There are over 450 million internal migrants in India today.

 

Daily Wage Worker Platform in collaboration with Jindal Global University and prominent Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) surveyed 8000 migrant workers from September 2020 - February 2021, spanning across states of Bihar, Odisha, and Maharashtra in order to understand the plight of migrant workers during the lockdowns and in 2021. It was found that almost 75% of the surveyed workers did not have any source of income after the lockdown and almost 45% reported difficulty due to food shortages. 31% still have no access to basic healthcare. Millions of migrants lack access to government welfare schemes with little awareness about their rights or access to legal aid.

 

To mitigate the distress and support the migrants through an inclusive recovery process, it is important to implement policies that take into account the demands and needs of these workers hardest hit by the pandemic. Addressing data gaps within the system so that workers are documented and identified for transfers and benefits, ensuring each worker has proper employment documentation, skill training and increasing legal awareness among workers should be some key policy goals. 

 

As the Government works towards providing these benefits, an innovative approach by the Rozgaar Sahayata Manch aims to address the root causes of the current crisis through the provision of an integrated package of services including data collection, job placements, skill development, access to government schemes and legal awareness. These services will be provided to migrant workers through a consortium of NGOs, Industry and Government partners across different states.