Mobilizing ‘footloose’ labourers to secure their rights

Migrant workers continue to be prone to exploitation and discrimination, but unionizing a transient workforce pose unique challenges

Vidhya CK

Pic credit: Wikimedia Commons

India is home to approximately 140 million internal migrant workers, many of whom are daily-wage labourers criss-crossing states in search of unskilled or semi-skilled employment. Migrant workers are about 28.3% of the country’s workforce, according to the National Sample Survey-2007-08, and around 37% of the national population as per the 2011 Census; but they remain out of the ambit of rights and prone to discrimination and exploitation. Despite the heavy reliance on migrant labourers across the country, attempts to organize them have proven to be challenging. The nature of their employment calls for innovative models of mobilization. 

Labour unions struggle to organize migrant workers largely due to the challenge posed by circular migration. Unlike bringing together workers in a stable factory environment, mobilizing a transient workforce presents unique obstacles. Innovative models such as the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), where members belong to an umbrella organization regardless of their location and have portable memberships, hold potential when it comes to organizing migrant workers.

But a rare attempt to unionize migrant workers was made in 2013 when the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) affiliated to the Communist Party of India, formed the National Migrant Workers Union (NMWU) in Ernakulam district of Kerala. The union, which primarily has a presence in Kerala and is looking to expand in other states, addresses critical concerns such as exploitation by contractors and lack of legal protections for migrant workers.

THE KERALA FOCUS

With an estimated 3.5 million interstate migrant workers, Kerala is heavily dependent on their labour to sustain its economy. The state offers some of the highest wages in the country for migrant labourers in the unorganized sector, but that does not protect them from systemic discrimination and exploitation like non-payment of minimum wages, poor working conditions, inadequate living arrangements, and limited access to healthcare. Migrant workers, especially in informal sectors, continue to be denied certain rights available to local workers, including accident claims and insurance benefits.

Despite welfare programs that aid individual achievements of migrant workers, experts engaged in the field observed that the state’s response to any protests by them is to portray them as a threat.  Rather than effectively addressing the core issues faced by migrant workers, the state’s success is often measured by the logistical feat of facilitating the return of a deceased worker’s body home, experts said.

The NMWU began its membership drive in 2009 under the leadership of founder Bobby Thomas, a lawyer. But the union was officially set up in 2013.

The union has helped workers obtain ration cards and enrol children in schools, said PK Joshi, secretary, Ernakulam district, NMWU. A key challenge faced by migrant workers is exploitation by employers, particularly unpaid wages. Workers promised annual wages were denied payment when they returned home, he noted. Hotel employers often used criminal cases as a tactic to avoid paying wages. There is also a disparity in wages between a migrant and a local worker, Joshi added. 

Among the key interventions made by the union, said Binu Bose, general secretary, NMWU, was to secure payment withheld by middle contractors for migrant workers engaged in metro construction. Workers at the Maradu flats in Ernakulam, which were subsequently demolished following a Supreme Court order for violating the Coastal Regulation Zone rules, had nearly Rs 1.75 lakh in unpaid wages and the union intervened to get it paid, added Joshi. They also assist workers through pregnancies by connecting them to ASHA workers. 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the union supported the state in its efforts to organise migrant workers and ensure their safe return home. For those stranded in the state without work, the union provided food, vaccines and other necessary material, claimed Bose. 

It has stepped in to help migrant workers incarcerated in local jails. 

Its important area of engagement includes aiding migrant children, especially those from street vendor families, gain admission to schools. When two workers died in a construction accident in Aluva near Kochi, the union ensured their bodies were flown back to their families and also provided Rs 1 lakh in compensation, said Joshi.

Bringing migrant workers together

Despite work being done, organizing migrant workers continues to be a challenge. The NMWU officer bearers observed that while the union charges a nominal Rs 20 monthly fee for membership, workers often do not pay, and approach the union only when a problem arises. They often disappear after the issue is resolved, making consistent engagement difficult, they added.

