The Invisible Workforce :
Overview of Migrant Labour Welfare Policies
BY SRUSHTI PUNGHERA / AUGUST 7, 2021
The year 2021 saw the advent of a multitude of policies for migrant workers in India with efficiencies of varying magnitudes.
igrant workers in the informal economy are one of the most vulnerable populations. On one hand, they contribute significantly to labour mobility, expanding new and existing markets, and diversifying work culture. On the other hand, they are viewed as individuals who contribute to the burden on a land that can only support a limited number of people. Despite working long hours, having a family to feed, and living in deplorable conditions, they are merely seen as a disposable part of our economy and treated as such. The general, affluent group has always been protective of their land and secretly hopes that workers will leave their city alone one day. However, the workers’ current condition in the pandemic, on the other hand, has changed a number of viewpoints and attitudes toward them.
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In 2021, nearly 8,00,000 migrants departed India's capital for their hometowns. The Standard Workers Action Network created a special helpline to extend support to migrant workers during the migration crisis. Nearly 58% of all the workers who reached out to the helpline stated that their families were down to the last two days of their ration. According to the network’s investigation, more than half of those who polled indicated they had less than INR 100 in their pockets. Despite the fact that the pandemic had a huge impact on employment, migrant workers were one group who believed they had no prospects in the near future. A NITI Aayog policy draft was proposed that recognised the workers’ predicament and created a new version of the migrant policy. In the January draft for 2021, they acknowledged that migrant workers constitute the country’s backbone and contribute 10% of the GDP. The draft policy is evident in highlighting the vulnerability of migrants to such crises and describes the experience of migrants during the lockdown as a “humanitarian and economic crisis.”
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Nearly 57 % of all the workers who reached out to the helpline stated that their families were down to the last
two days of their ration.
The Inter-state Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment Condition of Services) Act, 1979 was subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions code on September 29th, 2020. The draft policy aims to bring Line departments together and instill a vision to create a more conducive policy to migration. These departments are government departments at the state level, with mandates related to specific thematic sectors. For example, the Central Line Departments in the Government of India are Health, Defence, Education, Labour, Railways, Transport, Communications, Commerce, and Industry.
In order to address and compensate for the migrant situation, the new strategy includes provisions for social security, housing, health, and education. To carry out these goals, an independent management body will be established, which will work jointly with the Ministry of Labor and Employment.
The government pledged that in addition to receiving social security, migrant workers would not be paid less than the minimum wage, Nirmala Sitharaman, the Finance Minister, has made numerous recommendations to ensure that “all kinds of workers” earn a minimum wage. “All kinds of workers” is specified under India’s elaborate system for determining minimum wages, with almost 2,000 distinct occupations for unskilled employees and over 400 different categories of employment, each with a minimum daily salary. Being legally recognised is a significant achievement, particularly when contrasted with many other types of overlooked jobs. A foundation for inter-state collaboration on migration’s financial expenses may be developed if migratory workers were officially recognised before the pandemic. Following their formal recognition, these workers may get a direct cash transfer.
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After their first meeting on June 14th, 2021, the labour ministry announced the formation of an expert committee under the supervision of noted economist Ajit Mishra to give technical insights and suggestions to set salaries. An experienced team will be assembled to provide recommendations and expedite the process. Even after determining the new minimum wage regulations, the team will persist for three years to provide direction and information. Despite the lack of an official date for when the adjustments would take effect, the process has already begun, and migrants may soon notice a change.
Several positive developments have occurred since this announcement. Cities such as Delhi have opted to act long before any legal reforms are implemented. With effect from April 1st, 2021, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia issued an order raising the dearness allowance for unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, and other workers in all designated employment. He said, “These steps have been taken in the interest of the poor and working-class who have suffered disproportionately due to the current pandemic. This order shall also benefit those in clerical and supervisory jobs.”
