Second Master plan ignores migrant workers: study

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

More than three lakh poor migrant families from other states and districts migrate to Kanchipuram, Tiruvallur and Chennai Suburbs in search of basic livelihood and are engaged in the construction activities, according to a study.

The study, which was conducted by Unorganised Workers Federation as part of the nationwide study, highlighted that the Second Master Plan of Chennai has ignored the existence, role and the needs of labourers in the unorganized sector.

It envisages the displacement of 50,000 labourers as it does not recognize their role in building, servicing, construction and other sectors, says All India Additional secretary of Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangh Geetha Ramakrishnan.

The study highlights that infrastructural needs such as roads, transport facilities, electricity are planned mainly for the affluent sections while the labour populations are invisible and their needs including the need to live near places of work ignored.

Geetha says the migrants to the city are from Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. “From Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, they migrate as families. They are subjected to economic and physical exploitation of the employers, and no labour laws are adhered to,” she says quoting the study.

She says the inter state migrant labour is a new system of bondage. “The families are exploited with women and children facing and advances taken by quite a number, wages much less than minimum wages, no freedom of movement and no interaction with local workers are important aspects. In fact, they face discrimination as linguistic minority,” she adds.

The study also highlights that Inter State Migrant Workers Act and Minimum Wages Act are not implemented. “Whether these labourers are interstate migrant workers is a basic issue since the contractors are not licensed in their home state. So an amendment in the Act is required so that the statement of the Inter State Migrant workers is adequate for declaration as migrant workers,” she adds.