Labor Migration A Journey from Rural To Urban

Labor Migration A Journey from Rural To Urban Dr. Krishna Kishore, Senior Professor, Vanguard Business School, Banglore Dr. Vasanth Kiran, Assistant Professor, Vanguard Business School, Bangalore ABSTRACT This paper is an attempt to understand the emerging migration patterns in India and issues underlying it. With globalisation, urbanisation and accompanying changes in socio-economic conditions, contract migrants are attracted to urban areas in recent times. The emerging migration pattern depicts confinement of migrants in lower socio-economic class in Urban India in response to the macro economic reforms. Given the current development and growth of urbanization, increasing regional disparities, it is likely that migration to urban area will accentuate more in future due to the changing nature of the economy. Hence, an enquiry into the changing pattern of migration is critical to explore the emerging issues, identify the challenges and main precedence required at policy level for urban development. This paper checks on various factors on which migration of Contract labour is influenced. Keywords: Contract Labour, Migration, Rural, Urban, India. Introduction Migration is defined as a process of movement of an individual from the place of birth/origin or normal residence to a new place of residence. Labour migration is an important factor affecting the course of socio-economic development in India. Labour migration is an important livelihood strategy in India. Accelerated movement of people mainly from the rural and backward areas in search of employment has been one of the most important features of the labour market scenario in India during the post-independence period. It has raised a number of concerns such as economic, social and political marginalisation of migrant workers, especially of those unskilled people moving from relatively deprived and depressed areas in search of gainful employment and living. Poor households participate extensively in migration in case of India (Connell, 1976). Permanent/semi-permanent shifts of population and workforce in India co-exist with the circulatory movement of populations between lagging and developed regions, and between rural and urban areas, mostly being absorbed in the unorganized sector of the economy. Such movements show little sign of abating with development. Migration in India is predominantly limited to short distances, with around two-thirds of migrants changing their residence within the district of enumeration, and over one-fifth within the state of enumeration, with the remainder moving across state boundaries. The recent trends of labour mobility were analysed on the basis of NSS estimates from the 49th (1992-93) and 55th rounds (1999-00) by Srivastava and Bhattacharya (2002). This period shows a sharp increase in urban male mobility, with a significantly larger percentage of male migrants reporting economic and employmentrelated reasons for mobility, while other migrant streams showed a decline in the percentage of migrants moving for economic reasons. These results, along with the decline in short-term migration, which we discuss below, suggest that the 1990s may have provided greater opportunities for labour mobility to those who were better positioned, e.g. males in urban areas and in the non-agricultural sector. On the other hand the major chunk of the migrated labour is that of the Contract workers. Contract jobs are highly labour intensive and also highly mechanised. The entire activity is mobile, seasonal, intermittent and mostly inter-connected. The completion period of projects ranges widely and calls for engagement of labour from various trades, skills and professions. The duration of employment, quantum of work (work pressure) and arduousness differ from one extreme to another. Contract labour is generally unskilled, and therefore mostly attracts migrant agricultural labour during off-season. The workers are usually socially backward and illiterate with low bargaining power. Contract workers constitute one of the largest categories of workers in the unorganised sector. According to the Sample survey conducted by NSSO in 1999-2000, about 1.76 crore workers (update) are employed in the Contract activities. Thus the objective of the paper is to analyse their www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 61

decision making process of the migrant labour and its impact on the society. 2. The migrant labour market Migrants at the lower end of the market comprise mostly unskilled casual labourers or those who own or hire small means of livelihood such as carts or rickshaws and are self-employed. We focus in this section primarily on migrants who work as casual labourers, although several of the conditions discussed below are also common to other categories of migrants. Migrant labourers are exposed to large uncertainties in the potential job market. To begin with, they have little knowledge of the market and risk high job search costs. The perceived risks and costs tend to be higher the further they are from home. There are several ways in which migrants minimise risks and costs. For a number of industries, recruitment is often done through middlemen. In many cases, these middlemen are known to the job seekers and may belong to the source area. In other cases, migrants move to the destination areas on their own. This is generally the case where bridgeheads have been established, lowering potential risks and costs. The movement of migrants in groups, often sharing kinship ties, also provides some protection in the context of the harsh environment in which migrants travel, seek jobs and work. Mosse et al (2002), based on a study of villages in the Western India Rain-fed Farming Project (WIRFFP), have shown that the incorporation of workers in the labour market in different ways may depend upon their initial status, with somewhat better-off migrants having superior social net-works and being better able to exploit bridgeheads in urban