Harassment due to lack of processes and consequent arbitrariness
The mai-baap setup within the campus makes workers particularly vulnerable to whims and fancies of the employers and even institute officials. The lack of any due process leads to an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear that makes it nearly impossible to even document cases of harassment and intimidation. You may access some relevant case studies below:
To give you a sample of whims and fancies that may lead to punishments consider the following
stating that sanitation workers will face strongest possible action for even sitting together with other sanitation workers, for having lunch in academic/hostel area [where most of them spend the whole day working], being found anywhere apart from their workplace, collecting dry twigs, plucking mangoes or sleeping.
Particularly illustrative is
where inspite of almost 500 incidents recorded against him, including several of physical voilence, no action was taken against the contractor!
Ganga Charan ji is evicted from his shop after forty-five years of service to the institute, see this Hamara Manch update.
A particular case of eviction of dhobis from within the campus forms part of this Hamara Manch update.
You may also want to look at the discussion around punishments and dismissals to get some more understanding of the situation. Particularly noticeable in all the above cases is lack of any due process and any mechanism of grievance redressal. It is one of our continuous demand from the administration to evolve due processes in relevant cases so that the workers are no longer subject to such whims and fancies.