Lockdown woes: Migrant workers at sea in Kerala

KOCHI: Though there was no mass return to home states unlike last year’s lockdown, a large number of them, especially those employed by hotels, restaurants, shops and fishing sector, were rendered jobless. And families of many of them in their home states are on the verge of poverty  

Muhammad Iqbal, 26, came to Kerala from his hometown of Allahabad (Prayagraj now) in Uttar Pradesh in 2018 with hopes of earning money to support his family which was on the verge of  poverty. On Thursday when the state introduced the partial unlock, he was standing among hundreds of others at busy Kaloor Junction in Kochi waiting for someone to hire him for daily wage work. He stood there from 6.30am to 9.30am, but none offered him work.

“I had worked as a barber in Palakkad and Aluva before moving to Kochi last year. As salons remained closed for over a month, I became jobless. I survived on my meagre savings for one month, but could not send any money home. Recently, the salon owner said he was shutting down due to financial issues. Now, I have to look for a new job,” said a worried Iqbal.

As per the studies by various agencies, the estimated 30 lakh migrant workers are key drivers of the economy in Kerala. With the lockdown going on for over a month after similar curbs last year, migrant workers have been hit badly. The situation is worse for footloose migrant labourers. According to Binoy Peter, executive director of Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), unlike last year, the impact of the recent lockdown on migrant workers was different in each sector. As some industries and construction activities were permitted, there was no huge panic return to their home states this year.

“Taking a lesson from last year’s lockdown, a majority of migrant workers stayed back in hope of finding some work. However, those employed by hotels, restaurants, shops and workshops have been jobless for over a month. The worst affected are people working in the fishing sector,” Peter said. The annual estimated remittances from Kerala by migrant workers to their home states amount to `25,000 crore. According to Peter, CMID carried out a study in villages of Odisha on the remittances from other states including Kerala recently. The study revealed that over 60 per cent of families face severe poverty as remittances dropped following the second wave of Covid. 

“The same will be the situation in villages of West Bengal and Assam from where people in large numbers migrate to other states for work. Even in Kerala, businesses will have an impact if there is no money with migrant workers. In a place like Perumbavoor, shops get business mostly from migrant workers,” he said. However, experts like Peter also commended the welfare measures taken by the Kerala government. A top labour department official said over one lakh ration kits were distributed among migrant workers in the state. “Apart from ration kits, owners of small and medium enterprises also chipped in. Awareness programmes, especially through the helpline which communicated with migrant workers in their languages, succeeded in addressing their concerns,” she said.

M M Mujeeb Rahman, president of Sawmill Owners and Plywood Manufacturers Association (SOPMA), fears that crisis days are ahead for the timber industry which may also hurt migrants. “The sector, especially plywood manufacture, is linked with the construction sector. As in Kerala, Covid has given a rude jolt to the construction sector in states like Karnataka and Maharashtra. We want the government to announce relief measures to tide over the crisis,” he said.Though Kerala depends on the workforce from other states, the vaccination of migrant workers is going on at a snail’s pace. 

“Multiple issues have contributed to this. First, there is a misconception among migrant workers about vaccination that it will affect their health in future. Similarly, several of them don’t know how to book slots for vaccination. They are also not keen to visit hospitals as a working day will be lost,” Peter said.
 The labour department official said, “We are coordinating with the health department to speed up vaccination among migrant workers. As they live in the densely populated housing facilities, there is a higher risk of Covid transmission.”