In recent years, Kerala has become a haven for migrants, christened guest workers, mostly from faraway states such as Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Research states that they number between 15 and 20 lakh, mostly young adults. At the same time, the number of job seekers in Kerala totals 29 lakh. What could be the grounds for workers to migrate from outside when 29 lakh Keralites are seeking jobs? An equally important question is, what is the impact of migration on the economy and society of Kerala?
The state has been receiving a fairly large amount of remittances from natives working in foreign lands. Kerala received an estimated ₹824 cr in 1980, and the volume of remittances has been rising since then. Total remittances touched ₹1,10,000 cr in 2020-21, forming more than 15 percent of Kerala’s GDP.
With the rise in income linked to these remittances, certain activities started to swell such as construction, transport, trading and hotels. An increase in the number of people employed in those activities also ensued. There were only 2 lakh people employed in the construction sector in 1980, compared to 20 lakh in 2021. The number of transport workers went up from 3,42,701 in 1980 to 10,57,585 in 2021 and trade and hotel workers rose from 7,45,786 in 1980 to 13,61,088 in 2021.
As the employment market expanded, Kerala became a preferred destination for a large number of job seekers. Keralites were not keen to take advantage of the growing employment opportunities. How such an anomalous situation could emerge is the question.
A tradition of hard work seems to be absent in Kerala, especially among the upper classes. At the same time, the lower classes were bound to all kinds of tedious and unpleasant work. With the inculcation of progressive ideas, the oppressive social order has all but disappeared. However, the lower classes seem to have emulated the work traditions of the upper classes. The clamour to secure rights, coupled with an indifferent attitude towards duties, stands as a clear manifestation of the lower classes’ inclination to emulate the indifferent attitude towards work. This would have prevented them from taking up new job opportunities. Furthermore, many youngsters have migrated from Kerala to foreign lands. A vacuum has thus emerged in the labour market.
While this apathetic attitude stood in the way of Keralites taking up some kinds of work, certain other developments added to the negative stance towards employment. It is well known that Kerala is a highly educated state. The educated class regards traditional occupations as lacking in social status, thus they aspire for white-collar professions or emigrating to foreign lands. If they do not get such jobs, they prefer to remain unemployed. The presence of so many job seekers has to be attributed to such a mentality.
While opportunities were emerging, wage rates were also on the rise. The wage rate in Kerala has been the highest in the country since 1980. The average wage of a casual labourer reached ₹706 in 2021 as against a national average of ₹309. Wage rates stand at ₹277 in Assam, ₹272 in Bihar, ₹288 in West Bengal and ₹255 in Odisha. Not merely wages, but work conditions too remain tougher in those states. So, unsurprisingly, hundreds of thousands of youngsters have opted to move to Kerala.
Migrants are employed in almost all kinds of work except perhaps ploughing of paddy fields. They mainly work as manual labourers in construction, clear gardens and pluck coconuts, apart from working in commercial shops and malls, as cooks and waiters in hotels and restaurants, and helpers in workshops. Most of their services are meant to uplift living conditions.
While remittances provide the resources for better living, it is the labour power of the guest workers which creates the conditions for posh living. With posh living, Kerala has become a consumer state. Increased tempo of consumption normally paves the way for the economy’s growth by promoting productive activities. In the case of Kerala, such a possibility is out of place as most goods, including food articles, are imported from other states. Even materials for the construction sector, in which a large number of migrants are employed, are from other states.
Significantly, the import bill of Kerala accounted for ₹1,26,000 crore against exports of ₹74,000 crore in 2021-22. In such a situation, what migrant workers do is deliver or service the goods that are imported and consumed. The productive sectors of other states—and not of Kerala—become beneficiaries of the services rendered by guest workers. They help to sustain Kerala as mostly a consumer state, and don’t create a robust economy by themselves.
They are deployed in all kinds of work despised by Keralites. In this respect, Keralites exhibit some form of capitalist mentality. Significantly, the exploitation of human by human in a state where Marxian ideas have widespread approval creates an anomalous situation.
Since they sustain Kerala’s economy in its present form, their services cannot be dispensed with, especially in the context of the falling proportion of youngsters in the state’s demography. On their part, Keralites should be a bit more welcoming in their attitude towards the guest workers, even though there have been reports of a few criminal elements among them. So far, proper registration of the migrants has been completed for about 5 lakh workers. More needs to be done quickly, including monitoring their backgrounds—not merely to keep a watch on them, but also to ensure their social security.
Joseph K V
Director, International Institute of Migration and Development, Thiruvananthapuram