YourSpace: Labourers must be treated with respect, say readers

Kerala recently stood out as a shining example for its exemplary handling of the Covid-19 migrant crisis. The state calls it migrant labour ‘Guest Workers’ a term that not only bestows dignity on the semi-skilled and unskilled employment-seeking labour, but also endears them to the people of Kerala. Shouldn’t migrant labourers be called ‘Guest workers’ by the rest of the country? Here is what our readers say...

Fixed-term employment, a long-term solution

Manojsingh Rana, a migrant worker from Uttarakhand staying in a PMC parking lot near the railway station holds up a fitness certificate and releasing letter from a shelter home in Pune, India, on Friday, May 29, 2020. The letter says Rana wishes to go to his native state of his own will and is being released from the shelter. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

Migration is a reality. It is about states having different levels of demand-supply gaps for labourers, especially the unskilled or semi-skilled labourers that are large in numbers. There is a significant migration of labour from northern and eastern belts to the southern and western belts of India. There is also a large migration from Marathwada, Vidarbha and Konkan to Mumbai, Pune and other parts of western Maharashtra. These are all functions of intrastate and interstate regional imbalances of economic growth and there will continue to be large migrations for employment till we achieve balanced regional growth. Most labourers whether from out-of-state or from within, work as temporary workers and hence have almost no social security. A wider adoption of ‘fixed-term employment’ (FTE) contracts directly with employers as against the current practice of a labour contractor and will ensure higher social security for labourers. FTE should be acceptable to employers as it is not about taking liability for lifetime, even beyond life of business. I am all fine for calling them guest workers as against migrant workers, if that helps the cause, but I am keener to advocate for legal frameworks and safety nets that are sustainable, one example being above mentioned ‘FTE’.

-Prashant Girbane

Labourers treated unfairly

What’s in a name? It’s how we treat them that matters. Are they being looked at as human beings or as cut pieces of lemon - to be squeezed as long as they have juice and then chucked away? If they can make a decent living in cities, why would they want to go home? Can’t we give them homes where they work? How many who built our houses have a roof over their heads?

-Ravindranath Chandran

Must address labourers as workers

All the labourers must be called as workers and this is the most common denomination for their recognition in the society. The central government had sanctioned and implemented the Social Security Act in 2008 and it gives crystal guidelines for considering all labourers as workers. They must be addressed as only workers and not by another identity.

-Baba Adhav

Citizens, not migrants

No. I don’t agree with both the words, migrants or guests. They are the citizens of this country and that’s it.

-Mahesh Zagade

Need for sympathy towards poor

Kerala government has given migrant workers a lot of dignity and went out of the way in helping them in the times of crisis. This is one of the most outstanding methods of giving dignity to the working class of India. The rest of the countrymen and also the ruling class of India must learn how to respect these workers. The government is negligent to the cause of the masses and the classes. It is interested only in serving the rich class through crony capitalism. The current dispensation is against the people and anti-human nature. We need a complete overhaul of the system and need new persons who are sympathetic to the cause of the poor.

-BJ Kerkar