As India steps into the fifth week of its COVID-19 lockdown, its migrant workforce, certainly one of the hardest hit groups in the country, continues to struggle. The lockdown, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the evening of 23 March, came into effect from the midnight of 24 March, and was later extended to 3 May.
After the initial lockdown announcement by Prime Minister Modi, mainstream and social media were flooded with images and videos, from across the nation, of hundreds and thousands of migrant workers and their families walking towards their homes, hundreds of miles far.
While some migrant workers were able to get back to their villages, most are stranded without basic amenities in and around the areas where they worked. To mitigate the migrant crisis that we are witnessing, there is an urgent need that our government takes all the necessary measures to provide shelter, food, water and sanitation for the safety and dignity of migrant communities.
In this regard, two organisations, Aajeevika Bureau and Working People’s Charter (WPC), have come out with a report, ‘Charter of Demands for Internal Migrant Workers during COVID-19 Pandemic’, highlighting the condition of internal migrant communities and the demands that need to be met to deal with the ongoing migrant crisis in India.
Aajeevika Bureau, with centres in South Rajasthan, Gujarat and Mumbai, is an agency that envisions “secure and dignified lives of communities dependent on migration and labour”. Working People’s Charter is a collective that works on problems of the working classes.
The Demands Charter states that a substantial group of migrant workforce, a whopping 139 million, has been left out of government’s relief packages.
The economic package announced by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26, and different relief packages introduced by state governments, have failed to reach these economically deprived communities that also belong to socially marginalised groups, including the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Muslims and Other Backward Categories. Many migrant workers are not listed in the public distribution system of the states they have migrated to, which creates barriers in access to emergency ration.
Many migrant workers are not listed in the public distribution system of the states they have migrated to, which creates barriers in access to emergency ration.
Jan Sahas, a non-profit that works towards community empowerment, recently came out with “Voices of the Invisible Citizens”, a report assessing the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on internal migrant communities. The report states that out of the 3,196 migrant construction workers they spoke to, 14% did not possess ration-cards. 12% of these workers said that they couldn’t access their ration-cards in their current location as they were migrants, thus, getting effectively excluded from state government schemes.
At the time of the survey by Jan Sahas, 42.30% workers did not have any ration for the day, 39.40% had ration for less than two week and 18.30% workers had ration for 2–4 weeks.
Away from Home: Without Shelter or Food
Appeals to help stranded migrant workers have been doing the rounds of social media. People extending support are finding it hard to arrange for help since many offices are shut or running at minimum staff.
In their destination cities, migrant workers lack the necessary domicile and identity documents to benefit from government schemes. Out of work, those who were living in rented spaces have been evicted from their accommodation as they can’t pay the rent.
On 29 March 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an order restricting the movement of large groups of people across states and directed State/Union Territory governments to ensure effective implementation of lockdown measures. It states that State/UT governments should make adequate arrangements for shelter and food for stranded migrant populations, and prohibited landlords from evicting or demanding rent from migrants who have rented accommodation from them.
At the time of the survey by Jan Sahas, 42.30% workers did not have any ration for the day, 39.40% had ration for less than two week and 18.30% workers had ration for 2–4 weeks.
Working People’s Charter and Aajeevika Bureau have called the order of MHA “unrealistic” as “it ignores many harsh realities that workers have been persistently facing in cities”. Their official response to MHA order stated that a complete sealing of borders will cause further panic and place undue power into the hands of the police who detain or assault migrants who are merely trying to fend for themselves.
Regarding the directions to employers and landlords on payment of due wages and not demanding rent, respectively, these two organisations have stated that it needs to be immediately backed up by establishing fast-track legal aid and grievance-response system.
Most of the labour from the lowest income groups live in informal and unrecognised spaces, which include open spaces, areas around railway tracks, under flyovers and bridges, and other private or public spaces. The closing of informal workplaces, like construction sites and factories, has left these communities with no way of earning their daily bread.
Without any source of income in their destination cities, they are trapped without food, shelter, water, sanitation and healthcare facilities in the dire time of a pandemic, explain these organisations.
Jan Sahas mentions that in their survey, 328 labourers (approx. 10%) confirmed that their households included somebody who was pregnant. Out of these 328 labourers, 143 did not have ration to sustain for a week.
Many people trying to return to their families have been beaten up by police. Aajeevika Bureau stresses in its Charter that the authorities should ensure that the police do not harass migrant workers who have been driven out into the streets. Strict orders should be enforced so that no violence is inflicted upon migrants who face hunger, panic and uncertainty due to the lockdown.
Without any source of income in their destination cities, they are trapped without food, shelter, water, sanitation and healthcare facilities in the dire time of a pandemic, explain these organisations.
The requirement for shelter for migrant communities should be met as soon as possible. These shelters should provide cooking facilities and health check-ups urgently. Police should be given clear directions to cooperate in making essential facilities available for migrants.
Even though the central government has passed an order directing state/UT governments on the same, the effective implementation of these orders is imperative.
