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Migration
Migration

Migration

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What's Inside


The key findings of the study titled Voices of the Invisible Citizens II: One year of COVID-19 -- Are we seeing shifts in internal migration patterns in India? (released on 25th June, 2021), prepared by Migrants Resilience Collaborative (a Jan Sahas initiative) in collaboration with EdelGive Foundation and Global Development Incubator, are as follows (please click here to access): 

Methodology

• For the present study, a rapid desk research was conducted on policy and programmatic responses by various states and the central government that addressed internal migration/ welfare of migrant households in the past one year.  

• For primary data, the study has relied on two sources -- (a) Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) were conducted during first week of April 2021 in 6 states, where Migrants Resilience Collaborative reached out to 2,342 workers (target sample 175 - 250 respondents per district) to inform them of the changes migrants have noticed in their own communities regarding various aspects of migration and labour. The surveys were conducted in 3 destination states (Delhi/ NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad) and 7 source districts (Banda, Hazaribagh, Mahbubnagar, Tikamgarh) selected on basis of high-migration rate and on-ground presence of the organization; (b) Internal data on migrant workers from the Bundelkhand region (10 districts falling within Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh). To enable better comparison, Migrants Resilience Collaborative has used the data collected during two distinct 6-month periods – (1) September 2019 to March 2020, and (2) September 2020 to March 2021.

• Convenience sampling method was used to identify respondents for the survey, with the stipulation that 35 percent of respondents should be women.

Patterns of migration

• Three major points stand out in respect to broad level shifts in migration: Reporting of overall reduction in internal migration (with significant reduction in female labour migration and reduction in family migrating with the worker), reporting of an increase in shorter durations of migration cycles, and a strong preference for inter-state migration followed by intra-district migration (with female migration being high in intra-district migration). These shifts in patterns could be short-term in nature, however if read closely with the data point on lack of job opportunities at source, one observes a dismal state of affairs with potentially long-lasting adverse effects on migrant households.

What happened to migration?

• A year after the lockdown, migrant workers still prefer to stay back in villages. The Jan Sahas survey shows that in the past one year, 57 percent migrants believe that the rate of migration has decreased.

• A majority of the workers mentioned fear of contracting the virus (71 percent), fear of lockdowns (47 percent) and lack of jobs at their destination (54 percent). These responses are consistent with the Action Aid survey, where similar reasons were cited for the strong preference to stay back at the source.

• Only 8 percent (11 percent of women and 2 percent of men) of respondents reported that having found alternate employment at the source was the reason for decrease in migration, thus indicating the increasing distress of migrant households. 

• The survey conducted at the source locations at different periods in the past year shows a similar trend of unemployment too - either people have lost their jobs or now work for less hours than they used to before the pandemic. This could be indicators of worsening distress and poverty caused by disruption in migration and unemployment at the source.

• Almost 55 percent of respondents reported that people are now moving for shorter durations than before. Around 9.5 of respondents reported that people are now moving for longer durations than before. Female workers are more likely to mention that movement is for shorter durations in the past one year. 

Preference of destination: Where are they migrating for work?

• Majority of survey respondents both at destination and source mentioned inter-state migration as their preference (45 percent and 54 percent, respectively). Workers from ST and OBC categories had a strong preference to move within their districts, i.e., intra-district movement. Further, 33 percent respondents at the source reported that people were moving within their districts for work.

• Among the source districts, Bundelkhand districts of Banda (UP) and Tikamgarh (MP) showed negligible preference for intra-district movement (1 percent and 7 percent), and high preference for inter-state migration (94 percent and 77 percent). Possible reasons for interstate movement could be the historical socio-economic deprivation and agrarian crisis in the Bundelkhand region and ease of commute and proximity to Delhi.

• Both Hazaribagh in Jharkhand (75 percent) and Mahbubnagar in Telangana (86 percent) that had a higher number of workers from ST and OBC categories showed higher preference for intra-district movements. Possible reasons for this preference of moving within the district in Mahbubnagar could be the availability of agricultural labour work in nearby cotton farms. And in Hazaribagh, the sample size included a high number of Adivasi migrants who have been moving locally to find work for generations.

• Even though inter-state migration was reported as the most preferred by both women (44 percent) and men (53 percent), there was a clear gendered trend when it came to intra-district movement- 37 percent women reported people were moving within the district compared to 20 percent men. This trend calls for a deeper focus on rural-rural migration and short-distance migrations.

