To
Date: 15.04.2020
Shri Uddhav Thackeray
Honourable Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Office of the Chief Minister, Mantralaya,
Madame Cama Road, Churchgate,
Mumbai, Maharashtra 400020
Subject: Memorandum regarding adequate, urgent response by the government
to the condition of migrant workers in Maharashtra in the wake of the
COVID-19 Lockdowns
Respected Sir,
We, the undersigned representatives of this network of organisations
working with migrant workers, in this memorandum would like to bring to
your kind attention the severity with which this population has been
affected by the lockdowns imposed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The
lockdown, while necessary in curbing the infectious disease, has
exponentially affected the migrant worker’s movement across states, access
to water, food, healthcare, shelter and work.
The group of migrants in Maharashtra is much larger than official
estimates, and includes both intra- and inter-state migrants. Most of them
work in the informal economy and live in rental accommodations. They work
as daily wage laborers, head-loaders, construction workers, street vendors,
domestic workers, security guards, small-scale manufacturing workers in
recycling, scrap and garment industries, among other jobs. Many of them
have not been paid wages for March, and have no resources to buy food or
groceries. They are not members of any unions or associations, who could
bring their issues to the foreground. These workers are not very familiar
with the city at large, and are struggling to get sustainable access to
adequate ration, and looking for the possibility to return home and for
support in wage payments and other cash assistance. In many cases, they
have ration cards at the source, but due to the non-portability of these
entitlements in the migration destination, they have been left
entitlement-less. Many migrants in the cities of Maharashtra tend to be
single men, who come to make an earning and support families back home.
They are often ostracised by the local community and considered as threats.
Others migrate with families, including women and young children, who often
also work in similarly precarious conditions. The government should restore
public faith in the migrant workforce, their indispensability for the city,
and step up to the task of providing them physical and emotional security
during these challenging times.
We thank you for making the suggestion that transport facilities be made
available for migrants in your last video meeting with the Prime Minister.
We strongly urge the Government of Maharashtra to not let these workers
become stateless, jobless and shelterless, and address their needs in an
urgent manner.
1. Migrant shelters
Status:
a. While the government of Maharashtra has established a number of
shelters, workers are severely depressed and afraid, and would like to
remain in environments familiar to them. They are concerned that if they
are moved, they would not be able to return to their rental accommodation,
after the shelters are closed down.
b. They are also worried that these shelters in itself would become
hotspots of infection.
c. There are not enough shelters, and they are not situated in
migrant-dense areas, making them inaccessible for workers in the context of
a complete lockdown. Most of the shelters are located in the urban areas,
and such provisions are severely lacking in the peri-urban industrial zones
around big cities like Mumbai and Pune, where many workers continue to live
inside factory premises, small manufacturing units and on construction
sites.
Demand:
a. Shelter-like conditions could be provided to workers where they are,
rather than undertaking internal displacement, of an already vulnerable
group. This will ensure that they are able to stay together during this
difficult time.
b. In case of existing shelters, they should be maintained as per social
distancing norms and with utmost hygiene to prevent them from becoming
centres of the spread of infection.
2. Universalisation of PDS and nutrition support
Status:
a. Many migrant workers are unable to go to shelters providing cooked food
or the government’s Shiv Bhojan Thalis, as they are reprimanded by police
on the main streets, and sent back home.
b. The cooked food provided by the municipal corporation at the ward level
has yet not reached many localities. Many migrant families with children
have reported to us that the cooked meals are not fit for consumption of
children.
c. Children living on construction sites especially need adequate nutrition.
Demand:
a. The provision of dry ration and kerosene, over cooked food would be more
suited to this situation, and hence universalisation of PDS is most urgent
b. Migrant workers, who may or may not have a ration card, should be given
access to adequate foodgrains through the public system. At this time of
crisis, no eligibility criteria of identification and domicile should be
demanded from those who need ration. Aadhar card with their coverage of 95%
of the population could be used to avail PDS, without biometric
verification. No worker should be turned away even if s/he is not able to
produce Aadhar. Temporary coupons could also be provided to avail ration
for the coming three months.
c. The collector offices should prepare lists of beneficiaries and ensure a
regular delivery of these entitlements as per universal coverage and
compliance. Variable standards in delivery, unevenness of coverage,
duplication, wastage and gaps would be avoided by this centralised system.
d. Community kitchens should be set up for those who do not have access to
cooking materials, particularly for the homeless, and those restricted to
their work-cum-living spaces like construction workers and their families.
3. Health, water and sanitation
Status:
a. Workers’ immunity is compromised currently, both due to the lack of food
resources over the last three weeks, and a range of other long lasting
issues like regular exposure to toxic work environments, lack of
occupational safety measures and malnutrition. This has made them
vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus.
b. Workers living in migrant concentrations like industrial zones,
construction sites and unregistered units, are not really served by the
municipal services, and hence do not have adequate access to healthcare,
water and sanitation.
Demands:
a. Given the nature of the COVID virus that spreads rapidly in the absence
of hygienic practices like frequent hand washing, workers should get access
to adequate water supply, and bathing and washing soap. This can be done
through the provisioning of water tankers, mobile toilets etc. In some
settlements, water drums or tubs have been installed at the entrance with
soaps. These initiatives could be built upon.
b. Existing municipal health posts in these clusters would need to be
strengthened to provide affordable healthcare to migrants for common
ailments, to avoid visits to larger hospitals where risk of a COVID
infection is higher. Private clinics in these areas should also be urged to
open up facilities. To facilitate identification and outreach to migrant
clusters, government can work with the help of Civil Society Organisations
(CSOs), who have on-field networks.
c. Charitable hospitals must be roped in to provide treatment free of cost.
