Context: The migrant labor force plays vital role in nation's growth and development, but they are often disregarded and considered forgotten citizens. Moreover, the state mechanisms show lack of care and attention towards the migrant workers.
About migrant workers
- According to the Census, a person is considered a migrant if his/her place of birth is different from the place where he is enumerated. It also uses place of last residence or if the place in which he is enumerated during the census is other than his place of immediate last residence.
- Migration is the geographic movement of people across a specified boundary various reasons especially social, economic, political reasons. Along with fertility and mortality, migration is a component of the population change.
- The term “in migration” and “out migration” are used for migration within a country and are comparable to the terms “immigration” and “emigration” used in international migration.
Factors for migration:
Status of Migration in India
- As per the census 2011, the total number of internal migrants in India is 46 crore or 37% of the country’s population.
- As per NSS 2020-21 Survey: One in three Urban Indians is a ‘migrant’ but mostly intra-state. Among migrants, 55% have moved between villages mostly women moving after marriage.
- Marriage is a larger driver of migration than jobs for women. Jobs are the biggest reason of migration from men.
- Himachal Pradesh and Telangana have the highest share of job-related migrants in their total urban male population.
- Delhi has the highest share of persons (21.3%) who have come from outside its territory.
Challenges faced by migrant workers:
- Discrimination: Migrant workers may face discrimination based on language, ethnicity, or cultural differences, that can leads to social isolation and access essential services.
- Health issues : Workers often live in overcrowded and substandard housing conditions with limited access to sanitation facilities contributes to health issues, like stagnant water around the settlement becomes a breeding ground for vector borne disease.
- Lack of social safety: Many migrant workers lack of social safety nets such as healthcare, insurance, and retirement plans during economic shocks and health crises .E.g.: During Covid-19 pandemic, more than 80 percent workers in the informal sector lost employment in India and about 75 percent of these workers were small traders & daily wage-labourers, according to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy.
- Education exclusion: Frequent relocations of migrant families often face difficulties in ensuring access to education for their children.
- Low wage: Migrant workers often engage in unorganized and informal sectors where they receive wages below the minimum standard and lack job security, rendering them vulnerable to exploitation.
- Lack of realistic data: The current data structure lacks a realistic statistical account of the number of migrant workers and a comprehensive understanding of the nature of their mobility.
- Political exclusion: Migrants do not usually have voting rights in their destination states, which leaves migrants unable to make political demands for entitlements and seek reforms.
- Risk of exclusion: This Public Distribution System (PDS), may face risk of exclusion because many sections of society who still don’t have Aadhar Cards, consequently depriving them of food security.
A roadmap to improve the conditions of migrant workers:
- Promote social integration by creating programs that facilitate cultural exchange and understanding between migrant workers and local communities that help migrants adapt to their new environments.
- Establish a system for regular updates to keep the database current and reflective of the changing circumstances of migrant workers.
- Recommendations of Niti Aayog:
- Enabling the political inclusion of migrant workers so they can demand their entitlements. This will enhance the accountability of political leadership towards the welfare of migrant workers in their respective states.
- Setting up inter-state coordination mechanisms between source states and destination states to work with each other.
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment should set up a special unit for migrant workers, that manages migration resource centres in high migration zones.
- A national labour helpline should be established.
- Embedding a migration wing in each state’s labour department. Creation of night shelters, short-stay homes and seasonal accommodations for migrants in cities.
Government intervention for migrant workers
- e-SHRAM portal: To create a national database of unorganised workers seeded with Aadhaar. It is also to facilitate delivery of Social Security and welfare Schemes to such workers.
- One Nation One Ration Card: To create a technology systems that will be used for enabling migrants to access Ration from any Fair Price Shop in India.
- Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) for Migrant Workers/Urban Poor (under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban ): To caters to the housing needs to eligible beneficiaries.
- Code on Social Security, 2020: The code broadens the definition of an employee to encompass informal workers to extend the existing social security net. Under this central government will establish social security funds for informal workers, gig workers, and platform workers.
- Prime Minister Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi): To offer affordable working capital loans to street vendors, enabling them to restart their livelihoods adversely affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.
- State migrant cell: Established to develop a database of migrant workers in various states, along with comprehensive mapping.
- Election Commission's remote voting plan for migrants: That would allow domestic migrants to vote in national and regional elections for enabling political inclusion of migrant workers so they can demand their entitlements.