Logout
Welcome
Edit News Article
Title
*
Select Subject
Working Conditions
Wages
Construction workers
Bonded labourers
Welfare schemes
Social security
Unorganised sector workers
Minority communities
Id cards for migrant workers
Trafficking
Slum dwellers
Seasonal workers
Contract system of labour
Employment
Child labour
Children of migrant workers
Trade union
Migrants Crisis
Demonetisation
None
Description
Kerala, which depends on money repatriated by its people working outside the State for almost every need, is planning to formulate legislation to control the inflow of migrant workers from other states and to keep tab on migrants working in the State. However, experts in the field say that such a law is unlikely to achieve its goal in the peculiar migrant labour situation of Kerala. A draft of the legislation, which intends to make labour cards issued by the Department of Labour mandatory for migrant workers, has already been prepared, according to sources. The main reason behind the move for such a law is the chaos prevailing in the sector and the exploitation faced by the migrant workers, it is said.
The draft legislation, prepared by the office of the Labour Commissioner, has been submitted to the Government, according to sources in the Department of Labour. The draft is currently being scrutinized by the Law Department. The State Cabinet is likely to implement the law first in the form of an Ordinance most probably to be promulgated within six months.
It is illegal to engage migrants without labour cards in jobs in a particular state as per the provisions of the Central Inter-State Migrant Workers Act but a vast majority of migrants from other states in Kerala have not registered with the Labour Department. A new law is now being planned because of the confusion in the sector due to the lack of clear guidelines. As per the proposed legislation, the labour cards are to be issued by the Deputy Director, Labour. The card will be issued to a migrant worker upon submission of an application along with clear photo-bearing identity proof, two photographs and Rs 20 as fees. The application should carry the name of the employer. The proposed law will render illegal the engaging of migrant workers without registration and labour card in any job. The employer too will be required to keep a copy of the labour card issued to the particular migrant worker, who would be able to work anywhere in Kerala for a particular period, according to sources. However, experts in migration studies and labour laws are of the opinion that such a law is unlikely to be practical in Kerala where the migrant labour situation is far different from those existing in other states in the country and abroad. “In Kerala, the migrant labour situation is so complicated that even tracking such a worker is a complicated matter,” said a senior lawyer. The Government of Kerala has been trying to persuade the migrant workers to register themselves with the Labour Department for the past several months but the efforts have so far not been successful. Only 28,000 of the 14 lakh (official figure) migrant workers in Kerala have so far taken registration. Informal data show that Kerala has over 25 lakh migrant workers, mostly from Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. A large majority of these people are employed in unorganized sectors and have come to Kerala on their own without the help of formal agents. “Several of these unskilled workers are engaged in jobs like cleaning in cheap restaurants, street-side vending for commission, coconut tree-climbing and log-splitting at rural Kerala houses, etc. How do you expect them to come forward and register? Also, they may not come under any category the law can probably speak of,” said a senior lawyer of the Kerala High Court.
Keywords
Kerala, State, legislation, control inflow, migrant workers, Department of Labour, migrant workers, exploitation
Upload Image
(only .gif or .jpeg files or .x-png files. Max upload size is 20MB)
Source
Display in both Policy and News
No
Yes
Enter Video url/Embed Code :
Url
Embedded Code
External Link URL
Status
Active
Inactive
Show On Home Page
Yes
No