Migrant labourers in Kerala

Migration has been a livelihood strategy for millions of rural poor in India for decades. Low wages, limited and irregular employment opportunities, failed crops, family debts and drought have been some of the major reasons that have pushed many people to leave their homes in search of jobs in Kerala too. Footloose labourers from Tamil Nadu have been lamenting about the lack of rains in their native place due to which agriculture is in a crisis. Workers from Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh and those from northern Karnataka were severely hit by drought. The major source areas from where workers come to Kerala are known for floods, cyclones as well as drought. In addition to these typical reasons, several workers from the eastern and northeastern states of India have cited political instability, caste oppressions and communal violence in their native places as reasons for migration. The enforcement of Foreigners Act by the current government in Assam has accentuated the movement of undocumented migrants from Bangladesh in Assam to Kerala.[2]

Kerala offers the best wage rates in the country in the unorganised sector- almost double the national average in many categories. In the absence of the availability of native labour due to the demographic advancement and the resultant changes in the age structure of the population, the state is almost completely dependent on migrant labour. The high wage rates and the sustainable job opportunities have made Kerala one of the most sought after destinations in the country.Political stability, the comparatively peaceful social environment, and the relatively less discriminatory treatment meted out to migrants compared to many other potential destinations, also serve as additional pull factors. The Muslim and Christian migrants feel quite comfortable in the state compared to other parts of India which is a significant reason for Kerala being chosen as their work destination. Hindi and Odiya services are offered for the Christian migrants in select areas in Kerala, and Muslim labourers tend to live in areas with significant presence of native Muslim community. Some of the migrants who have come to Kerala with their families cited the availability of better educational and health facilities in Kerala as an additional impetus for sticking on here.[2]

Kerala currently offers the highest wages not only in India but also among the SAARC Countries. The high minimum wages with comparatively better living conditions in Kerala, even in villages, are often what motivates migrant workers, as the wages are often double or even more than three times than wages obtained in other major cities in India, which also have higher living costs.[16] This is often attributed to the socialist-leaning Kerala model of development and is a key attraction to the migrant labourers.[17] For agricultural work like ploughing and tilling, the average daily wage in Kerala was more than Rs 713, followed by Tamil Nadu at Rs 515. The lowest wage being paid in the country was Rs 187. In states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha, workers are usually paid wages of around 200 rupees, but which can be as low as 90 rupees. The wages for non-agricultural work is also much higher in Kerala. Carpenters and plumbers get wages which are two times the national wage average for their profession. The data shows that while the average wage ranges are between Rs 200 and Rs 300 for different professions in states across the country, employers in Kerala do not pay below Rs 600 for any job.[18][19] It is even said that a migrant labourer from Bihar, who would get Rs 40 at his native place, makes a minimum of Rs 600 in Kerala.[20][21] However, Keralite workers are paid even higher amounts and so, most of the times the local residents prefer the migrant workers because of the comparatively cheaper labour and also because the migrants work harder than the locals. Even though the wages for labour are high, the cost of living in the state is the same or even lower than in many other parts of the country. Over 70 per cent of them earn wages above Rs.300 per day.

However, according to the last NSSO Survey (2011–2012), in the category of major states, Kerala has the highest unemployment rate (UR). Kerala's unemployment level is at 7.4%, while in other states it is below 4%. Even though the rate has declined over the years, 50 lakh (5 million) people are estimated to be unemployed in the state. The unemployment rate is lowest in Gujarat, at 0.5 per cent. However, Gujarat is a low-paying state on daily wages. Reading the two reports together, one can infer that while migrant labourers are attracted by the high daily wages, the natives are not opting for these jobs. Literacy and higher levels of education too has contributed to this attitude of considering some jobs as not respectable enough for a highly educated person.[18]

As per a study in 2013, the expatriate Malayali population earns over 75000 crore rupees annually. These high inward remittances have increased the demand of local labour. According to a study conducted by GIFT, the migrant labourers in kerala send their homes approximately 17500 crore rupees.[17] or an average of Rs 70,000 per person per year. These remittances are almost entirely sent home via bank services.

The Kerala government is considering the development of a Skill Development Institute for migrant workers.[22] It has already established Indian Institute of Infrastructure and Construction in Kollam city[23] and new centres of Kerala Academy of Skills Excellence (KASE) will be opened soon in other districts.

