Plight of Labourers in the Brick Industry in Madurai District

Abstract

Bricks are obtained by moulding clay in rectangular block of uniform size. Brick-making work is carried out by unskilled labourers in rural and semi-urban areas. The demand for bricks has been ever increasing caused by urbanization. Housing needs of people ever expand and this results in mass production of bricks. Brick industry is considered as a small scale industry. The medieval people had the practice of using wood. But wood is risky to use as it may be destroyed by fire. The great fire of London in 1966 changed it from being a city of wood to one of bricks. So in construction, bricks replaced the wood over the years. There are many monuments of hand-made bricks which can be seen even today. For instance, the Greatest Wall of China was built by both burnt and sun dried bricks. There were so many places where the use of bricks could be seen in Rome and other places. At present bricks are used all over world as raw material from thatched sheds to multi-storied buildings.