KOCHI: At a time when the government is considering compulsory registration of migrant workers coming into Kerala in the wake of the murder of a 5-year-old girl in Aluva, a cursory look shows that various attempts to track workers coming from other states have not yielded the desired results.
The government’s plan for the ‘Athidhi’ mobile app, which would contain comprehensive details of all migrant workers besides providing each of them with a unique identification number, though slated to be launched in April, is not ready as yet. Following the murder of a migrant worker’s daughter by a Bihar native, the government has now promised to launch the app in August.
Likewise, the registrations for the Awaz Health Insurance Scheme, which was launched for the welfare of migrant workers, have been put on hold temporarily due to some technical reasons. The records with the Labour Department show that 5.2 lakh migrant workers are registered under the Awaz Scheme.
According to experts, effective mechanisms should be in place for providing jobs and accommodation for the workers arriving in the state. D Narayana, who, as director of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation (GIFT) in 2013, commissioned a study on migrant labour in Kerala, said the local bodies should take the initiative to provide accommodation facilities to migrant workers.
“A detailed study should be conducted on their issues, as many of our sectors would be dysfunctional if they keep away from work.” The local bodies should come forward to provide accommodation facilities for them,” he said.
Though studies reveal that the migrant population in Kerala is about 30 lakh, the state still lacks foolproof data on migrant workers in the state. The lack of proper data on migrant workers came out earlier during the Covid lockdown. Following this, the state government decided to make registration for migrant workers mandatory, but it was dropped following protests from organisations working for the welfare of migrant workers, alleging it was against their fundamental rights.
Earlier, the state police chief issued a circular directing that labour contractors inform the nearest police station of all details about workers, but this is not being strictly followed. Benoy Peter, executive director of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), a Perumbavoor-based non-profit that tracks migrant workers, is of the view that the mandatory registration of migrant workers is impractical and against their fundamental rights.
“The compulsory registration only results in intermediatory-driven migration. Local bodies can register migrant workers instead of the labour department,” he added.
Narayana said the government should provide an environment that will encourage migrant workers to bring their families to the state. “If the families come, the entire social setup would change, which helps in bringing down the crime incidents too,” he said.
Only around 10 per cent of the 30 lakh migrant workers in Kerala have their families settled here with them. Currently, only those who earn good wages bring their families, while others stay in the accommodation facilities provided by others paying high rent charges. If good facilities are provided, they could also bring their families. This would boost the state’s economy,” added Narayana. He demanded that the local bodies promote housing projects for the migrant workers.