Salt Gatherers in India

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLz_dUQPKfM

In the deserts of India, the world's third largest producer of salt, generations of workers gather salt for global distribution. They are paid mere pennies per kilogram of salt gathered. Children as young as ten are enlisted to help their parents gather. Younger children are are exposed to the toxic salt environment and develop lesions and sores. Older workers develop salt saturation of their hands and feet, which touch the bare salt all day, and thus their extremities will not even burn when they are cremated. The intense sun and malnutirition leads to eye problems and blindness.

The government is supposed to provide protective gear for these workers, but it either does not happen or the gear wears out quickly and is not replaced. The government denies that the workers are not supplied with proper protection. The corporations are not held responsible for exploiting these workers and using them as expendable machines to gather salt, with no concern for their well-being. The children are bonded to the salt worker life they are born into. Life expectancy is 50-60 years, dying from gangrene, tuberculosis, or blindness. One worker named Daya Ranto explains, "Poverty is our fate."

In terms of legal recourse, the workers have little to none. They actually work on an area designated as a wildlife sanctuary, thus being seen as invasive to the enivronment. This representation of the workers dehumanizes them and perpetuates their harmful treatment by those in power. They are not supplied with the educational opportunity to learn other skills to make a choice to do different work. The entire structure surrounding their lives does not allow them the ability to change their situation.

Full Article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/7305988/Salt-mining-leaves-bitter-taste-for-Indian-workers.html

-Brandon Alborg