From the archive record
Spiralling costs have forced construction workers to ask for more. N. Desingu is a helper in the construction industry. He is paid Rs.350 a day as wages. Apart from this, he gets travel charges and two cups of tea a day from his contractor. “Until last year I was earning Rs.250, but as prices have shot up and my elder son is joining college this year and I asked for a hike and the contractor agreed to give one. I also work overtime so that I can send a considerable amount to my family in Vandavasi,” he said. Many labourers such as Mr. Desingu travel home from Chennai every week to meet their families and review ongoing agricultural work in their farmland. If there is work to be done on the farm, workers such as him and his co-worker Settu (24) stay back at home and do not come for work at