Employers in states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are in a strange struggle these days. To attract the workers back, they are giving free air tickets, sending luxury buses and promising to increase their salaries. Still, lakhs of migrant laborers coming to work from West Bengal and Assam are at home. The reason is simple. Most of the workers who went to vote in the recently concluded assembly elections are reluctant to return. Benoy Peter, ED, Center for Migration and Inclusive Development, says, ‘This time almost all the workers went home to vote, especially due to concerns about the Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR). The record voting in both the states is the result of this. There are many other reasons for delay in withdrawal, such as arrival of monsoon in Kerala, school holidays, Bakrid festival and sowing season of fields. Work is already slow in some sectors due to shortage of materials like tiles and plywood resin due to the crisis in West Asia. Kerala is the biggest victim of this crisis. About 40 lakh migrant laborers work in the state. Of these, 70% are from Bengal and Assam. Raju John, Director General of Builders Association of India, says that the employers adopted every trick. These include flights, flight tickets, salary hike, buses etc. Still, most of the workers are not ready to come. The situation in Tiruppur is even more worrying. The production capacity in this largest knitwear export center of the country has reduced to about 70%. Orders are already low due to the West Asia crisis, now the labor shortage has further increased the difficulty. There is an even deeper layer of crisis. In the last few years, rapid construction of industrial and infrastructure in Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh has opened the doors of employment. Layam Group Chairman G. Ramesh warns that if this pace continues in the eastern and northern states, it will become more difficult for South India to mobilize labor in the future. Meanwhile, expectations regarding salary are also increasing. For work like welding, workers are now demanding Rs 30,000-33,000 instead of Rs 20,000. Taking advantage of the opportunity – Migrant workers demanding one and a half times the current salary – 1.3 crore migrant laborers work in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. They mainly come from North and Eastern India like UP, Bihar and West Bengal. – Of the approximately 40 lakh migrant workers in Kerala, 70% are from West Bengal and Assam. He participated enthusiastically in the elections, but he is in no mood to return. – The production capacity of Tirupur’s knitwear industry has reduced to 70%. Amidst the shortage of workers, workers have started demanding one and a half times the salary.
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South India’s industry idles without workers: Free flight tickets, buses; Still laborers are not returning from Bengal and Assam
