Why the need arises for this new policy?

• During lockdown mass exodus of migrants labour was seen which compelled government to work on the policy of migrants. And more than this the previous policy has not been able to address the problems of migrants. The Report of the Working Group on Migration2017 argued that specific protection legislation for migrant workers was unnecessary. “(Migrant workers) should be integrated with all workers…as part of an overarching framework that covers regular and contractual work.
• The report discussed the limitations of The Inter State Migrant Workers Act, 1979, which was designed to protect labourers from exploitation by contractors by safeguarding their right to non-discriminatory wages, travel and displacement allowances, and suitable working conditions.
• However, this law — which was modeled on a 1975 Odisha law — covered only labourers migrating through a contractor, and left out independent migrants.
• The 2017 report questioned this approach, given the size of the country’s unorganised sector. It called for a comprehensive law for these workers, which would form the legal basis for an architecture of social protection. This was in line with the recommendations of a 2007 report by the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
• The NITI Aayog’s policy draft too, mentions that the Ministry of Labour and Employment should amend the 1979 Act for “effective utilisation to protect migrants”.

When Convention on Domestic Workers came into force?

The Convention on Domestic Workers, formally the Convention concerning Decent Work for Domestic Workers is a convention setting labour standards for domestic workers. It is the 189^th  ILO convention and was adopted during the 100^th  session of the International Labour Organization.It entered into force on 5 September 2013.

Main Provisions –

• It is a strong recognition of the economic and social value of domestic work and a call for action to address the existing exclusions of domestic workers from labour and social protection.
• The convention mandates that domestic workers be given daily and weekly rest hours, their payment must meet the minimum wage requirement.
• Ratifying states are also required to take protective measures against violence against workers and are also required to enforce a minimum age for employment.
• However, since these provisions are not binding on those countries that have not ratified the convention, India is not obliged to enforce these recommendations.

Where according to constitution migration becomes the responsibility of government?

• According to the Constitution, urban development is the responsibility of municipal governments and the management of migration is one facet of that. While the Centre can give directions, the states have the powers to legislate on urban matters. Of course, like much else, policies are determined by where the political advantage lies. This largely explains the huge disparities that continue to exist in levels of socio-economic development.
• In administering welfare schemes, migrants are not equated with state residents, be it the regulation of minimum wages, housing, and political participation.
• While migrants can access hospitals and receive treatment, this has never extended to habitation. On first arrival new migrants just try and get enough room to sleep. Eventually, after years, they might negotiate an address to show continuity of stay, which alone can enable them to get an election card and a ration card.
• Since the Constitution enjoins citizens with the right to reside and settle anywhere in the country, no permissions are required to move or stay anywhere — mostly on public land with the tacit approval of several political and public authorities. Although the state is enabled to make laws imposing reasonable restrictions in public interest, they have shied away from regulating migrant settlement. Indispensable as they are, migrants are considered unsupportable in normal times.

Who has drawn attention to reach domestic workers?

• The International Labour Organization has drawn attention to the need to reach invisible workers such as domestic workers who number between 2.5 and 90 million in India. Although, in theory, the broad categories of interstate migrant and internal migrant would include domestic workers, it is too easy for them to fall through the gaps as they are not covered by protective law since India has not ratified the International Labour Organization’s Domestic Workers Convention, 2011.
• The draft policy also conveys a willingness within government to recognise that the numerous laws and legislation that are in existence have not succeeded in protecting migrants as intended and recommends better implementation.
• There is a need to recognise that implementation has been very problematic and, carry out serious assessments to understand the microprocesses that lead to mistargeting, lack of uptake and various irregularities in the implementation of schemes, and, understand the political economy of migrant labour recruitment, placement and employment in key industries and why there is a strong vested interest in keeping migrants away from the purview of the law.
• Employers use recruiters to find and manage workers and thereby absolve themselves from any responsibility for protecting their rights and providing decent working conditions.
• It is not enough to say that laws should be implemented better. The same can be said of improving access to the Aadhaar card and other schemes.
• The draft policy is clear in highlighting the vulnerability of migrants to such crises and describes the experience of migrants during the lockdown as a “humanitarian and economic crisis”.
• Clearly there is strong political will and intent to never let this kind of tragedy happen again. The draft contains several radical recommendations that build on those made in 2017 by the working group on migration appointed by the then Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, as well as recent research and policy analyses by leading thinkers in the field.
• It seeks to take a rights-based approach and discusses the importance of collective action and unions to help migrants bargain for better conditions and remuneration.

How migrants contribute to the India’s economy?

• The policy purposes circular migrants are the backbone of our economy and contribute at least 10 per cent of India’s gross domestic product (GDP). Yet, tens of millions are employed in dangerous jobs in the informal sector without contracts or documents to prove their identity, and claim state support in the event of a crisis. The draft policy makes efforts to bring together different sectoral concerns related to migration, including social protection, housing, health and education. In doing so, it will lay the foundations for the ministries and line departments overseeing these sectors to work together in a more harmonious fashion, speaking the same language and operating on the same underlying assumptions.
• The draft mentions the need for convergence across different line departments and proposes the establishment of a special unit at the Ministry of Labour and Employment which will work closely with other ministries. It proposes new management bodies for interstate migration and stresses the need to improve the data on migration, especially data on seasonal and circular migration.
• All of these steps promise to create a policy environment that can better support migration and one that is based on sound data. The remit of the policy is broad, seeking to bring even the most marginalised groups under its umbrella. However, a more explicit mention of important categories of less-visible occupations is needed.