locations. As with other types of interlocked relationships, the poorer migrants trade their freedom of making individual contracts with employers to the possibility of securing advances and employment from contractors. In the agricultural sector, labourers are sometimes directly recruited by the employer. In Punjab, labourers are often recruited by employers at the railway stations (Sidhu and Grewal, 1980). In West Bengal, labourers are sometimes recruited at bus stands or employers often go to the source area and recruit labourers (Rogaly et al, 2001). Contractors, who often belong to same caste and community, are the other medium for recruitment in the agricultural and rural sectors (agricultural workers in Punjab, coffee plantations in Karnataka, sugarcane plantations in Gujarat, quarry workers around Delhi). In parts of Punjab, agents or traders are also active in recruitment. Labourers are hired by contractors in their village, or by their relatives and friends who have already migrated. 3. Patterns, Forms and Characteristics of Labour Migration Four broad patterns of internal migration are: (i)rural-to-rural migration (ii)rural-to urban migration, (iii)urban-to-urban migration (iv) Urban-to-rural migration. Within these different streams rural-to-rural and rural to- urban migration have been the predominant patterns of migration. The forms of labour migration can broadly be schematized as (i) Permanent, (ii) Circular or seasonal and (iii) Commuting. Within these different forms, seasonal/circular and commuting migration of predominant. The nature of contemporary labour migration can be examined at various levels depending on the degree and extent of vulnerability to which the migrant worker is exposed such as (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Migration for survival Migration for subsistence Sponsored migration Voluntary migration. 4. Decision making process Migration is a complex phenomenon and can be better understood only by a probe into the migration process and the consequences of migration. Migration process covers decision on migration and job search. Of the various types of migration streams, rural to urban migration represents mainly employment migration. The increasing degree of industrialization, consequent increase in demand for labour, existence of informal sector activities, scope for selfemployment and above all the preparedness to accept any kind of job for an earning drive people towards urban areas. Migration is a two stage process: The first stage relates to the decision to move and the second stage to the choice of destination. Once the destination is chosen, the decision on the manner of search for the first employment is important. From the destination the types of linkages the migrants want to maintain with their places of origin through visits and remittances is also equally important for the study of the consequences of migration. The in-depth micro level studies are important for getting the guidelines relating to the nature and www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 62

relevance of macro level measures for application at the appropriate time. The aggregate behaviour after all is governed by the characteristics, attitude and behaviour of individual migrants. This report is an attempt to analyse and interpret implications of rural to urban migration through migration process and linkages, that is, through pre-migration and post migration behaviour of migrants. Such a behavioural analysis would definitely throw light on a number of factors necessary for an understanding of the consequences in the areas of origin and destination. The first section is concerned with important aspects governing the pre-migration and post migration behaviour of migrants from the rural areas into the urban areas. The second section gives an analysis of the determinants of migrant behaviour to be comprehended for analysing the impact of migrant behaviour and linkages. The third and the concluding section focus on the probable implications of rural to urban migration from the analysis. 5. Aspects governing the premigration and post migration behaviour One aspect of migration process is migrant selectivity. This indicates the probability of migration of individuals with different personal, educational and economic characteristics and exposed to different external influences. Individuals belonging to the younger age group especially 15-29 seem to have a greater tendency to migrate. The search process is an integral part of migration process. An understanding of migration process necessitates understanding of search process. Das (1993) makes his job search model applied to less developed countries where job market information is highly selective. Decision to migrate should be integrated with information about urban labour market in the case of the migration from rural to urban areas. Any discussion of job search process in underdeveloped countries needs consideration of three sets of issues namely, time taken by different sorts of aspirants to locate a suitable job, the type of job people aspire to get and finally the channels they use for information andselection. The choice of the type of search depends on the personal characteristics of the migrant households, their affordability in terms of time and finance, their aspirations for getting the desired job and the feasibility of getting general or specific information about jobs. (Berry, 1983), (Ben Rogaly, 2003) The possibility of the two types of search makes analysis of the determinants of initial and subsequent job search of the perspective migrants important and would help in having better understanding of the nature of the migration process with reference to labour market conditions. The labour market is blanketed by a network of formal channels transmitting information about jobs and works desire and available attributes and the cause and benefit of search. In less developed economies formal universal channels and standardized attributes are few and limited in