Market rates,rather than official recommendations will determine the wage revision for brick kiln workers,a top official in Patan district has said. It has to be determined by market forces. An official cannot recommend since there is no question of (brick kiln) owners breaking the official minimum wages. They (workers and owners) will have to solve it themselves, said Dhawan Patel,Sub Divisional Officer,Patan district. Patel has been one of the principal investigators in the deadlock between the workers and the brick kiln owners over the issue of wages and bonded labour. He said considerations like soil availability (raw material for the brick kilns) and transportation are major factors that decide the wage rate offered by owners. Brick production in Kakosi virtually came to a standstill a week ago after workers and brick kiln owners failed to break a deadlock over disparity in wages. Brick kiln workers in Kakosi are paid anything between Rs 290 and Rs 330 per 1,000 bricks,much higher than the government stipulated rate of Rs 158 per 1,100 bricks. But the wage rates in neighbouring Mehsana district is higher by as much as Rs 50. Trouble actually started after some workers decided to leave the brick kilns. The owners asked them to pay back the money paid as advances,which led to cries of bonded labour,and brought the the police and the labour union into the picture. The SDO and the police ruled out the existence of bonded labour,but admitted that the wage rates in the neighbouring areas were higher. Patel further said that bargaining between the workers and employers had raised wage rates much beyond the official minimum wage.
