Labour Bureau has launched All India Survey on Migrant Workers with effect from 1st April, 2021, with the following objectives:

• To estimate the number of domestic/internal migrant workers in the country.
• To collect data on their household characteristics, socio economic conditions and working conditions.
• Study the impact of COVID19 on their work.

 

The survey is underway.

In order to safeguard the interests of the migrant workers, the Central Government had enacted the Inter-state Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. This Act has now been subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and the Working Conditions (OSH) Code. The OSH Code provides for decent working conditions, minimum wages, grievance redressal mechanisms, protection from abuse and exploitation, enhancement of skills and social security to all categories of workers including migrant workers. Migrant workers are engaged in various occupations. Government of India has launched several social security and welfare schemes for workers including migrant workers. Some of the prominent schemes are as follows;

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) launched in 2015 provide for life & disability cover due to natural or accidental death. (ii) Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Man Dhan Pension Scheme (PM-SYM) launched in 2019 provides for old age social security in the form of monthly pension.(iii) Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) launched in 2018 provides Rs.5 lakh health coverage for secondary and tertiary health benefits to those migrant workers who are covered as eligible beneficiaries as per deprivation and occupation criteria. (iv) PM-SVA Nidhi Scheme facilitates collateral free working capital loan of upto Rs.10,000/- for one-year tenure to street vendors.(v) Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana caters to the housing needs of all eligible beneficiaries. During Covid – 19 pandemic period since March, 2020, Union Government has taken several additional measures for the benefit of workers, such as; creation of 39.51 lakh new job opportunities by crediting Rs.2583 crores in EPF accounts under Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana (ABRY), benefits of Rs.2567 crores to retain 38.91 lakh low wage employees under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY), financial assistance of Rs.7413 crore to Building & other Construction Workers (BOCW), unemployment benefit under Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana (ABVKY), Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyan (PMGKRA) generating 50.78 crore mandays with Rs.39,293crores, free food grain of 5 kg per person per month to all Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) beneficiaries and special training programme under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) Scheme as a part of Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA) in the districts having high concentration of returnee migrants. One Nation one Ration Card Scheme has facilitated portability of provisions of ration through PDS shops across the country for the migrant workers and their families.(vi) Ministry of Labour & Employment has also launched eSHRAM portal, a National Database of the Unorganised Workers. It has been made available to the States/UTs for registration of unorganised workers including migrant workers. The main objective of the e-SHRAM portal is to create a national database of unorganised workers seeded with Aadhaar. It shall also facilitate delivery of Social Security and welfare Schemes to such workers. The portal also aims to facilitate portability of benefits of welfare schemes to the migrant workers.

Under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, both the Central and the State Governments are appropriate Governments to fix, review and revise the minimum wages of the employees employed in the Scheduled employments including Migrant labourers under their respective jurisdictions. The Central Government and the State Governments are mandated under section 3(1) (b) of the Act to revise the Minimum Rates of Wages payable to the employees engaged in the Scheduled employments including Migrant in their respective jurisdictions at intervals not exceeding five years. Accordingly, the minimum rates of wages in the Scheduled employments in the Central sphere were last revised by the Central Government in 2017.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Labour & Employment, Shri Rameswar Teli in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

 

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