Open Access Research Article
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN COVID ERA: EMPIRICAL STUDY
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Article Details
ISSUES AND
CHALLENGES OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN COVID ERA: EMPIRICAL STUDY
AUTHORED
BY - RICHA SRIVASTAVA[1]
Abstract
A migrant
worker is one who moves from one place to another in search of employment. The
migration may be temporary, seasonal or permanent. The right to livelihood is
contained in Right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. In
search of livelihood, the workers travel from one state to another or even one
country to another. The study in the present paper is limiting the study of
migrant workers within the country. In the process of migration, many issues
come into the picture, like safety and security of workers, difficulty in
adjusting to different cultural diversity, linguistic issues, exclusion from
social entitlement, social and political exclusion, housing facility and
exploitation, etc. These migrant workers come under the unorganised sector.
There are various social security schemes that Central and State Government
have launched for workers, but there is a lack of implementation in different
establishments due to different reasons. The primary problem migrant workers
face is not getting benefit of certain social security schemes due to not
registering when they migrate to other states for employment. The main issue
behind the same is the lack of literacy. As the country is facing the corona
crisis, therefore the conditions of migrant workers have more deteriorated. They
are one of the most affected communities. Though the government, social
workers, and NGO’s are trying to help them out but still the problem is
ongoing. In this study, an attempt has been made to highlight the issues and
challenges of migrant workers in the covid era with measures like employing in
their state, setting up various establishments in their home state etc, to
overcome the same.
Keywords: Migrant
workers, livelihood, unorganised sector, social security schemes, social and
political exclusion, linguistic.
Introduction
The
migrant workers are the major challenge before India, more so in the present
time of covid-19 pandemic where the emphasis is on social distancing and least
amount of travelling. The workers migrate from one place to another in search
of livelihood, which has been an ongoing activity. Migration has its own push
and pull factors. One of the main reasons for this migration is the lack of
employment opportunities in their home state. Therefore, this migration is not
a voluntary movement, but workers are compelled to move to places with
different social and cultural values and diverse linguistic preferences. Different
linguistic and cultural choices also add to the workers' problems to manage livelihood
in another customary place. The migrant workers feel dejected and uncomfortable
by not being able to follow their traditional way of life.
Migration
is the primary concern of developing nations like India, which increased
further after globalisation. Indian workforce has 92 per cent of workers in the
unorganised sector[2]. A
large proportion of the population in the unorganised sector makes the
situation even more grave and dangerous as more unorganised sectors push more
workers towards migration to seek better livelihood opportunities. The problems
and hardship faced by the migrant workers became manifold during the
challenging time of Covid pandemic and lockdown associated with it. This study
discusses the legal and historical perspective with respect to migrant workers,
present status, issues faced during covid lockdown and possible remedies.
Right of migrant
workers with a focus on covid pandemic:
A legal
perspective
The right to freedom provided
in the constitution under Article 19(1) (d)[3] (e)[4] and (g)[5] are the source leading to a
nation which does not discriminates citizens based on their place of birth and
living and also allows the citizenry to choose locations which offer better
opportunities and living condition to settle. Thereby these are instrumental in
maintaining undivided citizenry throughout the country by ensuring
socio-cultural and economic integration of the country. The socio-cultural
integration happens as with the movement of citizens in search of employment
and better livelihood opportunities they also inherently disburse their
cultural and traditional practices. The economic integration has also resulted
with such movement by contributing towards free movement of goods and services
as well as labour thereby ultimately reaching to the idea of the single market.
The socio-cultural and economic integration has formulated the modern idea of
India.
The constitution in spirit has
provided for the socio-cultural and economic integration of the country through
Articles 19(1)(d)[6](e)[7] and (g)[8] with reasonable restrictions
provided in clauses (5)[9] and (6)[10] of Article 19. However,
practically the movement of laborer is not so uniform, simple, and fluid. This
could very well be seen in the social and economic conditions of migrant
laborers. Moreover, the distinction between laborer as local and migrant itself
creates the dichotomy. The prefix ‘migrant’ to worker devoid workers from many
basic facilities and hinders the enjoyment of rights provided under Article
19(1)(d),(e) and (g) thereby creating an artificial ground of restriction
outside constitution. This creates an atmosphere where the rights provided
under constitution are not guaranteed and are conditionally available to the
workers. To better understand its
context and evolution, it would be necessary to dig in past and see how these
rights and restrictions have evolved in history in political and judicial
arenas.