Anti-viral drugs should be made available free or at subsidised costs.
d. Mental health services, especially counselling services through
helplines should be made available for all, including workers and migrants,
who are feeling vulnerable, because of being separated from their family
and stuck in hostile environments.
4. Labour helpline
Status:
a. There is a deep sense of helplessness and uncertainty within migrant
communities due to the forced isolation and lack of access to reliable
information. This had led to serious panic leading to intense outbursts
including what happened in Bandra on 14th April.
b. The state government in cooperation with the MCGM has instituted a
helpline for migrant workers and homeless persons, requiring assistance of
food and shelter in Mumbai city. This is however restricted to Mumbai city.
c. Many CSOs are stretched beyond their capacity with such calls from
across Maharashtra.
Demand:
a. Such a helpline should be instituted for the entire state of
Maharashtra, particularly given the high rate of intra-state migration
within the state borders.
b. The helpline must also go beyond relief measures, and provide reliable
information on policy announcements at state and central level. It should
also address issues of wage denial, lay-offs, terminations, work-place
discrimination, police brutality and sudden forceful evictions.
c. A centralised system from the state government would help streamline
relief efforts that CSOs could then work in tandem with.
d. Given that cities in Maharashtra are hubs of migration from across the
country, it would be effective to have the helpline accessible in a number
of languages, particularly Hindi, Kannada, Gujarati, Bengali and Oriya.
5. Repatriation to rural homes
Status:
a. In these times of uncertainty, migrant workers would like to be back
home to the safety of their family and community. There is no clarity on
when public transport and state borders would open up. This has created a
sense of massive panic and fear of not being able to see their families
again.
b. Workers and their food security are also dependent on the upcoming
harvest season. While cities take longer to reboot, workers would want to
work on fields, in order to access food supplies and alternate sources of
livelihood in the home village.
Demand:
a. We urge you to make arrangements for their return, in the form of safe
and free transport options.
b. Co-operation of the police would be crucial for this process. It should
be ensured that they are sensitised to the situation and the needs of the
migrants
c. The fear of spread of epidemic to rural areas should not be the reason
to hold migrant workers back in the city where there is no work and
therefore wages. The ones who have spent time in camps for the 21 day
period of lockdown are safe to be repatriated and the ones who need testing
should be tested and repatriated.
d. For workers to be convinced to remain in the cities, the state would
need to build their trust in the urban governance, by extending support and
assuring them of their safety, instead of invoking police action.
6. Wages and cash transfer
Status:
a. Workers have lost wages and many of them have been summarily fired from
jobs. The health crisis has merged into their job insecurity, and they are
in immediate need for institutional protection of wages.
b. Workers have existing debts, of money they may have borrowed to commute
to cities for work. In the absence of livelihood and wages, these debt
burdens will multiply,
Demands:
a. Employers need to be mandated to pay all arrears, by establishing a
fast track legal aid and grievance response system which is able to assist
workers facing wage denial and forced retrenchments.
b. It is imperative that migrant households are assisted through this
difficult time, with the help of cash transfers.
c. Rebooting the workers is in the interest of the economy of Maharashtra,
that has already suffered a great deal because of the pandemic and the
lockdown. The informal economy is heavily dependent on migrant workers,
without whom sectors like manufacturing, construction and informal services
would come to a complete standstill.
We appeal to the Government of Maharashtra with great urgency that this
situation be assessed with utmost seriousness such that this population is
not left to fend for themselves. We highly recommend that local
administrations of migrant dense areas under your command develop stringent
protocols to ensure that migrant workers are provided adequate protection
and assistance through this period. Several of our organisationss have been
working since long with different vulnerable communities in Mumbai, Pune,
as well as in other parts of Maharashtra. They have contacts within the
communities, knowledge of their needs, and enjoy their trust. We request
that you grant us an appointment so that we can personally represent our
suggestions as well as discuss how best we can support the government in
this direction at this challenging time. We trust you will take all the
necessary steps for the same.
Sincerely Yours,
1. Shweta Damle, Habitat and Livelihood Welfare Association
2. Amrita Sharma, Aajeevika Bureau
3. Amita Bhide, Professor, Tata Institute of Social Sciences
4. Bilal Khan, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao
5. Brinelle D Souza, Kamayani Mahabal, Avinash Kadam, Jan Swasthya Aabhiyan
6. Brijesh Arya , Beghar Adhikar Abhiyan
7. Roshini Nuggehalli & Marina Joseph, YUVA
8. Dr. Swati Raju, Associate Professor, Mumbai School of Economics
9. Chandan Kumar, Hamal Panchayat, Pune, Ang Mehnati Kashtkari Sangharsh
Samiti
10. Vasudevan, Trade Union Solidarity Committee
11. Jammu Anand, Nagpur Municipal Corporation Employees Union
12. Sitaram Shelar, Center for Promoting Democracy
13. Uday Bhat, Maharashtra Rajya Sarvashramik Mahasangh
14. Meena Gopal, Professor, TISS
15. Manish Jha, Professor, TISS
16. Soumitra Ghosh, TISS
17. Sivakami Muthusamy, Professor, TISS
18. Anjali Monteiro, Professor, TISS
19. KP Jayasankar, Professor, TISS
20. Vijay Raghvan, Professor, TISS
21. Dr Lakshmi Lingam, TISS, Mumbai
22. Vaijayanta Das, Professor, Nirmala Niketan and Director, Nirmaan
23. Hussain Indorewala , Assistant Professor, Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi
Institute Architecture and Environmental Studies
24. Ritu Dewan, Retired Professor and Director, Department of Economics,
University of Mumbai
--
Peace Is Doable
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