Socio-Economic Conditions of Migrant Workers Engaged In Construction Industry in Virar- Mumbai

Socio-Economic Conditions of Migrant Workers Engaged In Construction Industry in Virar- Mumbai Rajesh Ranjan Assistant Professor Thakur Institute of Management Studies and Research (TIMSR), Abstract: The purpose of this research study is to discuss the socio-economic conditions of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai. Researcher has looked the socio-economic conditions of migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai, their causes of migration from their place of origin, their working conditions, their health conditions, wage structures, social security and living conditions. There has been a continuous flow of migration from rural to urban areas, including the poor, who aspired to improve their well-being. Large numbers of poor migrants tend to initiate their career in the construction industry. Most of construction workers migrated from states as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The current study is a pilot study and for the same information was collected through unstructured interviews and discussions from 60 migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Virar- Mumbai. Sample includes both married and unmarried men migrant workers. The secondary data was also collected through journals, magazines, leading and local newspapers, and related websites. The findings from this study indicates that migrant workers engaged in construction industry is working in dangerous work environment (risk of accidents, great heat or cold), high physical work demands (static muscle effort, repetitive movements) which is leading to deterioration in their quality of work and life. Keywords: Migrant workers, Socio-economic conditions, Construction industry. I. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Indian Construction Industry The construction industry in India is the country s second largest economic activity after agriculture. Large number of migrant workers engaged in construction industry. Workers in the construction industry are suffering from poor working conditions and adverse terms of work. Work is often carried out under hazardous conditions with high accident rates compared to the manufacturing sector. There are many laws and regulations applicable for the construction industry but their implementation has been notably poor. After several attempts the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 1996 was passed which provides for the establishment of construction workers welfare board on a tri-partite basis. However, the position of the construction workers continues to be unsatisfactory. (Study Report: Naka Workers (Construction Industry), Undertaken by The Ambedkar Institute for Labor Studies, Mumbai, Sponsored by European Union (Downloaded from Google online on Aug; 2014). The core theme of this research study is to understand the socio-economic conditions of migrant workers engaged in construction industry. 1.2 Understanding Migration: Migration of workers takes place when there was no work in their villages, which would give them a regular earning and livelihood and there is expectation of improvement in standard of living through a continuous source of employment in the area where they intend to migrate, in terms of increased income and more participation in employment (Lall, Selod and Shalizi, 2006). Migrant workers need work in the city due to the lack of proper employment opportunities in their place of origin. The easiest way for the migrant workers to enter the urban economy is through the construction industry, which is characterized by extreme flexibility and not bound by any rigid set of rules and regulations of functioning. There are not any entry or exit barriers, nor are these occupations demanding in terms of skill and capital investment (Takashi Kurosaki et al, 2007). www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 15

A very important characteristics of the migrant workers, as brought out by this study, and also said by Takashi Kurosaki et al (2007) is that they keep shifting between their village and the town periodically, depending upon their need to earn additional cash and family obligations they need to attend to in their villages. More generally, the migrant workers come to town during agricultural slack when they need some additional cash and go back to their villages with their accumulated earnings when the agricultural operations like sowing or harvesting are in full swing. It is important to note that migrated workers in Mumbai have three major characteristics. First, they do not have a regular job contract, second, their wages are lower than other categories of employment such as regular employment and self employment and third, they do not receive any social security benefit (Piu Mukherjee et al, 2014). It was found that most of the workers engaged in construction industry of Virar- Mumbai are migrated from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh states. Most of them come from poor families with little or no land. These migrant workers who belong to the construction industry accept any kind of work like carrying loads, painting, plumbing, helping in building construction. Their wages are paid at the end of the day, weekly, monthly or after completing the assigned task. Migrant workers think that due to their low levels of education, they deserve low wages for their work. 1.3 Need for the Study Migrant workers engaged in construction industry face a number of problems like lack of continuous employment, inadequate wages and absence of social security. Hence this study was outlined to understand the socio-economic conditions of migrant workers engaged in construction industry and to come out with a regular arrangement may help them to resolve their problems. So that they can effectively access and enjoy the basic labour rights and privileges. 1.4 Objectives of this Research Study This study is specifically focused on the socio-economic conditions of migrant workers engaged in construction industry in Virar-Mumbai, also focused on their living and working conditions. Present study tries to address the following objectives: a. To understand the socio-economic conditions of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai. b. To understand the working conditions of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai. c. To understand the health conditions of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai. d. To understand the living conditions of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai. e. To understand the social security of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Mumbai. II. SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF MIGRANT WORKERS The socio-economic conditions of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry in Mumbai are far below the desirable level. The construction industry in Mumbai is characterized by low wages, excessively long hours of work and social security almost not existing. Since migrant workers earn less than what is required to sustain a decent living in Mumbai, they lead a life of low quality. The migrant workers live in deplorable conditions and have extremely poor health status (Solanki, 2002). The builders and contractors of the construction industry may prefer migrant workers since it is easier to exploit migrant workers as they may have lesser information about the labour market of the destination area and are in extreme need of money. The pay, time and duration of work can be flexibly molded by the builders and contractors as the migrant workers do not have much say in the scenario. The builders do not provide them anything more than minimum subsistence wages and along with that unacceptable working condition (Lall, Selod and Shalizi, 2006). Further, since there is no formal www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 16

