Migrant Workers and Kerala Society

Benoy Peter, KSSP

Kerala Vikasana Sangamam, December 27, 2013, Ernakulam

Perceptions of the Kerala Society

• “Emerging Social Hazard”

• “Crores going out of the state”

• “Communicable disease coming back”

• “Increasing crimes”

• “Competition for local workers”

• “Safety of the nation”-infiltration

Migration Transition in Kerala

• Net in-migration to net out-migration.

• Out-migration to emigration

• Decline in emigration and outmigration

• Increasing in-migration

Understanding Migration to Kerala : Some Efforts

• Anand, 1986 (Ethnographic Analysis)• Prasad, 2006 (Ethnographic Analysis)• Surabhi and Kumar, 2007 (Pilot Study)• Rajan and Zachariah, 2007 (Pilot Study)• Rajan and James, No Date (Qualitative insights)• Peter, 2010 (Descriptive analysis)• Kumar, 2011 (Qualitative study)• GIFT, 2013 (Migrant estimates)

Migrant Workers in Kerala

• No robust estimate of circular migrants in the state

• Source: – India

• Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Odisha, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh….

– Bangladesh– Nepal

• “25 lakhs migrant workers in Kerala”

Migrant Workers in Kerala

• Tamil Nadu – Families, men, women

• Northern/Eastern India- young ,single male,

rural, backward communities

• Sectors- Infrastructure, plywood,

manufacturing, hotels, fishing, brick kilns,

quarries, agriculture…

Type

Naka Labou

r

Captive Labour

Informal employe

e

Driven largely by social networks

Migrant Workers in Kerala

• Moved out due to : irregular work, low wages• Moved in due to: better wages, employment

opportunities, working conditions, presence of significant others

• Work for 10 hours or more, most of the days in a week

• Engaged in low skilled jobs• Switches jobs/places frequently within destination• Visits native place at least once in a year

Labour Migration to Plywood Industry Kerala 1997 - 2005: Trends from Survey Data N 400

0

100

200

300

400

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Mig

rant

Sto

ck

Orissa Assam Other Total

Evolution and growth of migration: Case Study

Challenges of Migrant Workers

Work

• Absence of social protection measures– ESI– GPF– Leave– Creche– Other benefits

• Exploitation/ Harrassment by employers/contractors• Lack of protective wears• Fluid wages, lower than local workers• Dependent on contractor/employer• Limited negotiation skills

Empowerment & Social networking

• Not collectivised– Membership in political parties/Trade Unions– Membership in employee unions

• Limited membership/association in local cultural/recreational fora

• Constraints in communication• Limited mobility beyond work settings• Limited interaction with host community

Access to health/Treatment

• Vulnerable to work and life related health issues -accidents/injuries, skin diseases, TB, etc

• Limited awareness about preventive measures• Lack of IEC measures in migrant dialects• Constraints in communication• Long working hours preventing access to doctors• Availability of other providers (chemists)• Unavailability of peers to accompany to the doctor• Public health facilities insensitive to migrant

requirements• Limited health interventions by Govt/NGOs/employer

Remittances

• Difficulty in keeping money/wages safely

• Absence of local address proof limiting

access to mainstream banks

• Banking services not migrant friendly

• Cheating by employer/contractor/fellow

workers

Accommodation

• Free accommodation-makeshift/permanent worker

camps

• Congested living

• No separate kitchen

• Own accommodation- depends on ability to pay

• Advance payments, no proof of payment, high rent

• Limited access to sanitation/safe drinking water

• Flooded toilets-disposal of septage a challenge

Exploitations

• Train tickets - middlemen charge exorbitantly

• Local travel- autos charge higher rates

• Market- Charges higher prices from migrants

• Violence: employer, contractor, natives, fellow workers

• Exorbitant rents

• Commission by contractors

• Limited access to Police/labour welfare officer

• Sporadic sexual exploitations

Limited or No Social Protection

Unemployment

Accidents & injuries

SicknessDeath

Disability

Maternity

Poor housing

Unavailability of

subsidised food

Limited scope for continued

education of childrenLimited

access to quality health

services

Limited access to

formal banking and

financial services

Limited access to legal aid

Policies/Regulations on Social Protection for Migrant Workers

• Interstate Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979

• Right to Education Act 2009

• Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY)

….

Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act 2008

• National Social Security Board constituted in 2009

• National Social Security Fund 2011

• Kerala State Social Security Rules 2010• Kerala State Social Security Board

• Yet to see results

Policy Challenges – Govt Schemes

• Limited Portability of entitlements• Lack of identity/local address proof

at destination to avail benefits• Complex processes and

procedures inherent in delivery of benefits

• Poor implementation mechanisms• Absence of an internal migration

policy

Implications of demographic transition

• The state will inevitably have to depend on migrant labour and is likely to experience heavy in-migration of labour even from regions beyond southern India.

• Since this is unavoidable, Kerala ought to prepare well to accommodate such migrant labour who would play a vital role in the states economy in the coming decades.

Advantages of migrants in Kerala

• Better wages• Sustained work opportunities• Relatively pleasant weather• Better accommodation/work environment

compared to source• Limited discriminations/exploitations based

on ethnicity• Limited trouble from host community• Presence of strong social network

Some initiatives by the state

• Inter-state Migrant Welfare Scheme 2010• Kerala State Social Security Board• Study of DML• Shelters for Migrants• Labour Policy: Registration of migrants• Ad hoc Health camps, campaigns• Capacity Building Initiatives through KILE• Diaspora and Migration Policy (Vision 2030)

Perceptions of the Kerala Society: A Reality Check

• “Emerging Social Hazard”

• “Crores going out of the state”

• “Communicable disease coming back”

• “Increasing crimes”

• “Competition for local workers”

• “Safety of the nation”-infiltration

What could be done?

– Need more empirical evidence to understand migrant workers better

– Need serious deliberations on the issue

– A cell in NORKA is as good as construction workers welfare board managing

Migrant Workers Welfare Fund

– Involve migrant workers/representatives in planning

– Involve private sector/industries

– Corridor based interventions

– Proactive steps from trade Unions

What could be done?

• Active involvement of NGOs on the implementation front of migrant welfare programmes

• Source – destination Govt/NGO collaborations• Kerala Social Security Mission should also take up migrant issues• Proactive efforts by PRIs• Sensitise media• Entitlement promotion campaigns among migrants• Migrant sensitive banking and health facilities• Migrant facilitation centres at major arrival points/nerve centres

What could be done?

• Train ticket booking centres at migrant hubs• Accreditation of contractors/employers for compliance of labour welfare

measures• Accreditation of facilities given on rent to migrants• Formation of CBOs among migrant workers• Enhancing recreational opportunities• Sensitising host community on the role of migrants in the local economy

Let us accept the realities….

• Migration is a survival strategy for these people

• It is also a matter of survival of Kerala society in the current

context

• An opportunity to intervene in the development of the source

states while the migrants contribute to our development

Thank you!

Benoy Peter has a PhD on Labour Migration to Kerala from International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India

kbpeter@rediffmail.com