India: Migrant Workers

India is experiencing an unprecedented building boom, and there's no place where its more evident then in the Bangalore where the city is full of the sounds of hammering, digging, cement mixing and bricklaying. What's not heard is the rumble of machinery since even modern buildings are built almost exclusively with manual labor, usually paid at or just above the minimum wage. Building foundations are hand dug by men wearing sandals and turbans, who pass dirt and debris to women accustomed to transporting tens of pounds of weight on their heads. Rural poverty has driven many to the cities for work, often into construction. Workers move with their families from one site to another, living in tents or simple shelters. These sites are dangerous places to live and work because of the lack of safety equipment like modern scaffolding and safety nets. Most workers don't have safety helmets, goggles or boots. There's no data to show many workers are injured or killed every year in the construction industry. Injured workers are usually sent back to the workers' home village, as are the bodies of the deceased-- sometimes with a few thousand rupees to pay funeral expenses while construction firms are not held accountable.