scope. This consideration is important in rural urban migration as migrants enter the labour market unconsciously. But psychic costs and information gaps can be substantial for those not favoured by existing informal channels. A migrant as a job seeker and a decision maker has to acquire and use information to take rational decision in an ever changing and uncertain environment. Job search becomes an integral part of decision to migrate. Job search becomes a continuous process in the case of those who want to keep on changing with the interior motive of moving up in the occupational ladder or moving up in the economic status. In recent times, the focus of attention of migration study shows a shift from individual to family and family welfare maximization. (Bhattacharya, 1999) Family as a unit has been recognized and due importance has been assigned to family considerations in influencing migration decisions. Migrants from rural areas residing in the city exhibit a particular behavioural pattern through the linkages with their origin. In some cases, there is the deliberate link maintained. In all kinds of linkages the self-interest combined with maximization of family welfare is the dominant force.. A wife and family in the origin is obviously a strong incentive to visit as well as to remit money income. In a few cases the strong desire to go back to the area of origin is also a noticeable factor. Permanent return may be caused by retirement, fulfilment of a target, growing rural opportunities etc. Dissatisfaction in the earnings and the inability to support the family in the rural area etc, may lead to permanent migration. (Bhattacharya, 1999) 6. An analysis of the determinants of migrant behavior The behaviour of migrants before and after migration could be well understood only with a proper analysis of the factors governing the same. In predicting how different migrants with different responses to the existing conditions will behave, it is necessary to know something about their www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 63

specific characteristics like age, education, marital status, costs to be incurred and economic characteristics like employment and property status. Pre migration search behaviour is very important for it might provide scope for shaping the future of the potential migrants. Personal characteristics and a number of related factors govern the pre-migration behaviour. An analysis of factor governing this type of search might be more useful and interesting. The urban search represents post migration behaviour and reveals nature, attitude and aspirations of those who prefer urban based search initially. (Chaudhuri, 1992) Focusing attention on the determinants of rural based search would naturally throw light on the determinants on urban based search. This in turn is expected to throw light on some of the essential aspects of the rural migrant behaviour in the urban area. The Study brings out the important characteristics that can be associated with rural based search and sources of information appear to be having a dominant influence on the decision regarding the type of search. The importance of the accompanying characteristics cannot be minimized. Those who belonged to the older age group of 30 and above at the time of the migration and married migrants had shown preference for rural based search. (Shrestha, 1988) Those who had migrated earlier, educated, propertied and professionals, administrators and executives had preferred search in the urban area. Those who belonged to the clerical category had to satisfy themselves with the search in the area itself. The overall picture shows that those who belonged to the lower category could not afford to have search for job in the urban area. However, the marginal difference revealed from the table based on the research study area does not help drawing categorically any conclusion regarding preference for one type of search over the other. But however, there is a clear indication that personal characteristics, length of stay and property position influence the basic attitude of the potential migrants and their behaviour. In the urban area, search for the first job as well as the subsequent jobs represent the post-migration behaviour. (Chaudhuri, 1992), (Shrestha, 1988) Urban search seems to be a continuous process in the case of those who want to move up the occupational ladder or those who want to shift to other jobs for improving their economic status. Job shifts might be within the same occupation and industry or might be totally a different job and industry. Job mobility represents movement from one employer to another and also encompasses movement among jobs within the same firm. The non-wage earners include own account workers namely self-employment and unpaid family workers. The post- migration behaviour in the urban area representing linkages, the migrants maintain with their areas of origin, take the form of visits and remittances and to some extent the probable return migration also. Visits in some cases appear to be regular while in others it is irregular. Even migrants who have no family and property at the origin tend to visit their places. As for remittances, naturally family welfare considerations are important. The desire to go back to the place of origin necessitates not only the remittances but also a change in the size of remittances depending upon the link between the migrants and the others at the origin. Family members in the rural area seem to influence the size of remittances in a significant way. Those engaged in permanent jobs indicate least inclination to go away either in the present or in the future. Education level does not seem to have any special impact on the desire. The influence seems to be similar at all levels. Probably, the desire is for a few migrants to go back to their origin and settle down peacefully. The initial tendency to stay for a longer period is mainly to get the best out of the city life.