Although a large number of the children of migrant workers are enrolled in government schools, the state education department has opened schools for the children of migrant workers under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Region specific teaching curriculum has to be often adopted as the origin and languages of migrants always differ.[24]

Migrants are also taught reading and writing skills in Malayalam and Hindi through the state literacy mission.[3] Hamari Malayalam textbooks and Changathi are provided to the migrant labourers and more than 400 migrants registered for the first classes which were conducted in unlikely places like inside factories and auditoriums, anganwadis and union offices, libraries and shelters.[25]

Kerala is the first State in India to enact a social security scheme for the migrant workers and the State is the first to provide benefits to the job-seekers from outside with the Kerala migrant workers' welfare scheme set up in 2010.[26] The police has started audits of migrant workers in cities like Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram through which biometric details have been captured and ID cards issued.[27] In 2016, a new insurance scheme called Awas was launched to provide social security to the migrant workers and also to act as their database and registry as the crimes involving migrant workers are also rising along with the population.[28] The government has also begun to open safe and clean hostels for migrant workers titled 'apna ghar' to take care of their dismal accommodation.[29]

Kerala currently offers free health care for all the migrant workers [3] and is planning legislation to address the migrant labourers issue with "The Kerala Migrant Workers Social Security Bill".[30] The first official labour camp will also be opened for workers from the North and North eastern parts of the country in the Palakkad district which would accommodate about 1500 workers and camps will be established in all other districts in the next phase. The department also plans to start kiosks and call centres with people proficient in Hindi as staff to interact and understand the problems of the labourers. Migrant Suraksha Project is being implemented across the State under the aegis of the Kerala State Aids Control Society among migrant labourers since 2009 mainly to detect HIV+ cases among them and to create awareness and health cards also have been issued to the labourers.[31] Many private foundations have their own 'migrant suraksha projects'and even free medical camps which aims to improve the life of migrants working in the state.[32] Exclusive grama sabhas or village councils are planned for the migrant labourers to identify their issues and find solutions.[33]

Source : Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation

[43]

Contrary to the popular perceptions that migration from Tamil Nadu has significantly reduced, a 2017 research reveals that Tamil Nadu continues to be one of the major sources of footloose labour in Kerala. Among the eight leading source states, Tamil Nadu, along with Assam, had the largest number of districts from where workers were found in Kerala. Migrants from 24 out of the 32 districts in Tamil Nadu worked across all the districts in Kerala. The migration was mostly to Thiruvananthapuram and also to Kollam and Palakkad, three cities that share border with Tamil Nadu. Both men and women came from Tamil Nadu. In a lot of cases, both husband and wife came for work leaving the children behind with other family members. Migrants from Colachel in Kanyakumari district, Rameswaram in Ramanathapuram, Cuddalore and Thoothukudi districts constituted the majority among the traditional migrant fishers from various states who worked on boats that operated from Kerala coast. The plantations in Idukki and Wayanad also engage workers from Tamil Nadu. In most towns in Kerala, workers from Tamil Nadu were available and stayed in rented facilities scattered in and around the city.[2]

Migrants from 17 districts in Karnataka worked in Kerala during 2016–2017. Migration from Karnataka to Kerala was mostly confined to the three districts of Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod which share borders with Karnataka A lot of workers from Karnataka came with their families that included small children. Kannadigas constituted the majority of the footloose labour in Kasaragod and Wayanad . Plantations in Wayanad and laterite mines in Kasaragod and Kannur engaged workers from Karnataka in significant numbers. Women from Karnataka also worked in the seafood sector in Alappuzha and in the apparel sector in Ernakulam district.[2]

Odisha is the first state beyond south India from where workers came to Kerala in significant numbers. Migrants from 22 districts of Odisha- Western Odisha, Coastal Odisha, Southern Odisha and Northern Odisha, regions which have been identified as having distinct migration patterns, were found working in Kerala.A lot of workers from Odisha belonged to Mayurbhanj, Malkangiri, Gajapati, Rayagada, Kandhamal and Sundargarh, districts in Odisha with more than half of the population belonging to tribal communities. There were also Christian families among the Odiya workers. Some of them had moved out of Odisha during or after the Kandhamal riots in 2008.Except in the seafood, apparel and construction sectors, migration was driven by social networks. Traditional fishers from coastal Odisha worked on boats that operated from various harbours in Kerala.Women and girls from Balangir, Malkangiri, Sundargarh, Kandhamal, Ganjam, Nabarangpur and Rayagada worked in the textile and apparel sector in Kerala. Odiya families were concentrated in and around Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district. An Odiya service is available on Sundays at a church in Perumbavoor, Ernakulam district. A nursery school for children of Odiya workers has been functioning on the premises of the Keenpuram industrial estate at South Vazhakkulam for several years now. A majority of the children were from Rayagada.[2]