During pre-independence, a
large population was residing in the princely states. These princely states
were sovereign machineries which survived under the overall guidance and
limitations of the paramount power. These states worked in the interest of
themselves, their people and the regions under their control. To maintain their
profitable position and supremacy, these states most often than always imposed
restrictions on the movement of goods, services and laborer’s thereby raising
trade barriers. This is idea of trade barriers and restrictions was rejected in
independent India. In this regards, Dr. Ambedkar[11] observed that,
“The reason for bringing out a
separate fundamental right to freedom of trade was to establish the free flow
of trade to everyone within the State as well as across the States. But in view
of the number of considerations, including the need to regulate trade and
commerce.”
This led to the
formulation of Article 19 (1)(g) in the constitution of India.
The apprehension
regarding the enforcement of freedom of trade didn’t die down even after the inclusion
of Article 19 in the constitution of India. Several noted politicians and
statesmen viewed their concern regarding the effective enforcement of these
rights in practical terms. Noted politician, freedom fighter, and the then
chief minister of the State of Karnataka raised concerns regarding the right to
settle, acquire property and carry on trade. He was of the opinion that this
provision may act in a partisan manner to serve the interest and rights of
people within their respective areas. These apprehensions were nullified and
addressed with the details on the reasonable restrictions against the enjoyment
of these rights in the constituent assembly[12]. T.T. Krishnamacahri, noted
politician and Union Finance Minister in Independent India while articulating
on the scope of the liberty guaranteed under Article 13 of the Draft
Constitution (now Article 19), said that ‘It is only dependent upon the
leaders we elect to abridge rights which are provided here to become a dead
letter, and that is in the lap of the gods. For the time being, we have done
the very best possible, which human ingenuity can devise.’[13]
The various discussions in the
constituent assembly paved the way for the different labour legislations in
India. They provided the spirit on which independent India’s labour laws are to
be built. The labour law deals with the workers of the unorganized sector. The
significant workforces are in the informal sector. Therefore, Labour Law plays
a vital role in the life of workers. Still a lot many years of struggle gave
the way to various legislations for the benefit of workers. Migrant Labourers are covered
by laws and policies, but some preclude the temporary migrants and unorganised
sector. The following section discusses the legal provisions with respect to
migrant workers, Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown associated with it.
One of the most important acts in
this regard is, “Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and
Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 (ISMWA)”. The ISMWA act provides for the
displacement allowance for the workers. It include the provisions for the
journey allowance and timely and regular payment of minimum wages. The
conducive working environment along with protective gears and clothes on the
one hand and hygienic accommodation with cost free medical facilities are some
of the important provisions of ISMWA act[14].
This act also ensures the timely payment of
wages in case the employment is terminated due to the closure of the
establishment. This act provides that the wages earned by workers shall be paid
to the worker before the expiry of the second day if the services of workers are
terminated due to the closure of the workplace due to any reason other than
weekly or other designated holiday. Practically, however, this important
provision is seen to have not been implemented. Many labor right organizations
have also indicated that the migrants are financially vulnerable and probe to
bonded labor due to the absence of proper social security support mechanism
accessibility to them in both the rural and urban areas.[15].
There are similarly large number of labour
welfare acts enacted by different state governments. This makes the number of
labour laws quite unmanageable, with lots of overlap in the jurisdiction and
ambiguity in their enactment and implementation when combined with central
legislation. There are too many laws that made it very difficult for ordinary
men to understand and even more difficult for migrant workers. However, the main issue of the effectiveness
of the implementation is still not fixed, and even after so many acts, the laborer
in general and migrant laborer, in particular, are forced to live a life of
despair[16].
