Their work is very crucial for the development of urban infrastructure. But their income and living conditions are subhuman.
ALEX TUSCANO
Who are the migrant workers? They
are unintended part of every city
and town of India. If they were not available, all the cities and towns would have come to a standstill. They provide labour to remove garbage of our cities. They clear the sewage of our cities. They provide domestic
help to households. They construct houses
and the malls of our cities. The factories are being constructed by them. They build bridges, railways and metros. We have seen them standing precariously at an infinitely high places on high rise buildings under construction, risking their lives. The reports of their deaths
in sewage tanks, falling from great heights and dying, falling under the collapsed scaffolding and dying, they being run over by recklessly driven vehicles, often by drunken drivers cease to stop. To sum up, the migrant labourers are life line of the cities and towns. But the irony is that, most often, nobody loves them, nobody cares
for them. They are not trusted and they become victims of suspicion, if there was any murder and dacoity around they would be the first one to be arrested.
Migrant workers have come from the villages of Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. There are also migrants within each state. Laboureres from Kalaburgy, Raichur, Beedhar come to Bangalore city looking for jobs. Their native places are drought prone and economically backward areas. Most of these people are landless, they work as agricultural wage labourers and when there is no work in their villages they move to the cities in search of work. Some are marginal farmers with land for just one crop. Given the agrarian distress and farmers’ suicide, the rural economy is not able to give them yearlong employment. The only option to them is to migrate to the cities for work.
Migrant Labourers—Industrial Reserve Army
The migrant labourers are essential and most indispensable part of the workforce of India. They are called “industrial reserve army”. In order to facilitate industrial development Special Economic Zones were created by different state government in the rural areas. Agricultural land was acquired by displacing the farmers from their land and turning them into landless labourers. Similarly, vast tracks of forestland were taken away from the Adivasis, who enjoyed customary right to this land, for the purpose of mining coals and minerals. These Adivasis were displaced from their homes and lands to fend for themselves. They were forced to migrate to the cities in search of work. But they did not become redundant. On and off they were called for work for a period of time and sent back to the rank of unemployed masses. Once proud landowners and farmers they became migrant labourers. They were compared with the reserve army. They are required in the agricultural economy as well as in the industrial economy. They may have work in the rural area during the time of sowing and harvesting. They are also required in the urban centres for construction activities. Construction industry is one of the biggest industries in the society and it employs the largest working force. But this industry will give employment only seasonally. During rainy season the construction activity takes a break. The migrant labourers go back to their villages and the agriculture would be waiting for them
to employ them. These labourers do not have permanent houses in the urban centres. Their main stay is in their villages. But they have no permanent work in their own villages. They are like “dhobi kakutta, nagharkanaghatka” (The dog that belongs to a washerman (dhobi) does not belong either to the home (of the dhobi) nor to the ghat (where the clothes are washed).
The migrant labourers contribute immensely to the urban economy. About 30% of the Indian economy depends on the migrant labourers.
In their absence from the cities small scale industries will not survive.
Their work is very crucial for the development of urban infrastructure. But their income and living conditions are subhuman. Agriculture cannot proceed without these workers but their wages are miserably low. Every construction work before getting approval will have to put substantial amount of money in “Workers’ Welfare Fund”. This fund goes into the treasury of the government. Every worker will have to be registered with the workers’ welfare board. Now the question is whose welfare this fund is being utilized? In times of crisis the workers get no assistance from the workers’ welfare board.
The migrant labour is a permanent component of our workforce. But they always remain at the receiving end. During the situation of crisis, they suffer the most, not just having to starve but receiving inhuman treatment from their employers and from the state.
But the main issue is not that the migrant labourers are shelter less or hungry. The issue is that they are the victims of an unjust system.
The government has kept huge amount of money to build new parliament building. The Government has sanctioned huge amount of money to build a bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. Government will give huge bailout package for the big industries to tide over the crisis caused by this shutdown.
Already NiranjanHiranandini, the president of the Industry body of real estate developers has made it clear that they would need $ 200 billion, with the ability to go up to $ 300 billion. He says they would require $ 100 billion immediately and then after four months another $ 100 billion and after 8 months the third instalment of $ 100 billion. $ 300 billion would mean Rs. 22.89 lakh crore. This is indeed a mind-blowing figure for India to cater to. Where will this money come from? We have heard of huge amount of NPAs, (non-performing assets) with the bank. The most of the non-performing assets have been declared as bad loans and written off. This is
an annual feature with the banks. Vijay Mallya, LalitModi, NiravModi, MehulChausky, to mention a few, have escaped our country with huge amount of money borrowed from the
bank in fraudulent manner and sitting pretty
in overseas countries. We have been made to believe that these industrialists and capitalists are the saviours of the world. It is time we notice the crucial works done by the migrant works in our cities, localities, and even in our houses.
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