While improving wages seems to be the best possible move to support migrant workers, it certainly cannot be the only one after millions of migrant workers fled from cities to their hometowns at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Migrant labourers of the informal sector reside in deplorable housing conditions. Most of them sleep in sheds, slums, construction sites, and nearly any other space large enough for them. By 2022, a new scheme under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is scheduled to launch and intends to offer housing to all sections of society deprived of a place to live. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was initially launched on June 25th, 2015, and addressed urban housing shortage among the Economically Weaker Sections, Low-income groups, and Middle-income groups (EWS/LIG and MIG) categories. Existing unoccupied government residences would be transformed into affordable rental complexes under this plan.
According to economists, creating affordable housing to tackle inequality is one way governments can help economies recover from the COVID-19 crisis. This scheme aims to change lives drastically. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana seeks to build 20 million new urban residential units. According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the initiative would initially assist around 300,000 workers. However, the inclusion error of this effort is troubling as this scheme aims to provide housing to everyone who seeks a house, not just
migrant labour. By 2022, the working population will have increased, and urban migration will have risen as well. It would be a never-ending effort to provide for the new migrant labourers.
The inclusion error of this effort is troubling as this scheme aims to provide housing to everyone who seeks a house, not just migrant labour.
Migrant workers will be directly strengthened by a greater policy change. Empowering a few migrant workers economically is still preferable to empowering no one. This requires a source of income, a place to live, and sufficient food. Thousands of government professionals are designing programs to meet rental, wage, and food demands. One masterstroke was introducing the “One country, One ration card” scheme on June 29th, 2021. As proposed by Nirmala Sitharaman, beneficiaries can use their ration cards to claim their rations anywhere in the country. This scheme is aimed to be beneficial to migrant workers exceptionally. Those stationed away from their family can claim a share of their rations where they are based, while the family back home can claim the remainder. Dry rations and food grain distribution will be undertaken alongside the deployment of these programs until COVID-19 fades away.
The welfare of migrant workers is frequently a source of contention; this proved to be true after what the supreme court said. “The welfare of migrant workers has always been a concern, but given what the Supreme Court has declared, it is clear that someone is not performing their job properly.” Grave problems like these could have been avoided if some effort was made from the start. These policy changes are undoubtedly beneficial, but they are more of a response to current economic crises than a strict welfare scheme. The biggest question arises: Why did it take a pandemic to recognise the significance of migrant labour in the country?
According to research, one of the ways that inequality affects growth and development is by limiting educational options for children from low-income households, decreasing their chances of social mobility, and providing job opportunities based on caste. With the exception of migrant workers who lack data, a shortage of aid packages and social security are still issues that require immediate action. New ideas have just recently been proposed, yet they are already being pushed back. The minimum wage is still to be set, and the labour enforcement apparatus is broken. New labour standards were intended to go into effect on April 1st, 2021, but several state governments failed to create the guidelines, causing delays in implementation.
These reforms could have saved thousands of lives before the pandemic, but are these reforms really about the well-being and lives of migrant workers, or is it about a selfish desire to encourage the economy to start warming up again ?
These reforms could have saved thousands of lives before the pandemic, but are these reforms really about the well-being and lives of migrant workers, or is it about a selfish desire to encourage the economy to start warming up again? Perhaps by 2022, when the new programmes are hopefully implemented, we will have an answer, but until then, the migrant workers remain one of the most mistreated groups.
Keywords
Migrant workers, Covid-19 , social security, minimum wage, one nation one ration, PMAY, NITI Aayog draft policy(2021)
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References
Chandran, R. (2020, July 9). Govt plans rental homes to entice migrant workers back to cities. Livemint.
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Deshingkar, P. (2021, April 7). National migrant policy: A good first draft. Down To Earth. https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/governance/national-migrant-policy-a-good-first-draft-76352.
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Paliath, S. (2021, June 2). Second wave of covid-19 has LEFT migrant workers in India with no savings and few job opportunities. Scroll.in.
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The Times of India. (2021, June 19). No intention to delay fixing minimum wages: Labour ministry - times of india. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/no-intention-to-delay-fixing-minimum-wages-labour-ministry/articleshow/83662776.cms.
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The views published in this article are those of the individual author/s and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the team behind Beyond Margins, or the Department of Economics of Sophia College for Women (Autonomous), or Sophia College for Women (Autonomous) in general.