To push economic activities and
generate more employment opportunities, various states have passed ordinances
to dilute labor laws and relax labor norms. The idea propagated by states is
that if the labor laws are eased then there will be more finances flowing into
the state in form of investment. These investments which will be channeled in
form of the different industrial establishments will generate employment and
livelihood opportunities for the resident of that state. The reverse migration
during covid-19 lockdown saw workers returning to their home states in large
numbers and the requirement for jobs increased to very high levels. This
increase in the number of unemployed was particularly more in the states which
act as a source of migration during normal times. Therefore, the states like Uttar
Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, etc. were reeling under pressure from this increased
unemployed worker situation forcing the government to take these desperate
steps of diluting the about laws and thereby increasing employment
opportunities for the workers. Covid-19 lockdown forced the shutting down
of many industrial units and this caused losses for the employers and owners.
Therefore, it was also considered by the states to support the revenue growth
of these industries, and the relaxing of labor laws was opted as one of the
most convenient and effective mechanisms for this. But it came with a parcel of
issues related to the social security deficit due to relaxation of labour laws
and would also slow down the process of formalization of work force. The
ordinance related to relaxation of labor laws has opened new avenues for the
exploitation of workers with risk of an inhuman work environment, unsustainable
wage rates, and no grievance redressal mechanisms. It would become practically effortless
for the employer to fire his employees without any accountability.
To overcome the drawbacks of many
acts in the realm of labour laws, the Parliament has come up with 4 Labour Codes
after merging the few Acts in one code to have uniformity without diluting the
essence and aims of the legislation. These codes have been notified but are
still not in force. These codes are as follows:
·
The Code on Wages, 2019.
·
The
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code
·
The Code on
Social Security
·
The Industrial
Relations Code.
Judicial Precedents with respect to
migrant workers in association with covid pandemic
IN MISERIES RE: PROBLEMS AND OF MIGRANT
LABOURERS[17]
In view
of the overwhelming difficulties faced by the labourers the bench of Justice
Ashok Bhushan and Justice MR Shah, JJ directed to create common National
Database for all the organised workers present in the different states
throughout the country. This database could be utilised for extending various
schemes of state and union governments for the welfare of labourers and will
ensure that the organised workers can enjoy the benefits of government schemes.
“…for
accessing of any benefit percolating from any scheme framed by the Centre or
the States for the benefit of unorganised workers or migrant workers,
registration of workers is essential, which registration shall facilitate the
unorganised workers to assess the scheme and reap the benefit.”[18]
As of
present day, there is no uniform process of registration across the country,
The different acts envisage different process and classes of registration of
workers. For instance, the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation
of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996 allows for the registration
of construction workers. The status of registration under Unorganised Social
Security Act 2008 is not yet confirmed by the states and none of the states
have informed about the completion of this registration process. All the states
have framed the rules under this state but the situation of registration is
still unsatisfactory and at different levels across different states of the
country[19].
To overcome this difficulty of non-uniformity, the Union government has come up
with the Code of Social Security Act, 2020 (Act No.36 of 2020 published in the
Gazette of India on 29.09.2020). By virtue of Section 164 of this act, the
Unorganised Social Security Act 2008 and the building and other Construction
Workers’ (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 stands
repealed. The Section 112 of this Code of Social Security Act 2020, also
provides for the registration of unorganised workers, gig workers and platform
workers. To expedite this registration
process, the court has also taken this matter into its cognizance and has asked
for the regular status updates with the steps taken by the government machinery
to complete the registration process at the earliest[20].
The
court has also instructed the Central and State Governments to complete the
registration process at the earliest to enable the unorganised workers to reap
the benefits of different social security schemes. This registration is very
important as without the systematic identification of the unorganised workers,
it is very inefficient to deliver the benefits to them. After proper
identification of the unorganised workers, the next important aspect is to
ensure that the benefits reach the desired beneficiary[21].
For this purpose, it is essential to have an efficient monitoring mechanism to
supervise the delivery of social security and welfare scheme benefits to
unorganised workers who are recognised and identified.
The
recent pandemic of COVID-19 created many more hardship for the migrant workers.
They got stranded outside their natural place of living and were without any
support and livelihood opportunities. In this regard, the court took proactive
stand by asking the states to inform the courts through affidavits regarding
the measures to ensure the delivery of ration to migrant workers without ration
cards. Court also directed the state to ensure the delivery of dry ration to
the migrant workers throughout the country by utilising any scheme including
Atma Nirbhar Bharat under their disposal.