Rajendra Naik, a migrant worker from Odisha, has been a part of the AITUC since 2015. “I was involved in the control room at the collectorate in Ernakulam district during the pandemic, trying to reach as many people as possible,” Naik said and claimed that NMWU memberships increased after Covid-19 as awareness grew about the necessity of an organized structure for migrant workers. “We’ve been actively going to workers, encouraging membership, and addressing labour issues by taking them to the Labour Department,” he said. The NMWU currently has more than 2,000 members, according to Joshi. 

AT ODDS

However, trade unions and migrant workers often find themselves at odds. For instance, at the Vallarpadam terminal project (an International Container Transshipment Terminal) in Kochi, multinational companies negotiated job quotas with the trade unions as they are powerful in Kerala, to avoid disruptions to operations.

The trade unions, on the other hand, assigned jobs to migrant workers at wages lower than those offered to local Malayali workers, a practice known as “rent-seeking,” according to Praveena Kodoth, professor at the Centre for Development Studies in Thiruvananthapuram. Kodoth, who specializes in gender and migration, observed that small employers in Kochi’s peripheral areas such as Perumbavoor often become the targets of trade unions.

Perumbavoor, home to a large migrant workforce engaged in wood work and tile manufacturers, often witnesses direct engagement between migrant workers and employers. Trade unions, however, question the measures taken by employers to protect workers. “They are called ‘bourgeoisie’ and trade unions raise the issue of creches at the worksite. Women, who bring children to work, sometimes have a designated room for them to play in. However, when accidents occur as children wander off, trade unions intervene and make it a major issue. As a result, employers often request women not bring children to work. When small employers face too much pressure, they shut down their businesses,” said Kodoth.

She emphasized that trade unions should instead fight for welfare schemes. Migrant workers, on the other hand, remain disorganized and powerless to challenge the entrenched influence of trade unions.

“Nine out of 10 migrants do not engage with trade unions. For the unions, migrant workers as entities lack social or political capital. The sedentary bias shown by trade unions is a major factor in their exclusion,” said Dr. Benoy Peter, executive director, Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development.

Mainstream trade unions did not initially recognize SEWA and it was only in the early 2000s that they were officially acknowledged as a union, pointed out Kodoth. “Trade unions began recognizing other unions only when the former’s bargaining power with the capital started to decline, especially as informality in the workforce grew,” she said. 

While factories are strict workplaces, informal work lacks a fixed location and the issue of ‘stationality’ comes into play, Kodoth added. 

As mainstream trade unions remain passive, the simultaneous rise of sectoral trade unions is taking place. 

THE MANY CHALLENGES

Organizing and unionizing migrant workers in India present both opportunities and challenges. Advancements in digital infrastructure, for instance, have simplified the enrolment process; the Aadhaar card is a handy tool to organize workers nationwide. 

Mythri Prasad-Aleyamma, a researcher engaged in studying migrant workers, pointed out that while organizing migrant workers is not inherently difficult as most trade unions have a national presence, there is a noticeable lack of initiative from them to do so. “For instance, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) operates in regions like Bengal; yet, migrant workers from these areas are not always registered or represented,” said Aleyamma.

The reluctance, she added, can be owing to multiple factors, including the need to share resources with migrant workers. “Kerala also sends migrant workers to other states. But their issues are mostly ignored as they are mostly from middle- class families,” Aleyamma pointed out. 

Peter, however, observed that forming separate unions for migrant workers will limit their bargaining agency. “It is not the ideal solution. Migrant workers need to be integrated into existing unions. For instance, all labourers working in the construction sector should be part of trade unions, rather than forming a separate one for migrants.”

Trade unions, he noted, have more potential than NGOs to organize and advocate for the rights of migrant workers. 

Though the tools for organizing migrant workers are readily available, the success of the effort hinges on the willingness of trade unions to adapt and extend their support to the diverse and mobile workforce. The unique challenges faced by migrant workers can be addressed only through concerted efforts to overcome institutional reluctance and ensuring equitable representation and support.

Trade unions are in a unique position to address the issues as they have a presence at both the source and destination regions a migrant worker operates from, experts stressed. 

Edited by P Anima

Vidhya Ck is an independent journalist based in Kochi.