Inter-State Migrant Workers

Question by: P.R. Natarajan

Question

(a)whether the Government is having any data on the number of Inter-State migrant workers across the country;
(b)if so, the details thereof, State-wise with their educational qualification and the sector in which they are engaged, State/gender/sector/qualification-wise;
(c)whether these migrant workers have been provided with the wages and other welfare measures as per Chapter IV of Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979; and
(d)if not, the reasons therefor?

Answer by: Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment (Santosh Kumar Gangwar)

Answer

• Migration of workers from one area to another area is a continuous process and the migrant workers keep on moving from one area to another area in search of work, therefore, it is not feasible to keep record of such migration.

• However, according to the Economic Survey 2016-17 the size of the workforce as per Census 2011, was 482 million (48.2 crores) people and based on extrapolation, this figure would have exceeded 500 million (50 crores) in 2016. If the share of migrants in the workforce is estimated to be even 20%, the size of the migrant workforce can be estimated to be over 100 million (10 crores) in 2016 in absolute terms.

• The Government has enacted Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 1979 to protect the interest of the migrant workers who migrate within India for Jobs/better employment opportunities. The Salient features of the Act are as under:-

-Registration of all principal employers/contractors.
-Licensing of contractors.
-Issue of passbooks
-Payment of minimum wages.
-Payment of equal wages to male & female workers for same type of work.
-Payment of journey allowance.
-Payment of displacement allowance.
-Providing suitable residential accommodation
-Providing prescribed medical facilities
-Providing protective clothing.