We have just received the final report from NGO Deepam Trust about the training the One Percent Foundation funded for casual construction workers in Tamil Nadu province in India.

The project provided education to a group of seasonal who are often overlooked in safety and health provision, so face more risk of injury and ill health. Deepam Trust provided intensive four-day OSH training to village volunteers who have since set up and will manage Construction Labourers and Supervisors Associations in 25 villages in the region. More than 600 people have now joined these associations with membership split equally between men and women.

Deepam also worked with the Indian Red Cross to deliver a three-day course to more 250 seasonal workers in groups of 50, covering PPE use, accident prevention, emergency response, occupational health and first aid.

One female construction worker who was on the course said: “The sessions on health, hydration, hygiene and fatigue were very useful for us. We learned that our health is also part of workplace safety and that we should speak up when working conditions are unsafe.”

The Deepam Trust project is a perfect example of how modest amounts of money, well targeted, can potentially have a big impact where workers most need support and education – the ILO estimates around 50,000 construction deaths a year in India. We are proud to have made it possible.