New economic policy and the rights of migrant workers employed in construction industry in Bangalore city implications to social work praxis

Abstract

The present study has been carried out with twin objectives: i) to understand the status of the rights of migrant workers employed in construction industry in Bangalore city in the post New Economic Policy era; and ii) to work out the implications of the findings of the study for Social Work Praxis in Karnataka. newlineThe analysis of the primary data shows that the rights of the migrant workers are violated, but the participants of the study are not able to understand and analyse their reality from rights perspective. However, the study concludes that the implications of the present study to Social Work Praxis are at least two: i) it is time for Social Work Professionals, at least now, to make a bold and promising entry into the field of migrant workers employed in construction industry in Bangalore city in a big way as there are many human rights violations and vulnerability issues which are rarely discussed, and ii) Social Work Praxis with its dialectic, reciprocal theory-action relationship and not the traditional theory-informed-practice approach needs to be adopted in doing this as forces of globalization in general and the New Economic Policy in particular have made the reality of the migrant workers in construction industry in Bangalore very volatile and fluid. The study has made certain recommendations for Social Work Praxis as well as further Social Work Research in the area chosen for the present study. newline