• Given that female migration is highest in rural-rural streams, a shift in narrative from that of rural-urban migration to metropolitan cities would also make visible women’s labour and mobility trends. Such a narrative-shift would also bring to light the gender wage gap and understand the stark contrast in wages male migrants receive and the paltry amounts women agricultural labourers receive as daily wages.

Female migration

• Delving deeper into the migration trend, the survey shows that women’s migration in particular has taken a hit in the last one year. Around 60 percent respondents reported that lesser number of women are migrating now compared to before the pandemic. Even though women’s migration has always been underestimated in the Census, NSSO and other macro-studies, various estimations from micro-studies points to the fact that women migrate in large numbers to sectors such as agriculture (in rural areas), construction, textiles, domestic work that engage considerable numbers of migrant women.

Dependents

• Another aspect the survey probed was whether dependents (family members who do not contribute to the family income) accompany migrant workers like they used to do previously. The decrease in migration of dependents could be understood as a strategy to reduce costs at the destination, and also should be read along with the fear of sudden lockdown and contracting viruses. Further, through the field experience of Migrants Resilience Collaborative, it has been observed that young men (less than 45 years old) were now migrating without their families, in higher numbers. Almost 43 percent of respondents reported that people are moving without their families in the past one year. 

• Workers from SC/ST category are 2.7 percentage points more likely to mention that they migrate with dependents than workers from other categories, and the difference in means is statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level (p-value= 0.060).

• Workers who continue to migrate are often landless and homeless at source, those without ration cards at source (who move as a family in order to minimize expenses of a split HH), elderly/ women with smaller children, women as helpers to husbands, etc. 

• Workers who are assured accommodation at the worksite also tend to move with their families.

• There is also a sectoral pattern when it comes to families migrating – in brick kilns, families continue to migrate as a unit, particularly owing to group recruitments, in comparison to construction and other sectors where recruitment is often on an individual basis.

Patterns of work

• Two-thirds of the respondents mentioned they find it hard to find jobs, and the majority of daily wage workers at labour chowks head back home without work. While wages have largely remained stagnant, the number of work days have significantly reduced, which inevitably leads to reduced income. In the past decade or more, one has witnessed a shift in recruitment patterns with seasonal migrants moving independent of contractors – however, with the pandemic and rampant unemployment, one has begun to see a further shift with an increase in migrants who move with contractors.

Ease of finding work

• Consistent with the reports on unemployment and lack of job opportunities, 73 percent of the respondents (75 percent of women; 72 percent of men) mentioned that it has become more difficult to find work at the destination compared to before the pandemic. Reports from labour chowks reveal that availability of work has plummeted post the lockdown, drastically shrinking the monthly earnings and workdays of migrant workers.

• Nearly 85-87 percent of workers who preferred to move intra-state and intra-district mentioned that finding work has become harder, demonstrating lack of employment in source states.

• Women are more likely to mention that it is harder to find jobs in comparison to men.

Recruitment pattern

• The policy discourse around migration for the past 10-15 years or more has been centered around the complicated, multi-layered and often malevolent recruitment practices by contractors from source regions. However, data provided by Migrants Resilience Collaborative from the past 3 years attests to a different story particularly for seasonal migrants in construction. A majority of them migrate independent of source contractors and their movement and employment is instead facilitated by their social circles or destination contractors.

• Around 91 percent of construction workers migrate independently. This shift in recruitment pattern is a significant opportunity for destination states, as they have control over the contractors who recruit workers from nakaas and community spaces.

• The 3-year long tracking system of Migrants Resilience Collaborative pertaining to employed construction workers indicates that there is a 16 percent increase in the use of contractors to find employment post-lockdown. It is important to note that since the 2020 lockdown and the employment crisis, there is a slow shift back to finding employment through destination or source contractors.

• There are regional differences in recruitment patterns: workers from West Bengal and other states where seasonal migration is less common, recruitment through source-based contractors or recruiters is higher.

• Almost 41 percent of respondents reported that there was no change in the mode of recruitment, 26 percent of respondents felt that more workers were migrating independently to find work, and 29 percent of respondents reported that people were now migrating with contractors from source.

Bondage situation

• More than a third of the respondents (37 percent) mentioned that incidence of bonded labour continues to be the same as before the pandemic, 28 percent of respondents mentioned that it has reduced while 14 percent of them reported that it has increased. Given the extent of unemployment and income-poverty, one should carefully read these signs of distress and constantly be agile to prevent incidence of bondage.

