Interstate Migrant Research Articles

Lived Experiences of Interstate Migrant Workers during COVID-19 Lockdown: An Oral History in West Bengal

Lived Experiences of Interstate Migrant Workers during COVID-19 Lockdown: An Oral History in West Bengal

Invisible struggles: unveiling the mental health implications of job insecurity among migrant hospitality workers

ABSTRACT Migrant workers in India, who are often seen as the backbone of the nation, live in highly precarious conditions, experiencing heightened job insecurity. Nevertheless, they received little attention in scholarly investigations. This study utilises the latent deprivation theory to investigate the impact of quantitative and qualitative job insecurity experienced by interstate migrant hospitality workers in India and its impact on their mental health. The study also explores the potential mediating role of employee morale in this relationship. Additionally, it investigates whether the perception of employability, which refers to the likelihood of finding alternative employment, moderates the link between job insecurity dimensions and mental health. Data was collected from interstate migrant workers employed in tourist hotels in Delhi, India. Findings revealed that both dimensions of job insecurity have been negatively associated with the mental health of these workers, with employee morale serving as a partial mediator in the relationship. Employability is found to be a crucial moderator in alleviating the negative impact of quantitative job insecurity on mental health. In light of the findings, the study offers key interventions required at the policy and organisational levels to enhance well-being while utilising the unique skills and diverse perspectives of these migrant workers.

The Governance of Internal Migration: Learning from the Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Policy Responses of Indian States

While the governance of global migration is a growing conversation in policy and academia, internal migration has remained under-researched and under-represented as an area of focus. The increased policy attention on internal migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity for examining the governance of internal migration. Drawing on a review of literature and two consequent rounds of an ex ante policy indexing tool—the Interstate Migrant Policy Index (IMPEX) 2019 and IMPEX 2021—this article focuses on policies formulated by Indian state governments that are prominent recipients of internal migrants in the pre- and post-pandemic period. We find that while the COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of low-income internal migrants in India, it only partially translated into long-term policy measures. This article demonstrates that the complexity of migration policymaking governance in federal democracies like India is an important aspect of global migration governance. It argues that such a focus will enable a number of developing economies to refine labour and social protection policies toward sustainable economics and human development. The article motivates a research and policy agenda that can especially help developing countries improve labour mobility patterns for economic development as well as ensure fuller coverage of social welfare measures in response to climate migration.

Health Conditions of Inter-State Migrants in Marine Fisheries: A Study of Kerala

The marine fisheries are one of the vital occupations in the southern parts of India. This industry is considered to be the foundation of revenue generation for these states. Kerala, being located at the southernmost part of India, is promoting this industry with support from inter-state migrant labourers. The inter-state migrants working in Kerala’s maritime industry are from northern and southern India. As a result of higher salaries and improved working conditions in this unskilled sector, people from the North and Eastern parts of the country have started to migrate to Kerala. Indeed, the continual cash flow in this sector makes it lucrative and invites a large influx of migrant labour to this region. These inter-state migrant labourers work for more than eight hours and spend 10 to 15 days at sea while fishing. They have to stay with heavy pieces of equipment at sea away from shore. This heart-wrenching situation deteriorates their health. They come across various kinds of professional injuries while fishing. Some of these fishermen and fisherwomen encounter long-term effects from those injuries. On the other hand, catering to their health needs seems challenging due to the lack of adequate medical facilities for migrant labourers. Following the increase in migratory flow, Kerala’s health system has faced several institutional impediments. The lack of identification of migrant labourers cripples the entire process of providing access to a better healthcare system to them. As a result, inter-state migrant labourers in the marine industry are facing various health-related challenges due to the nature of this profession and the apathy of state machinery. Therefore, this study seeks to explore the health issues affecting the inter-state migrant labourers in Kerala’s marine sector through a mixed-method research design.

Migrating injustices in the small city: drought-impacted interstate migrant workers’ experiences in Tiruppur’s sanitation sector

ABSTRACT Climate stresses like droughts amplify economic precarity, pushing low-income, caste-oppressed communities across India to pursue temporary rural-urban migration as an adaptation strategy. This paper develops an intersectional framework on ‘migrating injustices’ to examine how caste and regional identity mediate interstate rural-urban migrants’ experiences of vulnerabilities and injustices, particularly as these experiences move and endure with migration, shaping migrants’ adaptive abilities. The framework is applied to trace the injustices that a group of 800-odd drought-impacted, caste-oppressed, landless persons from central India experience through their adverse economic incorporation as sanitation workers in Tiruppur’s privatized sanitation sector in southern India. Findings reveal that a history of caste oppression and uneven development in their home region produced unequal drought impacts for our informants, pushing them to migrate. However, migrants’ caste and regional identity combine with their climate and economic precarity to direct their migration into precarious, unjust working conditions and employer-provided, environmentally risky accommodations—both removed from local socio-political networks, undermining migrants’ ability to contest injustices in Tiruppur. In highlighting the translocal and trans-sectoral intersections between the migrating environmental, economic, and caste-based injustices for circular migrants, the paper argues that eliminating migrating injustices is crucial for achieving transformative adaptation and urban climate justice.

