Central survey of migrant workers called off in Kerala

Central survey of migrant workers called off in Kerala
The Kerala Department of Labour and Skills does not have any data on the number of migrant workers living and working in Kerala. Representative image/PTI

Thiruvananthapuram: A Central government-sponsored nationwide survey to collate details of migrant workers in States was called off in Kerala due to various reasons.

The All-India Survey of Migrant Workers was initiated six months ago. The enumerators reportedly returned without completing the survey after they faced hurdles in several districts.

The State Department of Labour and Skills, however, said it was not aware of such a survey.

Difficulty in locating the camps of guest workers, issues in the agency responsible for the survey over wages of the enumerators, and disruptions in the information technology mechanism have been pointed out as the reasons for halting the survey.

The study, commissioned by the Labour Bureau under the Central Labour Department, primarily focused on those who had lost jobs due to COVID-19. The Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL), a Government of India enterprise, supervised the survey.

A detailed questionnaire was prepared for the survey. The questions included whether guest workers were forced to return to their home States after the outbreak of the pandemic, their living conditions and financial status, access to essential goods, aid received from Central and State governments, and the amount they spent on clothes and other items.

Kerala has no data on migrant worker population

The Kerala Department of Labour and Skills does not have any data on the number of migrant workers living and working in Kerala.

Though the department had made a joint bid with the police a few years ago, it did not succeed. The move was to issue identity cards to such workers in areas where they were concentrated.

The previous government had launched a free insurance scheme, a first in the country, for migrant workers. As many as 5.2 lakh workers who hailed from outside Kerala had then registered for the scheme, Aawaz.

According to official statistics, as many as 3.5 lakh migrant workers had left Kerala due to COVID-19. The government, however, has no data on how many of them had returned.

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