During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, at least 2.6 million migrant workers were stranded across India. Disowned by employers and landlords without social security, medical benefits, and emergency aid, approximately 1 million scrambled back home, many walking along highways. We cannot wait for another such crisis before institutionalising policies, processes, and systems to safeguard their human rights. States with large migrant populations should establish a systemic framework to support migrant workers, both within and outside their borders.
India reported 456 million internal migrants in 2011—approximately 38 percent of the country’s population. Most domestic migrants move from their villages to other rural areas or cities due to the inequitable distribution of resources, services, and opportunities or to flee violence and extreme weather events. Internal migrants in India are often informally employed in unorganised sectors and vulnerable to exploitation, harassment, and discrimination. They lack access to basic housing, social security, health benefits, or emergency compensation, are paid low wages, and work in hazardous and insecure work environments. During times of crisis, migrant workers face dangerous journeys home.
While the rate of internal migration may fluctuate, migration is clearly here to stay. In fact, with the looming climate crisis and food and water insecurity, distress migration is likely to increase. It is imperative that we create a safety net for workers who move in search of livelihoods.
In order to develop a global compact for safe, orderly, and regular migration, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants in September 2016. In India, too, it’s time to set up interventions that reduce the precarity of internal migrants and improve their access to redressal mechanisms under relevant labour laws and government welfare schemes.
In 2020, PHIA Foundation set up a control room within the government for migrants walking home to Jharkhand. Many civil society organisations (CSOs) volunteered for this initiative. Gradually, the state government deputed its own team for this call centre, leading to the establishment of the State Migrant Control Room (SMCR). Building on the experiences and learnings from the SMCR, the Government of Jharkhand set up the Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI) in December 2021. PHIA Foundation piloted its implementation in the three high-burden districts of Gumla, Dumka, and West Singhbhum.
The SRMI has yielded insights into approaches and best practices that can help the country uphold and protect the rights of migrant workers and create a support system capable for them. Here are some of them:
Single-window access
On its first day during the pandemic, the helpline for stranded migrants from Jharkhand received 6,000 distress calls. Even now, it gets an average of 330–400 calls daily. The SMCR gives the scattered and fragmented migrant community single-window access for their issues. It supports workers on matters related to compensation for accidents and natural deaths, redressal for wage violations, and rescue efforts in cases of bonded labour, child labour, human trafficking, and missing persons. Migrant workers often require legal aid and assistance when seeking compliance by contractors on the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, which guarantees fair wages and entitlements. If a worker is stranded during a man-made or natural disaster, the helpline can offer emergency response.
A centralised system can offer migrant workers access to government schemes, identification and registration, training and skilling, and even placement. The SMCR, for instance, helps workers register with government schemes such as Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Scheme.
Source and destination data
There is a clear lack of data on domestic migrants. In 2020, we used a software at the SMCR to register information about all callers. Over time, we collated data on the source districts and blocks—from where migrants moved—and destination states—to which they went for work. Based on the data collected by the control room, we know that approximately 1.47 million migrants from Jharkhand were stranded in 2020. The trends also show us that most Jharkhand migrants move out of Dumka, Giridih, Hazaribag, Godda, Palamu, Garhwa, and Deoghar districts and migrate to the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, in that order. They primarily work as construction, manufacturing, or textile labourers, or as machine operators, tailors, drivers, carpenters, electricians, etc.
It is important to collect this data on migrants across the country. Source and destination mapping exercises can help create better systems that support migrants more meaningfully. Parsing and analysing the information can reveal which regions need what kind of intervention. For instance, if an area has a high incidence of migration, hoardings, wall paintings, and pamphlets can support them with information on rights and entitlements. Awareness desks can be set up at pre-departure points, such as railway stations or bus stops. Data on specific skills in a source region can lead to upskilling programmes and employment linkages. Targeted efforts can also encourage greater registration of migrant workers in specific areas.
Registration
Our data shows that only about 20–25 percent of migrant workers register themselves with the government. This seriously hampers their access to redressal, entitlements, and government schemes. It also affects their chances of being rescued during emergencies.
There are many government schemes for the rights and welfare of migrants and workers in the unorganised sector. For instance, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act makes provisions for journey allowances, medical facilities, free accommodation, bonuses, and benefits such as ESI and PF. But most people are not aware of such schemes. Some of these require a premium that certain groups cannot afford. But for others, workers must simply register with the government.
A control room can help migrants register on the central government’s e-Shram portal or with state-specific databases, such as the Jharkhand government’s Shramadhan website.
Compliance from employers of migrant workers also needs to increase. Under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, an employer or contractor hiring more than five people is legally required to obtain a licence and provide the particulars of interstate workers employed by them. Governments of states from which labour is typically hired could aggregate demand in this way and help with placement.
Awareness
Increasing awareness about the importance of registration among migrant workers requires continuous community engagement. Communities, village councils, Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members, and traditional village leaders can help foster conversations on safe and responsible migration. PRIs can act as stewards and gram panchayats can maintain records of workers who migrate for work. Panchayats can also facilitate orientation programmes that educate migrant workers about their legal rights, workplace regulations, and avenues for seeking support in case of exploitation or discrimination, besides helping them make informed decisions.
Collaboration
Given the size, shape, and nature of migration in India, collaboration between the government and CSOs is essential for making it safe and responsible. For the SMCR in Jharkhand, government machinery and civil society had to work together to mobilise assistance, counselling, and rehabilitation in different parts of the states.
Small or micro-organisations can be oriented on migrant-related issues and brought together on a platform, especially during a crisis. Local governments are critical to disseminating information as well as collecting data. Interstate MoUs between source and destination states can institutionalise and secure social protection for migrant workers. During the pandemic, PHIA requested the chief secretary of Jharkhand to write to the chief secretaries of counterpart states to assist stranded migrants. State governments with large migrant populations should form subcommitteesto design welfare schemes for migrants.
In 2021, NITI Aayog, the government’s policy think tank, developed a framework for migrants. The National Action Plan for Migrant Workers, prepared by members from various ministries, subject experts, and CSOs, sets the tone for a rights-based approach. But the road ahead is long and requires many stakeholders to come together. Only sustained collaboration at scale can enhance outreach and support services for migrant workers.
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