"How India’s migrant labour struggles during a crisis"

Inter-state migrant labourers are a group whose hardships have largely remained unaddressed in India. The situations which have starkly exposed their suffering, fragmentation, exclusion and heightened vulnerabilities include the recent India-Pakistan war-like situation, and the impending migration crisis due to climate change related natural disasters...

...a significant number of migrant workers in Ludhiana chose to return to their home states in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar...

...uncertainties around their livelihood, and memories from the Covid-19 pandemic were some of the reasons that compelled them to head back home...

...law is toothless and ill-equipped to address the realities faced by migrant workers in crisis situations such as armed conflicts, climate change induced natural disasters, or a pandemic...

...blatant systemic challenges endured by such workers owing to deficient social protections, forced labour, region-based discrimination, disproportionate burden borne by women, inter-generational transfer of poverty to children, and extreme vulnerability during disasters and crises...

...similar vulnerabilities of migrant labourers were visible again during the recent India-Pakistan hostilities highlighting that little has been done till date to address their precarious position...

The Code now includes a dedicated chapter for inter-state migrant workers...

...this Code remains a dead letter. It lacks express provisions for state governments and employers for assisting workers in times of crises...