Workers from more than two-thirds of the districts in Jharkhand were engaged in various jobs in Kerala. Many of these districts such as Khunti, Gumla, Lohardaga, Simdega, Pakur, Dumka, Latehar and West Singhbhum are concentration areas of tribal populations. Families from Jharkhand worked in several plantations in Idukki and Thrissur districts. A lot of them belonged to the Oraon tribe. The textile and apparel industry engaged workers, mainly women and girls, from Jharkhand.Migration from Jharkhand appears to be mostly organised labour mobilisation through a network of intermediaries. However, of late, network driven migration has become more prominent. The Dhanbad–Alappuzha Express is now one of the top ten most crowded trains in India according to a recent report.[2]

Workers from a majority of the districts in Bihar were found in Kerala. Migration from Bihar is predominantly driven by social networks; however, there is also organised labour movement to the construction industry. Large scale construction in Kerala depended heavily on workers from Bihar. Brick kilns in Wayanad, Kollam and Alappuzha also had workers, including families, from Bihar. Plantations in Idukki too had families from Bihar. Binanipuram in Ernakulam district is a residential pocket of migrant workers from Bihar.[2]

Workers from West Bengal constitute one of the largest proportions of the footloose labour in Kerala. They were available at the labour nakas in all the districts along with workers from Tamil Nadu. The minor construction sector had absorbed a lot of them.A large proportion of the migrants from West Bengal were Muslims. A mason who earned Rs 200 in Murshidabad got Rs 800 and above in Kerala.Families from West Bengal were clustered in various panchayats near Perumbavoor in Ernakulam district and Nelliyampathy in Palakkad district.[2]

Migration from Assam to Kerala started in the late nineties as the plywood industry in Assam collapsed in 1996. While the first wave of migrants from Assam constituted predominantly Bengali Muslims with Nagaon as the focal point, the latest wave of migrants includes Hindu and Christian men and women from most of the districts. Migrants from Assam came to work in the plywood industry in Perumbavoor first. Now the plywood sector in Perumbavoor as well as Valapattanam in Kannur engages workers from Assam. Workers from 24 districts in Assam were found working in Kerala during 2016–2017. Unlike Bengali Muslims from Assam who are found in large numbers across several districts in Kerala, single Hindu and Christian men from Lower Assam were found to be the majority in the laterite mining sector. Men from Assam, who never had any previous experience in fishing, worked as deck hands on fishing boats that operated from several harbours. Several migrants from Assam were also engaged as labourers, loading and unloading ice and fish, at various fish landing centres. Men and women from Assam also worked in the hospitality sector across the state. Assamese families were also found working in the plantation sector in Idukki and Wayanad.[2]

Migration from Uttar Pradesh was mainly from the Rohilkhand and Purvanchal regions in addition to Saharanpur.Migrants from 18 districts in Uttar Pradesh had been found working in Kerala. Primarily it was single men from Uttar Pradesh who had migrated to Kerala seeking work.There were men even aged 60 years and above working in the factories at Kanjikode. A lot of the street Pan Masala vendors in Kerala were also from Uttar Pradesh. Nellikuzhi and Binanipuram in Ernakulam district and Kanjikode in Palakkad were the major residential pockets of workers from Uttar Pradesh who had come with families. Although a few in numbers, there were also migrants from Uttar Pradesh who had come as labourers and had graduated as entrepreneurs.[2]