“Whether the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme of the Union of India, which was
implemented for giving dry rations to migrant workers in May and June, 2020 is
to be utilised or some other scheme has to be utilised is a matter for States
to take a decision but the dry ration has to be distributed to the migrant
workers throughout the country by the States.[22]”
Court also
fixed the responsibility on States to provide community kitchen to the stranded
labourers. Court was of the view that the workers have lost their employment
but they need two meals a day to sustain. Therefore, government shall provide
community kitchen to the stranded workers throughout the country and inform the
people so that they can benefit from these welfare measures.
“There shall be awareness and publicity with respect
to the various schemes notified by Government including the places of community
kitchens so that such needy persons may, in fact, take benefits.”
However, with respect to the direct cash
benefit transfers to unorganised workers, courts did not issue any directions
and stated that it is the policy matter/scheme of states and needs to be
formulated by respective governments[23].
“… cash transfer is a matter of policy and
schemes drafted by each State and Union
Territory and direction for cash transfer can’t be issued by this Court to any
category of persons unless they are covered by any scheme declared by the State
and Union Territory.[24]”
The constitution of
India through the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) also persuades
states to work for the betterment and progress of workers of our country
without any qualification such as local or migrant workers. The main aim of
DPSP is to guide state to provide good life to the citizens by creating
conducive social and economic conditions. In this regard, states legislature
and executive are expected to work towards creating environment of
socio-economic democracy in the country. In this spirit, Supreme court
validated the law on minimum wages by stating that sec 3(3)(a) of Minimum Wages Act which provides
for location and area based different minimum wages is not violative of Article
14. The Supreme Court stated that the constitution provides for reasonable
restrictions on minimum wages by referring to the provision on ‘living wage’
under the DPSP and it also justified the limitations on the right to carry on
trade under Article 19(1)(g). The Minimum Wages Act is a step towards the
realization of a living wage which is aspired through DPSP[25].
It is also worth mentioning
here that the provisions with respect to the enjoyment of fundamental rights do
not condition them on the domicile. Similarly, the three provisions/directive
related to the workers under DPSP also is devoid of any restriction on the
domicile/migrant nature of the workers. These DPSP under Article 39(e), Article
43 and Article 43-A of the constitution are as follows: -
1. It provides for healthy work
environment with respect to gender, age along with coercion free working
conditions[26].
These directives have no indication
with respect to the migrant status of the worker and neither they suggest any
discrimination between the local and migrant workers. Therefore, these cannot
be utilized to implement conditional schemes based on domicile or regional
affiliations of the workers. These directives accompanied by right to social
security as provided in Article 41 of the constitution opens up a new ray of
hope for the underprivileged citizenry to get economic democracy in addition to
social-cultural democracy. Therefore, in a nutshell the schemes of Part IV
don’t provide for any entitlement based upon the place of domicile of workers
neither it gives weightage to the regional affiliations.
The government to further
streamline the management of interstate migration of workers implemented The
Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act 1979. This act defined the interstate migrant workman as below:-
“any person who
is recruited by or through a contractor in one State under an agreement or
other arrangement for employment in an establishment in another State, whether
with or without the knowledge of the principal employer in relation to such
establishment. This act was well-intentioned and implemented to provide
much-needed help and support to migrant workers by making registration of
organisations dealing with migrant workers necessary for effective monitoring
of the implementation of labour and social security laws[29]”.
This act was enacted
to protect the rights of the workers whose services were used outside their
native state in India. However, this worked only for the interstate registered
migration of workers and did not cover the entire spectrum of migrant workers.
Role of executive
& its policies in context of migrant workers
During
various times and over the years, the government has launched various social
security schemes to support migrant workers. A few of them are mentioned below[30]:
-
·
Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)
·
Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima
Yojana (PMJJBY)
·
Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
·
Atal Pension Yojana (APY)
·
Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana
·
National Pension Scheme
There are several
legislations in labour law related to social security schemes and various
welfare schemes. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and
Conditions of Service) Act 1979 is a landmark act to support and facilitate
migrant workers. This act was enacted to regulate the employment of inter-State
migrant workers and provide for their conditions of service and matters
connected.
