A Study on Migrant Construction Workers in India

Abstract

Construction work fields granted employment to the unemployed in our country. Migrant construction workers and poverty in the country is directly proportional to each other. The problems faced by migrant workers differ from place to place. In Tamil Nādu, interstate and intrastate migrant workers are involved in the construction works. The employer had employed these workers for more than eight hours, paid a lower wage and treated them as slaves.

They work as a family but nobody lives happily in their home because of inadequate income, discrimination faced in the work and their basic rights such as the right to life including the right to a decent life and, the right to get fair wages. The right to settle anywhere in India guaranteed by our constitution is not provided to them. Most of them are homeless and living on the roadside.

The Doctrinal research paper addresses the increase of migrant construction workers and its reasons, the challenges involved in work and in their life, their status and the ways to give better living conditions to them in our state.

Keywords: Migrant construction workers, Contractors, Construction sites, Rights, Insecurity.

INTRODUCTION

Migrant construction workers are created because of no employment opportunities for them in their states in our country. They are mostly unskilled labourers who comes under the category of interstate migrant workers seeking jobs from northern India to our state. Are their expectations of the job and the salary provided to them satisfied in the construction work in question? Every day, their problem increases in the working environment as well as in civilised society. They faced a lot of struggles, language barriers in communication, discrimination and violation of rights in their work.  

Migrant workers came to our state in order to improve their economic condition to lead their daily-basis life. But in reality, they are facing worse living conditions as compared to their hometown. Women migrant workers face sexual harassment at their workplace and their children’s literacy rate is very low in the state of Tamil Nādu. The government of Tamil Nādu had various laws and welfare schemes for the regulation of employment and their conditions. But all of these are ineffective. The contractors and the owners of the construction projects should treat them as a slave not as a fellow human beings. They are in danger of livelihood not being addressed by the people and state.

DEFINITION

Labour migrants are defined as those who move for the purpose of employment.[1]

Sec 2(e) of the interstate migrant workmen act,1979 defines, “Inter-state migrant workers mean any person who is recruited by or through a contractor in one state under an agreement or other arrangement for employment in an establishment in another state, whether with or without the knowledge of the principal employer in relation to such establishment.”[2]

The United Nations Convention on Protection of the Rights of All migrant workers and Members of their families defines a migrant worker as a person who is to be engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state in which he or she is not a citizen.[3]

LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK

The central government and the government of Tamilnadu have implemented various laws to ensure and safeguard the rights and benefits of migrant construction workers. The acts are as follows:

A. THE INTER-STATE MIGRANT WORKMEN ACT,1979:

The Act was enacted to protect the rights of interstate migrant workers and save them from exploitation.

Key Provisions:

1. The Act mandates the contractor to get a license from the home state as well as in the host state and the employee register in the working state.
2. The contractor must give the details of the workers to the concerned authorities.
3. They are entitled to fair wages as other workers.
4. Contractors ensure protective clothes, accommodation, free medical facilities and travel allowance to the workers.

B. BUILDING AND THE CONSTRUCTION WORKERS ACT, 1996:

            The Act addresses the problems faced by the construction workers.

Key provisions:

1. The legislation mandated the Construction Worker’s Welfare Board to register all construction workers in the state.
2. The welfare benefits such as medical assistance, maternity benefits, pension, educational assistance for children, educational assistance for their children and funeral assistance are provided under section 22 of the act.[4]
3. It provides adequate accommodation for every builder with more than 50 female workers and the children of those employees.
4. The Act itself sets the handling limit of 20kg load for women.

C. THE TAMILNADU BUILDING AND OTHER CONSTRUCTION WORKERS RULES,2006:

It lays down safety regulations for the construction sites to be followed in accordance with the Building and the Construction Workers Act.

D. UNORGANISED WORKERS SOCIAL SECURITY ACT,2008:

            The Act ensures social security to the workers in the unorganised sector.

Key provisions:

1. The central government can formulate laws for the suitability of time and the situation.
2. The benefits include the matters to life, health and disability cover etc..,

E. MINIMUM WAGES ACT, 1948:

The Act provides financial security to Interstate migrant workers.

Key provisions:

1. According to the act, the minimum wage must be payable to the migrant workers.
2. Under Section 27, the act fixed minimum wages for certain works. It was revised by the state government every 5 years.[5]

WELFARE SCHEMES

The Prime Minister’s Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) provides financial assistance to the building and construction workers (BOCW) which largely included migrant workers from the funds collected under BOCW’s cess. It gives economic relief to the construction workers. And Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana aims to provide health insurance to the unorganised workers below the poverty line (BPL) entitled to get treatments in public and private hospitals.