Situation of wages

• About nine out of 25 workers reported a decrease in wages. Nearly 7 out of 25 female respondents reported an increase in wages. 

• Nearly 40 percent of respondents reported that the wage rate continues to be the same as before the pandemic. In this instance, it is important to read this data point along with the decrease in livelihood opportunities (73 percent of respondents mentioned finding work has become harder). Even though wages might remain the same, they are working fewer days, which essentially translates to lesser income.

• Roughly 28 percent of female respondents as against 16 percent of male respondents mentioned that wages have increased.

• According to ILO, from 2010-2019, India’s labour productivity increased 5.5 percent annually on an average, while the growth in real minimum wage was 3.9 percent, implying denial of their fair entitlement to workers.

• Around 41 percent of female workers reported working overtime with no benefits is the norm.

• In the absence of institutional support, workers have developed few strategies of their own to protect themselves from wage theft such as taking up daily wage jobs so as to avoid getting cheated of lump sums and taking advance amounts from contractors before starting work in order to avoid getting cheated of the full amount.

Access to social security

• Compared to last year, about 88 percent of respondents seem to be aware of the schemes that were announced specifically for them. However, the concerning aspect is that its access seems to be limited to short-term emergency support schemes in comparison to livelihood schemes.

Registration of migrant workers

• The lack of comprehensive data on migration due to the weak implementation of the Inter State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, was cited as one of the most important barriers to reaching migrant households and ensuring their welfare. To address this gap, creation of a migrant registry has been recommended time and again.

• Only 15 percent of the respondents surveyed at the destination (n=779) confirmed that they were registered prior to their last departure from source.

Information dissemination and coverage of welfare schemes

• Several state governments especially took commendable action to implement these measures and support migrant households through livelihood-creation and extension of social security provisions.

• Almost 62 percent of the respondents were not aware of the schemes at all and only a mere 5 percent confirmed that they were aware of the provisions and knew how to access them. However, after a year, there has been a notable shift. Only 12 percent of the total respondents reported that they were not informed about the schemes and provisions.

• Nearly 50 percent of females and 66 percent of males got the information through TV/ radio/ newspaper; 11 percent of females and 16 percent of males got the information from whatsapp; 27 percent of females and 23 percent of males got the information from government representatives; 12 percent of females and 4 percent of males got the information from ASHA/ anganwadi workers; 34 percent of females and 28 percent of males got the information from friends/ relatives; 27 percent of females and 27 percent of males got the information from NGO/ other organisations; and 10 percent of females and 14 percent of males got no information.

• Nearly 47 percent of females and 55 percent of males had access to emergency cash transfers; 23 percent of females and 12 percent of males had access to job card/ MGNREGA card; 32 percent of females and 31 percent of males had access to Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) card; 3 percent of females and 1 percent of males had access to Garib Kalyan Rojgar Yojana; 14 percent of females and 6 percent of males had access to work days under MGNREGA; 26 percent of females and 43 percent of males had access to extra ration at source; 28 percent of females and 15 percent of males had access to ration at destination; and 9 percent of females and 4 percent of males had access to health insurance.

• In May 2020, a website for online registration and renewal of BOCW cards was launched and material for applications were made available on the website. Through this facility, workers could directly set up appointments through the portal and get physically verified at the camps.

• In recent times, the Delhi BOCW for registration documentation has further allowed workers who are not in possession of employment certificates by employers/ contractors/ trade unions, to submit self-attested certificates in a prescribed format. The Delhi Government’s campaign for registration under the Building and Construction Workers Act (BOCW) ensured over 1.05 lakh workers getting registered under the board.

• Chhattisgarh was one of the most successful states in terms of public distribution system (PDS) coverage with over 97.8 percent of respondents of the survey reported that they had received free or subsidized ration during the lockdown. Many private sector companies involved in both construction and gig economy are now vaccinating their workers. All these examples point towards the possibilities in protecting the informal sector workforce when private, state and civil society stakeholders come together to meet the immense challenges that face the nation.

• Current efforts to ensure the portability of PDS under ONOR is commendable, however focus should be broadened to include portability of BOCW and its benefits that will directly impact more than 40 million migrant construction workers.

• Evidence from Tamil Nadu suggests that universalization of PDS, along with contributing to food security, reduces leakages and minimizes exclusion errors.

Rural Expert
 

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