NEW DELHI: State governments have failed to implement existing legal provisions in labour laws related to migrant workers, said a Centre for Labour Research and Action report which was released on Tuesday.
The report is based on national consultation on housing for migrant workers held in the capital in December last year. There is a need for urgent policymaking on the inadequate housing facilities for migrant workers in cities, it said.
“One of the major causes of exodus of migrant workers witnessed amid the lockdown is the inadequate housing facilities available for migrant workers at the destination states where they spend most of their work time. The pandemic has reminded us that this is the time for a policy rethink on housing for migrant workers. While the government had asked migrant workers to stay where they were, the question arises where would they stay?” said Sudhir Katiyar, secretary, Centre for Labour Research and Action.
There is a need to incorporate public rental housing as a key component of affordable housing scheme like the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), it said. Workers’ hostels on the lines of Apna Ghar in Kerala need to be incorporated into the PMAY and built at a large scale in metros and industrial states.
The Draft National Rental Housing Policy, 2015 has not been concretised so far either, it said.
While a number of labour laws have provisions for housing of workers, there are different requirements in each Act, the report pointed out.
There is a need for standardisation of minimum requirements for housing across the Acts. There is a need for awareness, mobilisation, advocacy and other actions for implementation of existing provisions. Housing requirements need to become part of the Occupational Health and Safety requirements under the physical distancing protocols in force amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Absence of data on circular migrant workers was one of the major reasons in the gap in policymaking. There is a need to create regional database which can be updated frequently. This can be used for planning purposes by municipal corporations and urban development authorities, the report suggested. The Census and National Sample Survey Office data do not capture the dynamic nature of migration, it added.