The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan gives employment to the migrant workers who are all returning to their hometowns. And Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-Dhan (PM-SYM), is a pension scheme for unorganised workers to receive the minimum assured amount of Rs. 3000 per month after attaining the age of 60 years.[6]

LEGAL LOOPHOLES

 The migrant construction workers are suppressed by their superior authorities in the construction sites. Their benefits are enjoyed by the contractors instead of them. The prevention of suppression by the contractors is not described by the acts. The long working works, lack of safety equipment and clean water cause various mental stress and diseases to the workers.  The Tamilnadu Building and Other Construction Rules,2006 is in accordance with Section 40 and Section 60 of the BOCW act lays down important safety to be followed in any construction site in the state. The implementation of the government of the state is in question.  The BOCW act didn’t clarify these problems in a protective and preventive way is a legal loophole in the protection of migrant construction workers in our country.

ROLE OF JUDICIARY

The Judiciary can play a major role in promoting the welfare and protection of migrant workers. Some landmark cases delivered judgements for the welfare of migrant workers:

In People’s Union for Democratic Rights and Others v. Union of India[7], the SC held that “the labour laws are enacted for the welfare of the employees, the errant employers violated the labour laws and gained profits. They should punish by adequate punishment instead of mere fines.” The Hind Mazdoor Sabha v. District Collector said that “the contractors should provide the honourable means of livelihood to the employees (migrant workers). If they are helpless and compelled to work, they are treated as Slaves.”

In Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation Ltd. v. Subhash Chandra Bose, the SC held that contract labourers come under the ambit of employees under the Interstate migrant workmen Act. They are entitled to get compensation under the Employees Provident Fund Act, of 1952.[8]

SUGGESTIONS

1. The Contractors exploited the migrant construction workers to earn more profits. The government had to provide adequate punishment to them.
2. The workers didn’t get their basic necessities. They are treated as slaves in the construction sites. In order to rectify that the Tamilnadu state government had to form a separate Commission for the purpose of overviewing and providing basic livelihood to them.
3. The Construction sites are in the lack of safety equipment. The state government had to provide the safety equipment to their projects at a free cost and to the private establishments at a lower price.
4. The state government should form a separate commission with experts in construction fields to identify and analyse the reasons for accidents and deaths in a construction site in order to rectify them.

CONCLUSION

The population of our country is increasing day by day. India is the first most populated country in the world. The youngsters are more in number, but still, it is a developing country. The reason behind this the rate of unemployment is high. The unemployed came out of their state and found a job in another state. Construction work is the second largest sector which provides employment to migrant workers all over the nation. The northern and northeastern state unemployed find their job in the State of Tamilnadu. The Tamilnadu government provides a large amount of employment to these workers in their construction projects such as metro railways construction projects, and real estate projects.

The Jharkhand man, a migrant construction worker spreads the rumour of the Bihar migrant workers are assaulted in the state of Tamilnadu through fake video. It was a crime. But this made the state government again remember the existence of migrant workers and still their problems exist, not solved. The migrant workers are also citizens of our nation. They had the right to move throughout India. The people in Tamilnadu should respect, and treat them as their fellowers. The government should take effective steps for their welfare. The NGOs also joined hands with the government to ensure a healthy working environment. As a result, India attained the position of a Developed country in the competing world.

REFERENCES

1. USHER E, Migration and labour 150 (2004)
2. HOSSAIN M, Migration and health 201-204 (2011)
3. B.BHAGAT, Assessing the Measurement of Internal Migration in India 91-102 (2008)
4. Constitution of India,1950
5. KESHARI K, Temporary and Seasonal migration in India 25-28 (2010)
6. ABISHEK SAHA, In an analysis of migrant workers, unorganised sector, worksite accidents, deaths, Thozhilalar koodam (February 4, 2014)
7. BHARATHI SP, Row over attack on migrant labourers, The abp live news(March 4, 2023)
8. People’s Union for Democratic Rights and Others v. Union of India, AIR 1473(1982)
9. MUKTA NAIK, Evaluating the welfare framework of migrants in construction works 78-89 (2017)
10. QUEMRE ALAM, Role of Indian Judiciary in Protection of Rights of the migrant Workers, Volume 24, Issue 11(November,2019)

[1] USHER E, Migration and labour 150 (2004)

[2]Section 2(e) of the interstate migrant workmen act,1979

[3] UN Agenda for International labour migration (5 august 2015)

[4] Section 22, Building and the Construction Workers Act, 1996

[5] Section 27, Minimum Wages Act, 1948

[6]MUKTA NAIK, Evaluating the welfare framework of migrants in construction works 78-89 (2017)

[7] People’s Union for Democratic Rights and Others v. Union of India, AIR 1473(1982)

[8] QUEMRE ALAM, Role of Indian Judiciary in Protection of Rights of the migrant Workers, Volume 24, Issue 11(November 2019)