Govt proposes wider coverage for migrant workers under labour laws

Migrant workers travelling on their own for work will also be included; till now, only those hired through contractors were covered

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has proposed widening the coverage of migrant workers under labour laws, along with extending more social security benefits to the working class most affected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020, introduced by Labour and Employment Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar in Lok Sabha on Saturday, all workers earning up to Rs 18,000 who migrate from one state to another will be covered under the proposed law.

Under the present law, migrant workers were covered under labour laws only if they were hired through contractors. As a result of this, migrant workers who travelled on their own for work were not covered under the ambit of the labour laws.

According to the proposed definition, a migrant worker will be the one who “has been recruited directly by the employer or indirectly through contractor in one state for employment in such establishment situated in another state” or “has come on his own from one state and obtained employment in an establishment of another state.”

The government has, however, dropped a provision in the previous draft of the law which made it compulsory for employers “to provide and maintain suitable residential accommodation” to migrant workers “during the period of their employment.”

The government has further done away with ‘displacement allowance’ that migrant workers are supposed to get from contractors at present. However, employers will have to pay journey allowance, which will be a yearly “lump sum amount of fare”, to workers to travel to and from their native place.

For the first time, the government has made a provision for framing schemes to provide option to migrant workers for availing benefits of public distribution system either in their native or destination state. The migrant workers will also be able to avail benefits out of the cess funds meant for building and construction workers in the state where they are employed.

The proposed law will be applicable to establishments hiring at least 10 workers.

The proposed code has said that it will be “duty” of employers to extend certain benefits to migrant workers that are given to other workers in their establishment, including those related to the Employees’ Provident Fund and Employees’ State Insurance schemes.

To ensure that the dataset of migrant workers are maintained by the States, “the Central Government and the State Government s shall maintain the data base or record, for inter-State migrant workers, electronically on such portal.” The migrant workers will also be allowed to register themselves on the portal, after giving a self-declaration and Aadhaar number.

The national lockdown imposed by the Central government in March to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic led a reverse migration. Workers left cities to go back to their villages as industries were shut and paying off house rent or taking care of basic needs became a challenge, apart from health concerns. According to official estimates, 500,000-600,000 workers had to walk back home on foot as public transportation was not available to them. They travelled miles on foot to reach their villages. According to one official estimate, around 8 million workers migrated back to work after the national lockdown.