The Code on
Social Security, 2019, was introduced in Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for
Labour and Employment, Mr Santosh Kumar Gangwar, on December 11, 2019. It aims
to replace nine social security laws, including the Employees’ Provident Fund
Act, 1952, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and the Unorganised Workers’ Social
Security Act, 2008. Social security refers to measures to ensure access
to health care and income security to workers. Under this proposed code,
the central government may notify various social security schemes to benefit
workers[31].
These include an Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, an Employees’ Pension
Scheme (EPS), and an Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance (EDLI) Scheme.
These may provide for a provident fund, a pension fund, and an insurance
scheme, respectively. The government may also notify: (i) an Employees’
State Insurance (ESI) Scheme to provide sickness, maternity, and other
benefits, (ii) gratuity to workers on completing five years of employment (or
lesser than five years in certain cases such as death), (iii) maternity
benefits to women employees, (iv) cess for the welfare of building and
construction workers, and (v) compensation to employees and their dependents in
the case of occupational injury or disease[32].
Apart from
the above mentioned historical policies, to counter the covid pandemic hardship
the central Government passed on the benefits to the workers through Direct
benefit transfers under Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY), Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan
(PMGKRA), working capital loan to street vendors under PMSVA Nidhi Scheme and
special training programme under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in the
selected districts having high concentration of returnee migrant workers.
The
challenges faced by the migrant workers have been multi-dimensional. The code
on Social Security 2019 hasn’t come into effect till now, and in this scenario,
the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown the economic situation into haywire. Notably,
for the migrant workers, the situation has become more complicated and
pathetic. Covid-19 is also the major reason for delayed progress in enacting
the labour code. On analyzing the issues and challenges of the migrant worker, it
is seen that there is a plethora of legislation to support migrant workers.
Still, there are severe lacunae in its implementation. Therefore, despite the
noble aims, the implementation has been lagging, causing most of the hardship
for the migrant workers[33].
Other than
the national level legislation for workers, there have been significant efforts
from international organisations to improve the situation of workers. In this
field, the most important role has been played by International Organization
which has been at the forefront to recommend and implement international
standards across the countries.
Role of International Labour Organization
The International Labour Organization
(ILO) had consistently played a significant role in promoting International
Labour Standards. The ILO has formulated international labour standards at various
conferences. ILO has promoted several labour standards such as fair labour
standards, minimum labour standards, basic or core labour standards, etc. have
been encouraged by ILO. There are several factors which have been attributed to
non-observance of labour standards such as unfair trade and labour practice,
state of under-development; absence of work place co-operation[34]
etc. With a view to improve labour conditions through the forum of tripartite
committees, the international labour organization passed the convention in June
1976. Since its inception, the international labour organization has adopted
181 legally binding conventions and 188 recommendations to improve labour
standards across the globe. There are eight core labour standards across four
categories from ILO, which are as follows:-
i) Right to
freedom of association and collective bargaining.
ii) Elimination
of forced labour.
iii) Elimination
of child labour.
iv) Elimination
of discrimination in the matter of occupation and wages.
Seven crucial conventions are conventions
No’s 29, 87. 98, 100, 105, 111, and 138[35]. These
Conventions are also known as social clause, labour clause, social concerns
etc. These are the instruments in the hands of ILO to improve the living and
working conditions of the working class in the third world[36].
The ILO provides tripartite
arrangements between employers, workers, and the state to legislate and execute
the international labour standards in member countries. The international
labour standards protect workers in various sectors. They include freedom of
association, equal pay for equal work, safe working conditions, abolition of
forced labour and sex-based discrimination, employment protection, provision of
social security, protection of migrant workers, elimination of sexual
harassment of women workers and others.
With respect to covid
pandemic, ILO has been issuing the update on world of work which gives the
overall scenario of work hours and covid pandemic impact on it. As per the” ILO
Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work -Seventh edition” report, south Asia
mainly driven by India witnessed a loss of 34.5 per cent in the work hours of
second quarter, and of 9.9 per cent in the in the work hours of third quarter
of 2020. This gets correlated with the lack of job opportunities particularly
for the unorganized sector and migrant workers and provides a overview of the
situation which is marred by lack of job opportunities. India being a signatory
to ILO, is committed towards the objective of ILO and, in consonance with the
same various labour legislation has been framed. ILO has been providing the
frequent updates on the labour situation across the globe and India for
effective policy interventions to reduce the hardship faced by the laborer.
