BHUBANESWAR: As many as 403 migrant workers of Odisha have died while working in other states in the last nine years.
This was informed by Labour & Employees State Insurance minister Ganesh Ram Singhkhuntia in a written reply to a query by Jharsuguda MLA Tankadhar Tripathy in the Assembly on Tuesday.
The majority of 233 deaths have been reported since 2022. Ganjam, where migration takes place round-the-year, has the highest number of 59 workers who have died during this period (since 2015 till November 27, 2024). It is followed by Kalahandi and Balangir that have lost 39 and 35 of their migrant workers respectively since 2015. Meanwhile, Sambalpur has recorded zero such deaths, as per the minister’s reply.
Activists working in the field of migrant workers’ welfare said although it is a positive thing that migrant labourer deaths are being reported now, the number is less compared to the extent of labour migration that takes place from the state in search of work.
‘Migration in India’ report based on Periodic Labour Force Survey 2020-21, released by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, states there are 8.51 lakh labourers who migrate for employment from the state annually. Around 11 districts have been identified by the state government as prone to distress migration. They said there are many deaths which are not reported and the list of missing migrant workers is a long one in places like Ganjam, Balangir and Nuapada.
Loknath Mishra, a migrant rights activist from Berhampur, said the government is yet to put a system in place that identifies and tracks bonded labourers who are forced to work in conditions that violate the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976.
“It is not clear if these deaths are of workers who were registered with the Labour department, went through labour sardars or suo motu. One cannot stop people from migrating to other places for work but the state’s concern should be bonded labourers who are denied basic rights and often subjected to physical violence, be it men, women and even children,” Mishra said.
So far this year, the government under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment & Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, has granted licence to 883 labour contractors who have taken 60,683 workers to different states for work. The majority 633 of these contractors are from Balangir and 43,740 labourers have migrated through them from the district. Balangir is followed by Nuapada where 123 labour contractors have taken 9,763 workers. Surprisingly, the official data shows that only 1,465 workers have migrated through 36 labour contractors this year.
While officials of the Labour department could not clarify on the number of bonded labourers that died within the decade, the Labour minister said a task force has been formed in October this year to look into the problem of distress migration including bonded labourers.
Official data
Majority of 233 deaths have been reported since 2022
Ganjam has the highest number of 59 workers who have died since 2015
Kalahandi, Balangir have lost 39 and 35 migrant workers resp during this period
Sambalpur has recorded zero such deaths
Govt has identified 11 dists as prone to distress migration