“Garima Means to Live with Pride:” A Case Study on Provider Perspectives and Local Government Response to Health of Internal Migrant Laborers in Kerala

Background: Addressing the health needs of interstate migrants in India is a complex challenge. We undertook a case study of Garima, a migrant health intervention in Kozhikode district, Kerala, and explored the perspectives of the health system and the role of local governments with regard to the programs targeting the health of migrant laborers in Kerala. Methods: We used a qualitative descriptive case study approach as described by Baxter and Jack and used Braun and Clarke’s intermediate Q thematic analysis approach. We conducted one key informant interview (KII) and one in-depth interview (IDI) and review of 23 documents obtained from the corporation health department and online sources, including media and social media review. We also did two KIIs with experts and nine IDIs with field workers of the health department of the state. Results: Intervention execution was mainly through inspectorial health teams comprising representatives from multiple sectors, including local governments, law enforcement, and health. Actions included registration, screening, disease surveillance, and care provisioning through regular medical camps. Referral and follow-up through regional health-care centers were consistently made available in Garima. Migrant health programs increasingly focus on living conditions, including hygiene and sanitation, and employers, contractors, or building owners are to take responsibility for these. Conclusions: The Garima project for the health of interstate migrant laborers reflected a shift in the Kerala health system toward welfare rather than disease control and intersectoral coordination. Local governments hold the promise of advancing such interventions and scaling them up across the state.

Geographies of otherness: films and interstate migrants of Kerala

ABSTRACT This article analyses three popular films from Kerala released post-2000, viz. Masala Republic (2014), Acha Din (2015), and Amar Akbar Anthony (2015) that depict the life of interstate migrant labourers. The attempt is to critically engage with the complex processes of narrativisation and characterisation, such as region, ethnicity, culture, body, etc. in Malayalam cinema to make sense of their effect on regional identity and othering processes. The construction of a regional or sub-national identity is explored from the spatial and social configurations of the ‘outside’ and the ‘other’ within the region as imagined by the Malayali public. This article also focuses on the popular imaginings of the assemblage of ‘Bengali migrants’ in these films and their significance in the larger societal spectrum. We argue that Malayalam films reinforce its region by othering migrants and their markers in contemporary cinema.

Analysis of Inter-state Migrant Workmen

Interstate workmen's mobility is an essential and dynamic feature of India's labor environment. This research gives a succinct review of critical concerns concerning interstate migrant workers. Investigates the reasons for immigration, its job sectors, obstacles, legal safeguards, and contemporary governmental efforts. This study expands on previous research that highlights the complexities and vulnerabilities of this critical workforce. Rural poverty, restricted economic possibilities in their native country, and the promise of higher earnings and living circumstances in destination locations all encourage migrant workers in India. Construction, agriculture, industry, services, and the informal economy are all examples of these. These workers, however, suffer a number of obstacles, including exploitation, poor earnings, job instability, insufficient living conditions, and restricted access to basic services. Despite legislative safeguards such as the Interstate Migrant Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Work) Act of 1979, enforcement was patchy, and many workers were uninformed of their rights. This analysis emphasizes the need to collect reliable data and do research to influence policy choices and enhance the lives of interstate migrant workers.

Between Policy and Lived Realities: Situating the Experiences of Interstate Migrant Workers in Kerala

Kerala has a long history of emigration and immigration of migrant workers, especially to the Gulf countries, leading to labour shortages filled by migrants from other states in the country seeking higher wages and better opportunities. Around 3.4 million interstate migrants work in Kerala's construction, manufacturing, agriculture and other sectors. Migrants have achieved partial integration into Kerala society by learning Malayalam to foster better communication, marrying locals in some cases, and adding North Indian cuisine and culture to the local landscape. However, they also face discrimination and exploitation at times. Despite Kerala's progressive policies for migrant welfare like housing, insurance, education and language support schemes, many migrants are unaware or unable to access benefits. Migrants still face hardships including unfair wages, poor living conditions, lack of healthcare, and have protested against rights violations. More inclusive, practical policies addressing migrants' realities and upholding their rights are needed. While Kerala governments have taken proactive and progressive measures, policy and migrants' lived realities remain disconnected, undermining their wellbeing. Bridging this disconnect by making policy consultative, rights-based and grounded in migrants' needs is essential for their sustainable welfare and dignity. The inclusive development of migrants as co-citizens with equitable rights is contingent on the state reconciling policy and ground realities.