The situation
of Migrant workers with special reference to Covid-19 pandemic era
The
sorry figure of migrant workers has not abated even after multiple
interventions by different national and international organisations. They are
facing a multitude of problems ranging from social, cultural, livelihood as
well as exploitation. The distressful figure of migrant workers who are working
hard for nation-building is totally unjustifiable. Even worse, the migrant
workers are not even treated with dignity in their own country. They are
treated like second-grade citizens in their own country and are made fun of due
to their poor economic and social status. Migration is one of the leading
causes of increasing nuclear families where children grow up without a wider
family circle.
The
destination environment is very new to the migrant workers and they are largely
less familiar with it. This new environment is a temporary place for them to
accommodate which invites different forms of emotional, social, psychological,
and physiological challenges for them. On one hand, they face trauma and
negligence from the local community of the temporary place of work and on the
other hand, they are constantly worried about the safety and well-being of
their family members and kin in their native place. They are under constant
pressure to timely send money back home to their native places as their family
largely are dependent entirely or partially on this financial support. All
these create a number of psychological as well as physiological disorders in
migrant workers.
The
migrant labourers working in unorganised sectors and living in unhygienic and
polluted environments are vulnerable to health problems and sickness. Migrant
Labourers employed in construction sites, metro projects, quarries, mines and
highway projects live in a hazardous environment. They are vulnerable to air
and water pollution leading to kidney and lung disorders. Most live-in open
spaces or makeshift shelters despite the Contract Labour Act which stipulates
that the contractor or employer should provide suitable accommodation[37].
The
migrant workers, on the one hand, go away from their homes, and above that,
poverty makes them unable to live a normal and healthy
life. Children growing up in poverty have no access to proper
nutrition, education or health. Migration increased the slum areas in cities,
increasing many problems such as unhygienic conditions, crime, pollution, etc.
With factories and workplaces shut down due to the lockdown imposed in the
country, millions of migrant workers had to deal with the loss of
income, food shortages and uncertainty about their future.
The
covid-19 outbreak saw the infections rising at a very fast pace and to cope
with this situation, the government imposed a number of restrictions on
different activities and the most widely used was the social distancing norms.
This was very much required to stop the spread of infectious diseases. But
these restrictions created new problems and challenges for the migrant workers.
There was a drought of work opportunities for which the workers migrated and
this forced the reverse migration to their native places. Due to social
distancing norms, much of the public transport facility was operated in a
restricted fashion and this led to very limited ways for the migrant workers to
reach their native places. This forced workers to return to their native places
walking and taking all possible mediums of transport. Their problems got
further amplified due to the sealing of state and district borders and they
found themselves stuck at the borders. These are the most marginalized sections
of society who are dependent on daily wages for their living. Many of the laborers
got stuck at the shelter homes and quarantine centres far away from their
natural habitat, causing psychological distress and hardships. As they are
mostly the daily wage earners, they didn’t have enough financial resources to
sustain themselves and whatever little money they had all got spent while going
back home. They also face adverse reactions from the local communities and need
support and strong social protection[38].
The
extent of hardship faced by the labourers can be understood by the fact that as
per census 2011 there were 450 million internal migrants in India which was
more than 30% of the total population of the country. Census 2011 data
show that, in India, a large proportion of migration of the workers is within
the district and to the other districts within the state. Following the census
trends, few studies have estimated more than approx. 600 million internal
migrants in 2020. Out of these 600 million, approximately one third migration
happen to be inter-state and inter-district i.e., approximately 200 million is
estimated migrant people in the country in 2020 outside their natural place of
living. It is also estimated that out of these 200 million roughly around
two-thirds of them are migrant workers, which constitute 140 million people. As
per census 2011, highest out migration is reported from states like Uttar
Pradesh (23.0%), Bihar (14.1%), Rajasthan (7.0%), Madhya Pradesh (5.4%),
Maharashtra (5.3%), Karnataka (4.7%). Approximately one-fourth of the total
migration is to the other state. The migration of workers is more in urban
areas due to the availability of educational and employment opportunities. This
made the situation more difficult as the urban areas mostly went into strict
lockdown forcing lot of migrant workers to return to their residences. There
problem gets amplified due to the fact that a significant number of migrant
workers are temporary/seasonal workers employed in informal sector and belongs to
lowest income quintile groups far away from any kind of social security net. Also,
it is important to remember that as per Census 2011 women outnumber the men
migrants mostly attributed to marriage. However, this largely mis-represent the
women’s employment status post marriage. The situation of women was also very
distressful in covid pandemic era.
