By Dr. Gyan Pathak
The migrant workers in India have ultimately been getting attention of the Centre led by PM Narendra Modi while he is seeking third term in the forthcoming Lok Sabha election 2024. It has been reported that the pan-India surveys for migrant and domestic workers would soon be released so that targeted policy intervention could be in place.
It should be noted that migrant and domestic workers have been suffering great neglect and apathy for years, which was exposed during the great crisis of migrant workers during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, when hundreds of them just perished while returning to their villages on foot, widely reported in media, and severely criticized across the world.
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment had set a target of completing the surveys on migrant and domestic workers by October 2022, however, the filed surveys were delayed due to operational inefficiencies. It has been now reported that the Labour Bureau has completed the field works. The delay even after the great migrant crisis of 2020 itself shows the neglect and apathy of the Centre.
We hope that this should not prove to be a political expediency of the ruling establishment led by PM Modi since the general election 2024 is round the corner, and workers are angry over the Centre’s policies which they believe anti-labour and pro-corporate. The joint platform of 10 Central Trade Unions have been campaigning against his government and planning to intensify it further. They have been demanding withdrawal of the four controversial labour codes and putting brake to privatization of Public Sector Undertakings including banks and insurance sectors. Migrant workers too have not forgotten the great crisis they had suffered in 2020, and little has been done for then even three years after.
It is despite the fact that internal migration in India adds Rs15 lakh crore to the States’ Gross Domestic Product (SDGP) as per the recently released State Bank of India report. The reports says that the increase in productivity due to redistribution of human resources far outweighs the loss in GDP of the states that are seeing people leave.
The SBI report that also assesses income tax returns says that among all the major states in India, six – Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra – have net positive migration. The seven negative migration states are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Looking at these states politically, Modi government might have noted their importance where migrant workers may play a crucial role that might make or mar his political prospects during 2024 election. Majority of Lok Sabha seats lie in these states. Barring Gujarat, BJP is not at all comfortable in any of the net positive migration states. As for the seven negative migration states, BJP is in very tough political battle in all of them except in Uttar Pradesh, where the opposition SP is emerging stronger day by day.
The reasons of migration are another important factor to be taken note of which includes the lack of employment in the usual places of residence of the people. Moreover, the rate of unemployment in the country is still hovering above 8 per cent for quite some time. Jobs are scarce, and the food inflation and price rise has become unaffordable. Joblessness has created a major crisis for survival.
The recently released Migration of India report for 2020-21 shows some of the main reasons for migration among males and females. About 22.8 per cent of males migrated in search of employment or better employment, 20.1 per cent for employment or work, 17.5 per cent due to migration of parent and earning member of the family and 6.7 per cent due to loss of jobs, closure of unit, and lack of employment opportunities.
As for female migrants, 86.8 per cent migrated on account of marriage, 7.3 per cent due to migration of parent or earning member of the family, 0.8 per cent due to housing problem, and 0.7 per cent for employment and work. The very low level of work related migration in women shows that women workers are not comfortable with the government policies that works against them rather working in their favour. Gender inequality in workforce is very wide, and women workers are generally unhappy over the neglect and apathy of the ruling establishment.
The political implication of all these are more clear when we see at the rate of migration figures. All India migration rate is 28.9 per cent, in rural areas 26.7 per cent and in urban areas 34.9 per cent.
Percentage of internal migrants in rural areas from rural areas is 46.4 per cent and from urban areas 53.6 per cent for males and 89 per cent and 11 per cent respectively for females.
Percentage of internal migrants in urban areas from rural areas for males is 54.8 per cent, and from urban areas 45.2 per cent. These are 54.3 per cent and 45.7 per cent respectively for females.
The last three years since lockdown of 2020 have been particularly difficult for the migrant and domestic workers. They may soon hear some announcement for them in the current election year in the country after a long neglect and apathy, and also some promise subject to the Modi government returns to power again for the third term after the Lok Sabha election 2024 results. (IPA Service)
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