(mcanulty, 2007; Shah, 1991; Srivastava, 2000) 7. The probable implications of rural to urban migration As mentioned earlier, the important aspects of migrant behaviour that need consideration for any discussion on the consequences of migration in developing countries are the pre- migration and the post migration behaviour of the individual migrants, that is, the nature of their search behaviour and contact they want to have with their areas of origin after going into the urban area. The former could be taken to represent the cause induced behaviour of migrants and the latter, effect induced behaviour of migrants (Banerjee, 1984). With the strong desire for rural based search and the necessary patience for getting specific information and the possibility of a certain percentage of migrants joining the informal sectors, the problem in the urban area could be minimized to some extent. The increase in the number of dependents in the urban area definitely adds to the problems not only to the individuals but also of the entire urban area. Generally whole time search undertaken by the migrants might bring fruitful results in a short time. Part time search would be successful in the short period only when there is access to information about www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 64

specific jobs, additional skill or training gained during the first job period. The search behaviour seems to emphasize thatthere is a definite relationship between various socio-economic variables and other external factors on the migrant behaviour. (Haberfeld, 1999) Highly qualified workers might show a tendency for job shifts. The gain in skill and experience might induce some workers to take steps to move up in the occupational ladder. Rural migrants being mostly semi-skilled and less educated might not be in a position to take up jobs requiring skill and being generally poor might not be in a position to start business involving more risk and large funds. The self-employment category might be contributing to the area positively only if larger investments are accompanied by larger earnings. The links maintained by the migrants with their areas of their origin tend to benefit rural area. The visits either frequent or even occasional develop an interest in the minds of the migrants in the development of the areas concerned. Remittances indicating cash flows into the rural areas with specific purposes help the areas and the people in all possible ways. Remittances might offer the necessary stimulant to the growth of agricultural production and technological change. Remittances are significant inducing socioeconomic development of the areas of the origin and also the distribution of income both within and between areas of origin and destination. The earnings prospects that urban areas promise for semi-skilled and untrained labour from the rural areas will continue to strengthen the migration tendency without of course having an unfavourable impact on labour market situation. The urban areas offer a wide scope for selfemployment activities of varied nature and this enables the migrants to be content with whatever activity they first chose to do. So long as strong family binding is present, the permanent settlement in the urban area need not be dreaded. Though remittances are not always used for productive purposes in the rural areas yet they help in the dissemination of information and encourage linked migration. The fact that migration leads to overcrowding and pose problems of basic amenities in urban areas cannot be totally ignored. But the fact remains that so long as the conditions are favourable for the migrants in the urban areas, the rural areas from where individuals migrated get the advantages. This in turn could reduce the intensity of the problems on the urban areas. 8. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be stated that a careful scrutiny of factors governing the behaviour of migrants at each and every stage before and after migration brings to light interesting intricacies involved in migration process. After all, an understanding of the process at the macro level depends to a large extent upon the detection and deciphering of the intricacies revealed through individual migrant decision making process. In the modern context, the availability of Non-Farming activities and the Govt. support could be other important factors influencing the behaviour of rural people desirous of moving to urban areas. The implications indicated through the behavioural analysis could provide a few guidelines for any policy measure at the macro level for minimizing the problems associated with rural to urban migration. REFERENCES 1. Banerjee B. (1984). Information flow, expectations and job search: Rural-to-Urban migration process in India. Journal of Development Economics. Vol. 15 pp. 239 257. 2. Ben Rogaly, A. S. (2003). Seasonal migration, employer-worke rinteractions, and shifting ethnic identities in contemporary West Bengal. Contributions to Indian Sociology, 281-310. 3. Berry, M. P. (1983). Migrant Labour and Economic Development. Oxford Economic Papers,86-108. 4. Bhattacharya. (1999). The informal sector and rural-to-urban migration - Some Indian evidence. International Review Of Social History, 451-483. 5. Chaudhuri, J. R. (1992). Migration Linkage of a New Town and Its Significance in Town 6. Planning Case Study Durgapur. Modern Asian Studies, 209-231. 7. Connell, J., Dasgupta, B., Laishley, R. and Lipton, M.(1976) Migration from Rural Areas: The Evidence from Village Studies. Delhi: Oxford University Press. 8. Das, B. (1993). Migrant Labour in Quarries and Brickkilns: An Overview of Surat, India: Centre for Social Studies [mimeo]. 9. McAnulty and Gray, P.(2007). Mixed Housing. Sharing Over Seperation. Belfast, CRC. 10. Mosse, D., Gupta, S., Mehta, M., Shah, V., Rees, J. and KRIBP Team (2002). Brokered livelihoods: Debt, labour migration and development in tribal western India. Journal of www.borjournals.com Blue Ocean Research Journals 65

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