After exodus, factory owners send cars, air tickets to bring back workers

Gurgaon: With markets, hotels and offices slowly restarting after a long gap, several industrialists facing a shortage of workers due to the migrant exodus are now bringing back employees, who had gone home, in flights and private vehicles.
Anik Jain, who runs a food processing unit called SS Food Products in Manesar, brought back five of his workers from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on May 30. “We booked Air India flights for two of our workers who were in Bikaner, and we got three others back from Uttar Pradesh in a taxi,” said Jain.
He added that even during the lockdown, demand for food products such as custard powders and baking mix soared, and he needed the workers to tap into it and put his products on the shelves.
Prem Singh, who is a plant supervisor for the company, was one of the two employees who was flown back from Bikaner. In the last week of March, amid the uncertainty, he had made the long journey back home from Manesar, mostly on foot. Although he was being paid by the company, he wanted to be with his family when the country was just starting to feel the heat of the pandemic.
Talking to TOI, he said that while he was worried about coming back, he was also very happy that his employer had asked him to return. “Our families were reluctant to let us come. They were worried we would contract the disease. But we had to come in order to earn a livelihood. Our company got our check-ups done and also provided us with accommodation,” said Singh. The other worker who came with him is a helper at the manufacturing unit.
Similarly, Vrijesh Agarwal, who runs Ammri Interiors in Gurgaon, got about 10 workers back from districts in Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow and Sultanpur, on May 29. “We were having trouble fulfilling the demand, and so, we spoke to the state industries department. They issued us a pass and we sent cabs from here to pick the workers up and bring them back,” said Agarwal. He added that they are about to bring back 20 more employees in the coming weeks.
The workers went through medical check-ups and were given a day’s rest before they resumed work. Shashi Kumar is one of the carpenters who came back from Unnao. He has worked with the factory for nine years. “I have been making sofas for them for the past nine years. But when the lockdown was announced, we walked back home. Our families were worried when we were called back, but we had to come back to earn money,” said Kumar.
Like Jain and Agarwal, many other manufacturers had to ferry back their labourers, because even if the workers were willing to return, they were unable to find a suitable mode of transport. “We have called back three of our workers from Tundla in a cab as our production was impacted,” said Gaurav Bansal, who owns Bharti Metals Finishers.
Sources said that some industries are also in talks with labour contractors to bring back the workers via trains.
Besides industries, developers are also facing a shortage of workers and several commercial and residential projects have been delayed as a result of the exodus. “We have asked the state government to make some arrangements for bringing the workers back. However, in the current circumstances, we aren’t sure if the government will do so,” said Praveen Jain, managing director, Tulip Group, president, Naredco, Haryana.