One of the biggest
challenges during Covid-19 was the return migration due to lack of livelihood
opportunities in the host states/districts forced as a result of lockdown. Media
coverage showed large number of men and women walking for hundreds of
kilometers to their homes due to harsh effects of lockdown due to COVID-19
pandemic. News agencies reported death of some women on the way and also some
instances of women giving birth on road and continuing their journey with new
born. There was lot of hardship faced by them. The situation was so grave that
lead to the incident like train running and killing 16 migrant laborer’s
sleeping on the railway track after getting too tired of walking. This
migration also brought great losses for children whereby they lost their
educational opportunities and this also made them more prone to be thrown into
child labour.
During covid-19 lockdown,
migrant workers ran out of money for sustenance. They started moving back to
their permanent hometowns and got stranded due to strict lockdown. They were
out of water, food and basic hygiene facilities and faced lot of existential
problems. The exact number of migrants who have got stranded during the
pandemic is not known but based on an initial data released by the central
chief labour commissioner on June 02, 2020 about 26 lakh migrant workers were
stranded across the country. Out of which only 10% were in the relief
camps/shelter homes, 43% were in situ workplaces and 46% in another cluster.
The details about them are presented in Figure 1. This shows that the laborer
in the relief camps/shelter homes were very less and which could be
non-accessibility of these facilities to the returning migrant laborer[39].
In a reply to Lok Sabha question (Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 1056 for 08th February
2021) the Ministry of labour
informed that 1.23 crore migrant workers returned to their home during the
Covid–19 lockdown (Figure 2 & Table 1). The magnitude of the problem can be
known from the fact that the number of return migrants during June 2020 to
February 2021 increased from approx. 26 Lakh to 1.23 crores. Though no actual
data is present for the total number of stranded migrant laborer the inference
from June 2020 and February 2021 presents a gruesome picture of the hardship
faced by the laborers. Out of these around 50 per cent were from three States —
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal[40].
These states are among the states from where the maximum out-migration takes
place. If Rajasthan and Odisha are added then these 5 states recorded around 67
percent of migrant workers returning home. Interestingly Gujarat is the only
State which has not reported return of any migrant worker. The situation was
more worrisome for the reason that some of these states diluted their labour
laws through ordinances, which made these returning migrant laborer’s more
vulnerable and devoid of any social protection.
Table 1: Lok Sabha Unstarred Question
No. 1056 for 08.02.2021 regarding Migrant Workers[41]
|
SL No
|
Name of the State
|
No.