Measures to be Undertaken in Rural and Urban Industrial Areas
The Charter of Demands lists out measures that need to be undertaken in urban and rural industrial areas for migrant communities. It emphasises the need to provide free ration to migrants without the requirement of identity or domicile documents. In the destination states, since migrants are not registered under state schemes, they get excluded. The benefits of any state schemes go to people having ration cards with domicile of the city. The cash transfers made by government to poor households are based on the lists of beneficiaries of government schemes. Migrant workers fail to enter these lists, mostly due to procedural complexities.
Government must, therefore, let go of documentational requirements so that relief reaches this invisible population, the charter says, adding that in rural areas accurate information needs to be given to communities about accessing subsidised ration so that they are not left to figure it out for themselves. This would only increase panic, further their misery and cause more confusion.
The assessment report of Jan Sahas revealed that 62.40% workers did not have information on how to access the benefits of various schemes announced by central ministries and state governments. Only 5% of the people surveyed were aware of government provisions and how to access them. Dissemination of information is, therefore, crucial in making government schemes work.
The demands in the charter also includes that banks, ATMs, small restaurants and eateries should remain open throughout the lockdown. Migrant labour depends on bank and ATM services to get cash as they do not have digital cash transfer facilities. It is very essential that banks and ATMs stay open and provide cash at all times so that migrant persons can access cash transfers by governments or private organisations.
Migrant workers mostly eat at small food-stands close to their worksites. They don’t own utensils and cooking facilities and are hugely dependent on small restaurants and eateries. The closure of small restaurants would, therefore, mean hunger and starvation. It should be ensured that the eateries that poor can access stay open.
The assessment report of Jan Sahas revealed that 62.40% workers did not have information on how to access the benefits of various schemes announced by central ministries and state governments. Only 5% of the people surveyed were aware of government provisions and how to access them.
One of the demands is strengthening of Urban Health Centres (UHCs) where healthcare facilities can be accessed by the poor and marginalised sections of society. UHCs should be extensively equipped with human resource and infrastructure to screen and counsel people regarding COVID-19. Health clinics should also be conducted in areas where migrant labour is putting up.
For the rural areas sending migrant labour to destination cities, the charter states that it is imperative that healthcare system there be strengthened so that migrants who have returned can easily access healthcare. Testing should be conducted extensively at both district and block levels. Village panchayats and local bodies should work along to make healthcare accessible to migrants who have come back to their villages. They should also ensure that returnees are not harassed by panicking residents.
The charter adds that the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) wages should be transferred immediately to beneficiaries. Even though this transfer has been announced, many rural households have not even received old payments.
Jan Sahas report claims that even though the current NREGA scheme increases the daily wage by a margin of Rs 20 starting from April 2020, it is concerning that payments amounting to Rs 1830 crores are still pending under the scheme, in addition to the unemployment allowances that need to be disbursed.
It also mentions the loopholes in DBT as these transfers are accessible only to people with functional bank accounts or people registered in pre-existing social security schemes. Jan Sahas informs that its database of 60,000 workers suggests that around 17% workers do not have a bank account, and hence will be excluded from DBT schemes. Of the workers having a bank account, 30–40% do not have an active bank account.
What the Central Government Needs to Do
In addition to what needs to be done in urban and rural areas to mitigate the migrant crisis, Aajeevika Bureau and Working People’s Charter’s document lays down significant points that the central government needs to follow.
The central government needs to coordinate with state governments of the source states (from where migrant labour comes to destination cities for work) to help migrants reach back safely. In destination cities, it needs to work with the respective states to provide shelter, food, water, sanitation and healthcare for stranded migrant communities.
Of the workers having a bank account, 30–40% do not have an active bank account.
The Centre needs to make sure that transportation is provided to migrant labour returning to the safety of their homes. This includes transport facilities inside source states after they have been safely returned to their state borders. Once inside their states, central government should help states in the conduct of screening, quarantine and treatment. It should extend financial support to the state governments in responding to the crisis.
The wages of migrant workers should be protected by setting up legal cells both at the central and state levels so that migrant labour that has been sent on forced leave isn’t duped of their earnings. Many migrant workers are living inside factories and it is anticipated that their contractors will deduct money later from their wages in exchange. The charter warns of a “bondage-like situation” if this practice goes unchecked.
To help this situation, the MHA order states that employers in the industry and commercial establishments are liable to pay wages without deduction to workers for the period that their establishments are closed during lockdown. However, many small businesses and commercial establishments, themselves in loss, would not be financially capable of paying their employees.
The Centre, maintains the charter document, should provide relief to migrant workers who also engage in agricultural labour like share-cropping and farm labour. They should be provided with monetary benefit and the equipment to harvest their crop, an assessment should be made of their losses due to the lockdown and they should be given unemployment benefit under NREGA to compensate for the losses incurred. They must also be compensated for their losses under the crop insurance scheme.
Tapasya Tofuss is a Mumbai-based independent journalist. She has previously written for The Diplomat and StoriesAsia.
Featured image (for representational purpose only): Kura is a 27 year old migrant worker hailing from a small village of Uttar Pradesh, India. He left his home and moved to New Delhi for work and livelihood. | © ILO/J. Urmila 2018, Flickr
