Hyderabad: Pulling lessons from the COVID-19 prompted lockdown, Telangana is well on its way to turning into the first state in the nation to make registration of migrant Workers obligatory and dismiss the role of contractors or middlemen.
The Telangana government is chipping away at another arrangement which is required to smooth out the framework to employ Migrant Workers.
Under the proposed approach, liable to be announced soon, any business employing at least five migrant labourers should register with the Labour Department and get a permit.
As the business should present all information of the labourers recruited, this will assist officials with building a database of migrant labourers and guarantee straightforwardness in the whole framework.
In a transition to promote the re-arrival of migrant labourers to the state, the government will furthermore make it obligatory for the businesses to pay for their transportation.
The government’s discussions with different stakeholders to outline the new approach are presently in the last stage.
This will make Telangana the first state in the nation to set up a framework to protect the interests of migrant labourers, who had to endure much after the inconvenience of cross-country lockdown in March.
Without any database of migrant labourers, the authorities thought that it was hard to contact them, expand timely assistance and manage their transportation.
The proposed arrangement isn’t just expected to acquire straight forwardness in the framework, secure the interests of the labourers yet in addition help the business by taking out the function of middlemen.
Ravi Kumar of the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry said to IANS: “This is a very good policy. It will be a win-win situation for all.”
Migrant labourers until now used to come through contractors, who never used to uncover the real numbers however with the usage of the new policy, they won’t have any kind of role in this.
He stated: “Now the rule says if I am employing more than five, I need to register. Once I register, I will have a license of my own. I have to give their names, Aadhaar card numbers and other details to authorities so that there is a record and we know how many migrant workers have come and from where.”
Ravi Kumar, who oversees the FTCCI committee on human resources and industrial relations stated: “Corona has helped people to get some system. Otherwise, there was no record of migrant workers in true sense. If tomorrow some pandemic comes, you will be clear what you should do.”
Vice President of the Centre for Indian Trade Unions (CITU), M. Saibabu, nonetheless, brought up that there is now Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 yet it was never executed appropriately.
He stated: “This Act makes it compulsory for a private management or contractor bringing workers from other states to register them so that authorities have all the details to inform their families in case of any emergency.”
The trade union chief called attention to that since the business is carrying labourers to meet its prerequisites, they should pay transport charges, regardless of the distance and method of transport.
The 1979 Act likewise accommodates arrangement for proper accommodation for migrant labourers, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO) standard for tolerable working conditions.
Saibabu stated: “CITU stands for the implementation of this Act. The state may provide additional benefits to migrant workers but this Act should be the basis.”
It is assessed that Telangana had 7 to 8 lakh Migrant Workers before the lockdown was forced in March. The vast majority of them have gotten back.
The greater part of the migrant workers was employed in the development segment, particularly in and around Hyderabad. They were likewise employed in assembling, hotel industry, granite sector, brick kilns, rice factories and agriculture.
Mindful of the key role performed by the migrant labourers in the state’s economy, the Telangana government gave a valiant effort to make them stay back after the lockdown was reported. Naming them partners in the improvement of Telangana, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had announced financial help of Rs 500 and 12 kg rice for each migrant.
The authorities had likewise made arrangements for free of cost food and stay of the migrant labourers. But, frantic to get back home, many left for their destinations by walking.
Authorities stated that over 1.50 lakh migrant labourers were sent to their home states via trains and for this, the Telangana government paid the expenses for their travel to Railways.