of Migrant workers belonging to this State who have returned to their
home State
|
|
1
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
32,571
|
|
2
|
Andaman and Nicobar
|
4,960
|
|
3
|
Arunachal
Pradesh
|
2,871
|
|
4
|
Assam
|
4,26,441
|
|
5
|
Bihar
|
15,00,612
|
|
6
|
Chandigarh
|
39230
|
|
7
|
Chhattisgarh
|
526900
|
|
8
|
Dadra
& Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
|
43,747
|
|
9
|
Delhi
|
2,047
|
|
10
|
Goa
|
85620
|
|
11
|
Gujarat
|
0
|
|
12
|
Haryana
|
1,289
|
|
13
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
18,652
|
|
14
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
48,780
|
|
15
|
Jharkhand
|
5,30,047
|
|
16
|
Karnataka
|
1,34,438
|
|
17
|
Kerala
|
3,11,124
|
|
18
|
Ladakh
|
50
|
|
19
|
Lakshadweep
|
456
|
|
20
|
Madhya
Pradesh
|
7,53,581
|
|
21
|
Maharashtra
|
1,82,990
|
|
22
|
Manipur
|
12,338
|
|
23
|
Meghalaya
|
4,266
|
|
24
|
Mizoram
|
8446
|
|
25
|
Nagaland
|
11,750
|
|
26
|
Odisha
|
853,777
|
|
27
|
Puducherry
|
1,694
|
|
28
|
Punjab
|
5,15,642
|
|
29
|
Rajasthan
|
13,08,130
|
|
30
|
Sikkim
|
33,015
|
|
31
|
Tamil Nadu
|
72,145
|
|
32
|
Telangana
|
37,050
|
|
33
|
Tripura
|
34,247
|
|
34
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
32,49,638
|
|
35
|
Uttarakhand
|
1,97,128
|
|
36
|
West Bengal
|
13,84,693
|
|
|
Total
|
1,14,30,968
|
It
can be inferred by the above data that the situation of migrant workers has
deteriorated further due to covid. The new challenges now are with respect to
providing the adequate employment opportunities to the workers along with some
kind of social security. It is also pertinent to mention that the workers have
been going through a lot of mental harassment in all this process so it is also
required to provide the adequate psychological and mental illness preventive
care for their betterment along with the nutritional and sustenance support.
Conclusion and Suggestions:
The crisis of migrant workers is not new, but
the pandemic has aggravated their difficulties. They are the most affected
community in the covid era. There has been a relaxation of labour laws in a few
states, which will again be a rider to exploit the laborer. The covid crisis
has brought the state into an emergency like situation because of which it has
become difficult for a state to continue with the strict labour laws. But we
need to take a balanced view so that the migrant workers do not bear the brunt
of a pandemic from all corners. The migrant workers who have put in a lot of
effort in nation-building have never been rewarded. They are affected very
badly in the corona crisis that now they fear returning to their workplace. It
is the state’s responsibility to help them in this need of the hour[42].
As an immediate response to the covid pandemic,
measures to be taken should include ensuring community shelters and community
kitchens, making other relief material available, emphasizing the need for
social distancing and safe hygiene practices, identification of suspected cases
of infection and adherence to protocols for management of such cases, putting
up mechanisms to enable them to reach to the family members through telephone,
video calls etc. and ensuring their physical safety.
Apart from these following suggestions are
proposed with respect to labor welfare: -
1)
The most
important lacunae faced by the government machinery, NGOs & stake holders
along with the research community was the lack of availability of data to
estimate the real extent of the problems at different levels. The aim should be
to have the availability of some kind of mechanism to have the data of migrants
workers on regular and real time basis to devise and target the government
schemes and plans appropriately. The All-India Survey on Migrant Workers which
has already overrun its timeline is long due from Ministry of Labour and
Employment. Similarly, the e-shram registration of unorganized workers[43]
(under Ministry of labour and Employment) is also required to be completed on priority
to help the policy planners and executers to fine tune and target their
interventions for widespread benefit of migrant workers.
2)
The state
should come forward and provide employment in the home state. There must be the
establishment of various industries and factories in each state so that the
migrant workers can get job opportunities in their own states. The over-concentration
of mega cities as a source of employment needs to be diversified by
establishing and promoting industries in the satellite towns by providing
adequate infrastructure.
3)
The migrant
workers should be treated with dignity as provided in our constitution and recognize specific and varied needs for each person/family. There is
no generalization. The taboo of migrants should be
removed. The NGO’s, social sector organizations and all stake holders should be
brought together for the support of laborer. laborers should be made aware of their rights
and various government scheme including skill development, which would help
them to secure jobs and live a life of dignity. The workers should be assured
that local administration, government bodies, charitable institutions and
people at large are there and willing to extend them a helping hand when
required. The workers need a sense of security and respect, their importance in
nation building needs to be highlighted and any support from the government
shouldn’t have a reflection of mercy but should be in the spirit of
winning over the situation together[44].
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Article Information
ISSUES AND CHALLENGES OF MIGRANT WORKERS IN COVID ERA: EMPIRICAL STUDY
Authors: RICHA SRIVASTAVA
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Published 2024/01/09
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- Abbreviation IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
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