Skill, Labour, Talent for MSMEs: The mass exodus of migrant labourers to their native towns and villages due to the pandemic last year had began to reverse late last year as a majority of them had began to move back to cities for work soon after months of job loss. As a outcome, firms and factories had steadily managed to roll up their shutters and had been crawling back to their pre-Covid overall performance ahead of the second Covid wave struck the nation in March.
This time, the mutating virus is maybe even more deadly taking a toll on the healthcare infrastructure. Until a total nationwide lockdown is as soon as once more enforced, which would be the last resort for the government to arrest the deepening crisis, MSMEs and other firms think reverse migration in 2021 is unlikely to mirror that of 2020.
Multiple trade unions TheSpuzz Online spoke to opined that workers this time are preparing to stick about their workplaces as firms are significantly less probably to shut down this time amid restricted lockdown vis-à-vis last year’s lockdown across the nation.
“Many workers had last year returned to work. We had informed them that it is not just about inconvenience in commuting but also possible salary cuts they might have to face if they go back home. Moving back won’t immune them from Covid. Some factories had also paid more wages and commuting fare to bring them back last year. So, this time, we don’t see much reverse migration happening,” Hiranmay Pandya, National President, Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) told TheSpuzz Online.
BMS is the biggest central trade union in the nation representing about more than 2 crore workers across organised and unorganised components of the sectors such as MSMEs. Covid had exposed the vulnerability of urban casual workers, which accounted for 11.2 per cent of India’s urban workforce, as per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for January-March, 2020.
According to the survey, a substantial proportion of the workers are “supposed” to be migrants who had been impacted by the lockdown. To aid migrant workers attain their native areas, the government had last year launched Shramik Special trains by means of which about 63.19 lakh such workers travelled throughout May-August 2020.
However, the government had no official information on the loss of jobs and accommodation suffered by these workers. “With limited data available on inter-state migration and employment in informal sectors, it is difficult to figure the numbers of migrants who lost jobs and accommodation during the pandemic and returned home,” the Finance Ministry had stated in a statement in January this year.
“There are labourers that are returning back home this year ever since the second wave struck. Many factories have been shut in Pune, Nagpur, Surat, etc., following a surge in Covid cases. However, the number of reverse migrants is less so far this year even as it might increase if Covid cases rise further,” Ramendra Kumar, President, All India Trade Union Congress told TheSpuzz Online. AITUC is the oldest trade union in India set up in 1920 by freedom fighters such as Lala Lajpat Rai. Currently, it represents more than 1 crore unorganised workers in MSME, building, agriculture, and other sectors.
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Currently, various states have currently extended their lockdown restrictions amid increasing situations. For instance, Maharashtra has extended restrictions till May 15 although lockdown in Delhi has been extended till May 10. Similarly, Kerala has strict restrictions on movement till May 9 although Odisha has enforced a two-week lockdown till May 19, and Tamil Nadu has place in spot a evening curfew along with a complete lockdown on Sunday. Others such as Goa and Rajasthan have extended lockdown till May 10 and May 17 respectively although Haryana has enforced a seven-day lockdown till May 3.
If the circumstance worsens, MSMEs worry they would have to shut down temporarily or at least lessen the hours of operation that consequently could possibly effect their workers. Importantly, the exodus from cities like Delhi and Mumbai not too long ago has caught the government’s consideration once more.
“We are already not operating at our full capacity due to current restrictions as businesses have been disrupted since last year’s situation. If there is a complete nationwide lockdown ahead, we might have to shut down for now. We have around 25 workers at our two factories in Noida. We are managing somehow to pay their salaries but I’m confident that they would not move back to their hometown. They know going back would not bring any change to the situation. We will try to help them in all possible ways,” Noida-based Adarsh Parashar who manufactures corrugated boxes told TheSpuzz Online.
Last month, various state governments had informed the Centre that they are not expecting migrant workers’ exodus this time simply because of the partial and localised lockdowns and other restrictions.
“States have said that they are not facing any problem with regard to the migrant workers, as of now. They said that there has been no exodus, neither they are anticipating these workers to leave en masse in the coming days,” Union Labour Secretary Apurva Chandra, who chaired a meeting with his state counterparts last month had told TheSpuzz. Chandra had stated that not just states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, but ones like Maharashtra (exactly where migrants move to) had been sensing any difficulty.