Click here to join telegram group
Labour migration, particularly from rural to urban areas or across states, is a major feature of India’s labour market. Labour Migrants often work in the informal sector—construction, domestic work, street vending, brick kilns, small-scale manufacturing, and transportation.
According to the NSSO (2011–12) and ILO reports, nearly 90% of India’s workforce is employed in the informal sector, where labour migrants form a vulnerable and largely unprotected segment. Their work is crucial to urban economies but is characterized by precarity, exploitation, and social exclusion.
Major Problems Faced by Labour Migrants
1. Economic Vulnerabilities
- Low and irregular wages: Migrants are often paid below the minimum wage and may receive daily wages or task-based pay, leading to economic instability.
- Delayed or withheld salaries: Contractors or middlemen frequently exploit migrants by delaying payments.
- Lack of social security: Migrants rarely have access to provident fund, health insurance, maternity benefits, or pensions.
- Debt bondage: Many borrow money at high interest rates for migration or work-related expenses, trapping them in cycles of debt.
Example: Construction workers in Delhi often rely on informal contractors and work for months without formal contracts or insurance.
2. Unsafe and Unhealthy Working Conditions
- Occupational hazards: Migrants in brick kilns, construction, and manufacturing face high accident rates, exposure to toxic substances, and lack of protective equipment.
- Long working hours: Many work 10–14 hours a day with minimal rest.
- Poor sanitation and accommodation: Dormitories or rented rooms often lack basic hygiene, clean water, or ventilation, leading to health risks.
Sociologist Jan Breman highlights that migrants are part of the “floating proletariat”, whose labour is cheap, expendable, and invisible.
3. Social and Cultural Discrimination
- Exclusion and marginalization: Migrants are often stigmatized based on region, caste, or ethnicity, leading to social isolation.
- Language and cultural barriers: Migrants face difficulties integrating into local communities, accessing services, or asserting rights.
- Gendered vulnerabilities: Women migrants face sexual harassment, domestic abuse, and exploitation in domestic work or informal factories.
Feminist scholars note that female migrant workers in domestic work are particularly vulnerable due to the private nature of their workplaces.
4. Legal and Political Disempowerment
- Lack of formal identity documents: Migrants often lack voter ID, ration cards, or legal residency proof, limiting access to government schemes.
- Weak enforcement of labour laws: Informal sector labour laws—minimum wages, occupational safety, social security—are rarely enforced.
- Limited unionization: Migrants are often isolated and excluded from labour unions, reducing bargaining power.
Dipankar Gupta points out that informal migrant labour represents a “non-citizen workforce” in practice, despite legal protections.
5. Psychological and Familial Strains
- Separation from family: Migrants, especially men, often leave children and elderly behind, leading to emotional stress and social fragmentation.
- Job insecurity: Daily wage dependency creates anxiety and uncertainty.
- Lack of recognition: Migrants’ contribution to urban economies is undervalued, affecting self-esteem and identity.
Illustrations
- Construction workers in Mumbai: High accident rates, poor wages, and unsafe housing.
- Brick kiln labour in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar: Extreme seasonal exploitation, bonded labour, child labour.
- Domestic workers in Delhi and Bengaluru: Lack of formal contracts, exposure to harassment, minimal legal protection.
- Street vendors in Kolkata: Vulnerable to police harassment and eviction despite being economically essential.
Sociological Perspective
- Jan Breman: Migrant labour represents the “floating proletariat”, exploited but vital to capitalism.
- A. R. Desai: Informal workers face structural inequalities arising from class, caste, and regional hierarchies.
- Andre Béteille: Social stratification exacerbates migrant vulnerabilities, particularly for lower caste and minority workers.
Conclusion
Labour migrants in India’s informal sector face multi-dimensional vulnerabilities—economic, social, legal, and psychological. Their exploitation is both a product of structural inequalities and a consequence of the informality of the Indian labour market.
Addressing these issues requires comprehensive policy measures: social security, legal protections, skill development, housing, health facilities, and labour rights enforcement. Strengthening unionization and collective bargaining can empower migrants and ensure their inclusion in India’s development trajectory.