 months and wage delays were frequent over the last 10 months. Maharashtra Metro Corporation has terminated contracts with HCC and AFI citing slow progress and inability to meet deadlines on 22 April 2019.
Maharashtra: Women remove uteruses to retain work
8 April 2019: Women agricultural workers in Beed district of Marathwada, Maharashtra are forced to remove their uteruses to keep their jobs. Hysterectomies are common for workers who migrate during the sugar-cutting season to Western Maharashtra’s sugar belt. Reasoning that menstruating women will be indisposed and unable to work during menstruation cycles, contractors practice discriminatory hiring practices forcing women workers to undertake hysterectomies. Advances against wages are even provided to facilitate these procedures. Sugar cutting provides the only stable income source for these workers, many of whom belong to drought-stricken regions.