“In the second wave, ensuring access to quality public health is imperative. But in the backdrop of the current crisis, where the livelihood of informal workers has been hit the hardest, it is pertinent, now more than ever, to implement the protective social security measures for the 450 million informal workers,” says Amitabh Behar, CEO Oxfam India.
Across India, May 1st (Labour Day) commemorates the labour motion and the rights of crores of workers in India. However, within the throes of a lethal second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, their plights demand essentially the most consideration, because the nation witnesses an entire collapse of the healthcare system. The poor are as soon as once more being pushed additional into uncertainty and abject poverty. In this wave not solely are they bearing the brunt of a failed healthcare system, they’re additionally going to face large financial pressure.
Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tackle to the nation stated that, ‘a nation-wide lockdown will be the last resort’, the sporadic curfews and lockdowns have triggered the exodus of informal sector migrant workers from cities to their villages as soon as once more.
According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, within the first wave after the lockdown was introduced on 24 March 2020, 1.23 crore informal sector migrant workers returned to their house states.
Though the federal government introduced a Rs 20,000 crore Atmanirbhar package deal in May final yr for farmers, cottage industries, MSMEs, labourers, and the center class however there was little or no in it for the migrant and informal sector workers. In the previous few months and even within the price range for that matter, haven’t seen fast response for the informal sector workers. There are 45 crore informal sector workers within the taking part labour power.
Many migrants did return to the vacation spot states for work throughout final yr and earlier this yr. A current research by ICRIER in collaboration with the Inferential Survey Statistics and Research Foundation (ISSRF) reveals that though the migrant’s family revenue has elevated after remigration to their vacation spot locations, there may be nonetheless a contraction of 7.7 per cent of their revenue relative to the pre-lockdown stage. Another lockdown will upset the momentum of restoration. If migrants determine to return to their native place, as many have already got, their family revenue might drop by greater than 80 per cent, a repeat of 2020.
It is clear that second COVID-19 wave will go away an enormous financial dent on the informal sector migrant workers. While we acknowledge the Atmanirbhar package deal, Oxfam India strongly believes that there’s an pressing need to streamline the continuing social safety schemes to help the informal sector migrant workers.
From fast money switch to free well being providers, from guaranteeing uninterrupted Public Distribution to offering MGNREGA work (as soon as the migrants return) are some of the continuing schemes, which if nicely applied can deliver aid to informal and migrant workers.
Given the well being and humanitarian disaster we’re in, these are first few fast measures that the Central and State governments ought to take:
Tracking of all returnee migrants of their supply states: This requires a coordination between Labour, Health and Social Welfare Departments to perform collectively. With the file out there the federal government can assess their wants and present them COVID testing free of price and on precedence.
Immediate money switch of INR 5,000: This will assist returnee migrants and informal workers who’ve misplaced their jobs throughout the second wave.
Arrange isolation centres: These needs to be arrange for all returnee migrant workers with sufficient provides of meals and water, and correct provision of electrical energy and gender-segregated bathrooms.
Adequate and protected shelter facility: This will ensure that these workers who’ve to keep again at their worksites until they get any transport facility to return or sufficient price range to afford transport price, are protected.
Strengthen violence providers within the states: Reports from final yr confirmed a spike in home violence instances and instances of harassment of girls and ladies who had been in transit or stranded at workplaces. The state ought to lengthen providers to reply to such violence and extensively flow into data associated to disaster helpline numbers and strengthen service suppliers via government-civil society collaboration.
As intermediate and long run measures, the federal government ought to:
Provide uninterrupted common protection of the Public Distribution Centre: Families can be rendered with out jobs and cash and this step is vital to ensure meals safety to essentially the most marginalised and weak. Those with out ration playing cards needs to be included as nicely. Food and vitamin dietary supplements needs to be made out there for youngsters and pregnant moms at Anganwadi centres. Since National Disaster Management Act is in power colleges are required to take the migrant youngsters in. In West Bengal, authorities colleges are distributing dry meals ration to youngsters of the age group of 6–14 yr as soon as in a month. This scheme needs to be launched in states the place migrants and their households are returning, making their youngsters eligible for a similar.
Uninterrupted continuation of social safety pension schemes: Widow pensions and senior citizen schemes ought to proceed unabated and the federal government ought to arrange a practical helpline quantity with designated individuals/groups on the block, panchayat and municipality ranges.
Increase allocation to MGNREGS: Allocation for MGNREGS needs to be enhanced from Rs 73,000 Cr to Rs 1,50,000 Cr in order that the migrant returnees are absorbed within the rural employment. This will save the massive quantity of migrant workers from the poverty entice and meals insecurity.
Create a database of migrant and informal sector workers: This needs to be via a decentralised governance system and ought to have gender disaggregated knowledge together with caste and age data. We suggest Panchayat and Municipality clever knowledge base of migrant and informal workers which can assist in assessing their necessities.
“In the last year, we have learnt how ‘powers to panchayats’ practiced by Odisha resulted in excellent management of COVID-19. Jharkhand Government had set up a Migration Collab in collaboration with Civil Society Organizations which tracked and supported migrants from Jharkhand in various other states. A database will help frame actions in favour of informal sector workers and migrants,” says Ranjana Das, Lead, Private Sector Engagement.
“In the second wave, ensuring access to quality public health is imperative. But in the backdrop of the current crisis, where the livelihood of informal workers has been hit the hardest, it is pertinent, now more than ever, to implement the protective social security measures for the 450 million informal workers,” says Amitabh Behar, CEO Oxfam India.
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