Working and Living Conditions of Interstate Migrant Workers during Pre- and Post-COVID-19

Working and Living Conditions of Interstate Migrant Workers during Pre- and Post-COVID-19

Work conditions of interstate migrant workers in India: A critical realist exploration

AbstractThe COVID‐19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns were flashpoints that exposed the vulnerabilities of low‐skilled interstate migrants that have persisted for years across the globe and demanded a critical examination of their work experiences and conditions. Unlike migrants who cross national borders for employment and economic reasons, internal migrants migrate within the country in search of better livelihood options. However, while the problems of low‐skilled immigrants who cross national borders attract research attention, the experiences of internal migrants have not been adequately researched. Using critical realism as a framework, we investigated the precarious working conditions of one of India's most vulnerable groups of workers—interstate migrant workers. Our findings showed that, despite short‐term positive outcomes, interstate migration does not guarantee freedom from poverty, precarity, or powerlessness. The conspicuous absence of formal opportunities to develop their potential reiterates their status as a marginalized, forgotten, and exploited group of workers, also neglected by human resource development (HRD) researchers. HRD has a critical role to play in the short term by providing skill training and in the long term by advocating for policy changes to ensure the well‐being and empowerment of migrant workers.

Socio-Economical Status of Inter-State Migrant Workers in Tamil Nadu

Migration is an integral part of human history. It is world -wide phenomenon that affects the place of origin and destination of migrants. Migration has been understood as temporary or permanent shifting of place of labour from one region to another region, from one country to another country in a particular period of time. Migration has a number of socio-economic, cultural, political and demographic impacts on the lives of the migrant workers. There are many types of migration prevailing in India and elsewhere in the recent past, the inter-state migration has been most prevalent in the most of the Indian states. It is worthwhile to note here, the Inter-state migration poses a variety of challenges to state, for instance the state and centre government unable to keep record of data on the movement of migrant labour from one state to another state(s) or government at central and state level facing difficulties to assess their socio-economic abilities. This paper will explore the reasons for such migration, identify the socio-economic status of inter-state migrant workers and trying to frame suitable policy to enhance the livelihood of the migrant workers.

Socioeconomic Conditions of Migrants and Non-Migrants in Haryana

Purpose : Internal migration is considered an essential factor that significantly affects the origin and destination areas in varying degrees depending upon the employment situation in the destination region and the characteristics of migrants themselves. Haryana has the highest per-capita income among the major states in India and witnessed increased mobility over the years due to its advanced agricultural base, highly developed industrial sector, and proximity to the National Capital Region. Therefore, the present study examined the socioeconomic conditions of migrants and non-migrants in Haryana. Methodology : The study is based on secondary as well as primary data. The survey was conducted in four districts randomly selected in the state. A total of 509 households were surveyed from June 2021–February 2022. A detailed questionnaire was used to collect information about the socioeconomic conditions of the migrants and non-migrants. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques. Findings : The results suggested that most migrants were male heads of households who moved for work/employment to provide better living conditions. There were wide variations among inter-state and intra-state migrants. The level of education was significantly lower among inter-state migrants compared to non-migrants and intra-state migrants. Most inter-state migrants’ heads of households were illiterate or literate up to the middle, employed as daily wage casual laborers working in the informal sector, and living in precarious conditions. Such workers generally suffered from low earnings, lack of stability, and durability of employment. The average monthly household income and expenditure of the inter-state migrant household were lower than that of the non-migrants. The reason for low per capita household consumption among inter-state migrant families was that some portion of their relatively low income was also repatriated to the point of origin. Practical Implications : The findings highlighted that inter-state migration plays an important role in developing the state’s economy by providing cheap and flexible labor ready to take up any work. Originality : This is the only study that attempted to examine the socioeconomic conditions of migrants in various districts of Haryana and their comparison with non-migrants.

PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND HEALTH RELATED ISSUES FACED BY LABOR MIGRANTS IN KERALA DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The life of migrant workers in a host state has been a serious issue all the time. This paper tries to identify different psycho-social and health related issues faced by labour migrants in Kerala and how does these issues become vulnerable during pandemic. For this, the researcher’s learnings from empirics have been well utilized to evolve the concept and arrive at conclusion. Self-observation of the various psychosocial and health related issues faced by migrant workers in pandemic period supported by document analysis from data derived from articles, journals and news reports has been used for a comprehensive analysis. The most significant findings are the psycho-social issues, which include a high level of anxiety, tension, and dread as a result of disease-related worries. But to certain extent Kerala was the only one Indian state which could provide maximum support for migrant workers to overcome the effect of Covid- 19. But there are negative impacts reflected while implementing the supportive measures to these interstate migrants because of the lack of national level inclusion. A reflective learning from this analysis is that a comprehensive legislative framework is required to accommodate the diverse health and welfare demands of interstate migrant workers.

Impact of Covid-19 on Livelihood and Health Experiences of Migrant Labourers in Kerala, India

Covid-19 is the most consequential crisis in our memory and has affected everyone irrespective of class, caste, gender and ethnicity. The pandemic also exacerbated pre-existing inequalities, and those who were marginalised took the brunt of the unprecedented crisis. Inter-State Migrant Workers was one such community who were at the intersections of marginalisation. Mostly they belong to economically poor Scheduled Caste/Tribe and Backward Communities. Most of them are agriculture labour, and often due to poor rains and unemployment they migrate to other states for better employment and wage. This essay explores the confluence of elements that helped Kerala to manage the Covid-19 pandemic during the first wave, March to May 2020. The study adopted mixed method, about 132 migrant workers were interviewed using a structured schedule and 10 case studies were collected. The study finds that a majority, 92 per cent are SC/ST/OBC, education level less than high school and economically very poor. The study examined the measures taken by the government to address the crisis and how it helped to address the need and concerns of the migrant workers. It also captured the life, livelihood, healthcare utilisation and overall experience of interstate Dalit migrant workers who reside in Kerala.

Socio Economic Conditions of the Interstate Migrant workers in Kozhikode District of Kerala

Socio Economic Conditions of the Interstate Migrant workers in Kozhikode District of Kerala

Internal migration in India: Trends, relationship with MGNREGA and policies

People do migrate from one place to another for various socio economic or non-economic reasons. Census 2011 found 450 million people in India are migrants, a sharp increase of 45% from the previous census. The government of India launched MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in 2005 to arrest out migration of unskilled landless labor force from the rural areas to urban areas by ensuring them 100 days of wage employment within their own areas. This paper actually reviews the trends and characters of internal migration in India and found that the migration is intrastate in nature and marriage is still the key reason behind it. MGNREGA couldn’t become an alternative of traditional migration from rural to urban areas in India till now. While comparing among Indian states regarding their policies towards migrants by using Interstate Migrant Policy Index (IMPEX) score of 2019, this paper found Kerala in the top of the list followed by Goa and Rajasthan.

Women’s Body Bonded in Labour and Violence

On 10 February 2021, a rape case of about a 22-year-old tribal woman worker from the district of Balangir was reported in the state of Telangana. The migrant woman worker was working in a brick kiln manufacturing unit and was gang raped by the brick kilns owners in Gourreddipeta in Peddapalli district. The case highlights the subjectivity of women and everyday forms of violence faced by women workers including sexual harassment and rape. It focuses on the intersectionality of vulnerability of class, ethnicity and gender issues. The article raises the myth of abolition of the bonded labour. It furthermore portrays the violation of various other acts such as the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

Issues of Internal Migration in India: An Overview

Migration arises due to socio-economic, political reasons. It is the movement of individuals for better opportunities and growth in terms of economic strength, access to medical facilities, education, or political stability. Migrant workers are widespread across the country and often engage themselves in the informal sector due to their weak education background and economic backwardness. These informal sector workers are engaged in works of low-paying or perilous jobs in crucial sectors in urban areas like the manufacturing industries, construction, hotel industry, textiles, transportation, domestic workers, etc. According to the Economic Survey of India,2017, India's inter-state migration during 2011-16 was about 9 million annually and as per the Census2011 report, the internal migrants(including intra and interstate migrants) was around 139 million. This paper is an attempt to present an overview about migration, issues of Internal migration, IMPEX as a tool to understand the inter-state migrant policies and the way ahead for migrant workers to augment in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals designed by the United Nations.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON INTER-STATE MIGRANT WORKERS IN INDIA

IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON INTER-STATE MIGRANT WORKERS IN INDIA