India. The stark reality remains to
be that with agriculture not able to
provide a lively hood in rural India,
migration is here to stay.
Based on the data since 2011,
the economic survey in 2016-17
pointed out that Gujarat is among
the states with the highest net in-
migration states in our country. In
Gujarat migrant-workers make up
over one-third of the population
and form a big chunk of the
industrial work-force. These
migrant-workers have played a
vital role in bringing about growth
by providing cheap labour in the
many small and medium
enterprises in the manufacturing
and construction sectors.
Though the exact number of
migrant-workers is not available
with the government of Gujarat,
according to industry and trade
bodies, migrants account for 35%
of labour force in Gujarat.
Inter state migrants from
Rajastan, M.P, Maharashtra, Bihar,
U.P, Chhattisgarh, Assam, A.P and
Karnataka work in various manufa-
cturing units, service providing
enterprises and construction sector
in Gujarat state.
Most of these workers are
gathered through contractors sent
to distant places by employers at
lowest possible wage rate.
These workers are easy to
exploit, as the employers segment
the labour market by creating a
separate labour market for migrant
workers. These migrant workers
face pathetic living and working
conditions enduring untold
sufferings.
They are paid with low wages
and made to work very long hours
without any overtime benefits.
They are made to work almost
without any leave or social
protection. Though the semi-skilled
workers with some education and
skills get slightly higher wages and
earn some leave they are also
exploited in multiple ways. These
November - 2018
migrant workers are engaged in
dangerous and hard jobs without
any safety. More than often these
migrant workers are killed or
maimed in work-place accidents
and suffer with occupational
hazards. No compensation is paid
to them in cases of accidents or
occupational diseases.
Most of the unskilled migrant
workers live on worksites in make-
shift huts or on roads, slums and
in settlements not served by
municipalities.
Though there is a so-called
Inter-state migrant workmen Act
1979 which is supposed have
given some legal entitlements and
rights to migrant-workers such as
minimum wages, regular wage
payment, regular working hours
and over-time payment and decent
working and living conditions
including taking care of the health
and education of children of migrant
workers, the law remains to be only
on paper but never implemented.
Neither the state governments of
the states from where the migrant
workers originate, nor the state
governments that host the migrant
workers never bother to implement
the act showing utter indifference
to the well-being and rights of
migrant-workers and the employers
are skilled in dodging such laws.
Most of the workers are
engaged as temporary and
seasonal on a wide range of
activities such as agriculture, brick
clines, construction work, salt
pans, domestic work and petty
services and trades like food and
street vending and embroidery
works. They are engaged as
security guards, drivers, factory
workers in ceramic, pharma-
ceuticals, chemicals, automobiles
and ancillary units and food-
processing units.
In Gujarat’s diamond city,
Surat a massive migrant population
exists. Migrants dominate textiles
and allied units, construction and
heavy industrial factories in
Hazaria. Migrants work in
Ahmedabad, in Rajkot the ceramic
hub of Morbi, in the chemical and
petro chemical hubs of Vadodara
and also in the ship-breaking
industry at Alang and Sabarkantha.
These migrant-workers who
have been instrumental in bringing
about growth to Gujarat state are
now targeted for attacks of violence
over an incident occurred on
September.28, when a 14 month old
child was allegedly raped by a
migrant worker from Bihar. Though
this incident of rape sparked off
protests and violent attacks against
non-Gujarati speaking migrant
workers the root cause of this lies
else-where.
Like in other states of India, the
unemployment problem is rampant
even in Gujarat state. As the state
failed in generation of employment,
the jobless particularly the
unemployed youth are discontent
against the gloomy conditions.
They developed resentment
against migrant-workers as if they
are the cause for their joblessness;
instead of the governments that
are responsible for not creating the
jobs needed.
The ruling class political
parties have been skillfully using
the discontent of unemployed
youth diverting their attention from
the root-cause with nativist
arguments against migrant-
workers with the slogans such as
jobs to ‘sons of the soil’ etc and
stoking hate against ‘outsiders’.
The same has happened
even in Gujarat now.
The BJP government of
Gujarat which failed to provide
employment had skillfully adopted
the strategy of diverting the
attention of discontent of unemplo-
yed youth against migrants.
Just 3 days before the alleged
rape incident, the chief minister of
Gujarat with a view to catch the
votes of discontent unemployed
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