There is a large number of migrants from Bangladesh, Nepal, Maldives, Indonesia, kenya, Nigeria, Philippines and Sri Lanka among other countries especially in larger cities like Kochi, Kozikode and Thiruvananthapuram. The government is taking steps following the concern about public hygiene and the scare of insurgents and illegal migrants from Bangladesh finding their way into the state, many of whom apparently follow extremist causes.[21] These workers report Assam or West Bengal as their native states. Presence of men and women is documented in several districts. Trafficking of women from Bangladesh to Kerala was also documented by the police in Kozhikode and Palakkad districts. Settlers from Bangladesh without documents, on the Indian side, particularly from Assam, move to Kerala as the chances of being intercepted as a foreigner are much lesser in Kerala compared to Assam. Presence of Bangladeshi natives in several prisons and a mental hospital was reported. Although in Kerala Nepali men (Gurkhas) had been employed mostly as security personnel, migrants from Nepal are now available across several economic sectors in the state. Some of them even come here with families. The hospitality industry in Kerala engages men and women from Nepal. Women from Nepal work in malls as well as shops. Nepali men have also been found working in several industrial estates in the state. Unlike Bangladeshi citizens, citizens of Nepal do not require visa if they enter India directly from Nepal.[2]

Illegal migrants from Bangladesh have also been arrested in many cases where the migrants, who come under the pretext of being from West Bengal or Assam and as citizens of India. It is estimated that a large number of Bangladeshi illegal immigrants live in Kerala under the pretext of being from West Bengal[44] and the Kerala police has been finding it difficult to identify as they often mingle with migrants from other states and disappear into the crowd.[45] It is estimated that about 20 million (2 crore) citizens of Bangladesh have crossed into India illegally in the last two decades alone.[46] and had even led to events like Assam Movement. In Kerala, this migration happens due to the high wages and quality living conditions.

The majority of the migrant workers do not have any special skills, while the state's construction, hospitality and retail sectors among other areas demand a skilled work force. The unskilled migrant workers are unable to fill the skill gap. Skill development institutes have been proposed for setup in the state.[22] The poor enrollment of children from migrant families in schools and dipping literacy levels is also a concern in Kerala, which historically boasts the highest literacy rate in India.[47] While a significant number of children of migrant workers had been enrolled in schools across the districts, the number of migrant children not attending schools could also be substantial. Unlike couples from Tamil Nadu who mostly leave their children behind with other family members in their native places to ensure that they attend school, migrant families from most other states have come here with their children.[2]

Some of the most important issues facing migrant workers include low-quality and illegal housing, which often lacks basic facilities such as bathrooms and kitchens, long work days of up to 10 hours, and long work weeks of up to six or seven days. While migrants form a significant role in Kerala's prosperity, they do not receive much attention from the state government; this is especially important as they are usually not involved in unions and lack knowledge about their rights. Migrants are also often absent from government documents; contracts between migrants and their employers are usually informal and unofficial.[21]

A study conducted in 2013 by the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation for the Kerala government has recommended that the government take steps to improve their housing and living conditions. Registration on arrival is also proposed. The report also suggests that the migrant labourers be brought under the ambit of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana.

There have also been concerns about the working conditions and long working hours of migrant labourers; this issue came to the forefront in regard to the plywood industry in Perumbavoor.[48] The introduction of health cards was also proposed due to diseases being found in migrant workers; these were then eradicated by the state. Because of the introduction of new diseases a proposal to screen all the workers is being made under the "Safe Kerala" campaign.[49]

Kerala has the lowest proportion of homeless people in India.[50] Once a rare sight, begging on the streets is on the rise. There have also been reports of child trafficking on the rise with many street children in Kerala from other states. Although Kerala does not have major industries with scope for potential child labour, small-scale industries, particularly based in cottages and quarters, are stealthily engaging children.[51]

The rising crime rate, with many crimes being attributed to migrant workers, has made their acceptance into the local community harder.[52] Perumbavoor and its adjoining areas in the Ernakulam rural area, which features the largest concentration of migrant workers in the state, has earned a prominent place in the state crime map.[53] During the last five years, 1,770 cases were registered in the state in which migrants were accused. Drug trafficking, fake currency, robbery are the major crimes involving migrants, but there were brutal murder cases in which migrants were involved.[54] In an analysis, out of 38 cases of murder reported in Perumbavoor area which has one of the largest number of migrants in the state in the last 5 years, 32 had links to migrant labourers and such a trend is observed in other parts of the state as well with only a few arrests made as the accused often flee the state. 323 cases of crime are registered relating to migrant labour in the Ernakulam rural area alone in the last five years.[53] Kerala government has been trying to alleviate the fears of the local population in regard to this.[55]

Barely a month after the much publicized Jisha murder case, another migrant worker was accused of robbery and tied to a tree in Kottayam, which resulted in his death.[56] The murder of Nimisha, a college student has put the focus back on Perumbavoor, a migrant hub, two years after the 2016 Jisha murder case.[57][58][59]