contract of work for the migrant workers. They may be dismissed from their job without a proper notice and also charged of negligence of work. Yet again, with the minimal wages received by these workers it becomes difficult for them to procure basic facilities by themselves that are essential to survive in the city. This negatively impacts their socio-economic condition (Bhattacharya, 1998). 2.1 Demographic profiles of the migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Virar- Mumbai There were 60 migrant workers engaged in construction industry of Virar-Mumbai responded. All the participants of this study are male, as very few female migrant workers are employed in construction industry. Out of 60 migrant workers 11 (18%) are in between age group 20-30 years, 20 (33%) are in between age group 31-35 years, 10 (17%) are in between age group 36-40 years and 19 (32%) are in between age group 41-50 years. Out of 60 respondents 22 (37%) are working in between from 1-5 years, 18 (30%) are in between from 06-10 years, 11 (18%) are in between from 11-15 years and 09 (15%) from more than 15 years. Amongst the respondents 12 (20%) are completed primary level (5th Standard ) of education and 18 (30%) are only literate to read and signed his name in his mother tongue (Hindi) and rest of the respondents are found to be illiterate. Out of 60 respondents 47 (78%) are married and 13 (22%) are unmarried. Table-1 shows the demographic profile of the respondents. Since all of the sample migrant workers have Hindi as their mother tongue, linguistic distribution is not reported. Out of the total number of respondents, as many as 48 (80%) happen to be Hindus and only 12 (20%) belongs to the Muslim community. There are no single migrant worker found in our sample belonging to communities as Christians and Sikhs. 60% of the migrant worker reported that they had been unemployed in their villages while the others were engaged in very small scale cultivation or other activities like agricultural and non-agricultural casual labour, animal husbandry etc. The majority of them (69%) are from the UP state while the rest are from Bihar. As for land distribution, 30% of the respondents have reported that their families are landless and another 40% possess only 1-2 bighas of land and rest of the migrant worker possess less than 1 bigha of land which is too small to sustain a family of 5-7 members. None of them have reported that their families were exclusively engaged in cultivation. This is primarily because the holding size, in all the cases, happens to be too small for cultivation to sustain a family of about 5-7persons. In this study, researcher found that the workers are emigrants from the states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and they are from agricultural background. There are many reasons for their migration which are acute poverty, landlessness, low education, unemployment, natural calamities like flood. They desire going back to their native place for doing something of their own in their villages, prefers settling down in the city. Migrant workers in Mumbai appear to be poor, who come to Mumbai temporarily during off-agricultural seasons in order to earn supplementary income for their families. It is usually the younger members of the family who take the risk of shifting to new environments of city life to take up more challenge, leaving behind the older or less dynamic members of the family to take care of the family land or other traditional occupations that the family may have been committed. The average family size of the migrant workers has been reported to range between 5-7 persons including the members living at their native place for which the respondent feels responsible. However in the case of India the more relevant for migrants who have left their children and family back at their native place. In the interviews conducted on migrant construction workers, stated that they preferred leaving their families at their native place because the seasonal movement of the migrants impedes their children s education. www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 17

Table-1 Demographics Analysis (N=60) Demographic Frequency Percentage (%) Characteristics Gender Male 60 100.0 Age 20-30 years 11 18.0 31-35 years 20 33.0 36-40 years 10 17.0 41-50 years 19 32.0 Place of Working Virar-Mumbai 60 100.0 Your Origin State UP 41.4 69.0 Bihar 18.6 31.0 Religion Hindu 48 80.0 Muslim 12 20.0 Mother Tongue Hindi 60 100.0 Education Primary (5 th Standard) 12 20.0 Literate Only 18 30.0 Illiterate 30 50.0 How many years have you been working as a migrant labourer More than 15 years 9 15.0 11-15 years 11 18.0 06-10 years 18 30.0 01-05 years 22 37.0 Monthly Salary in Rupees Rs. 5,000/- to Rs. 6,000/- 12 20.0 Rs. 6,001/- to Rs. 7,000/- 30 50.0 Rs. 7,001/- to Rs. 8,000/- 18 30.0 Marital Status Married 47 78.0 Unmarried 13 22.0 Miss Out Quality Time With Family Because of Work Always 53 88.3 Often 7 11.7 www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 18

III. LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS OF THE MIGRANT WORKERS 3.1 Housing of the migrant workers A major problem faced by the migrant workers in Mumbai is housing. The migrant workers mostly live in the Jhuggi-Jhopadi (slum), contractors' sheds, and the footpath. Generally, jhuggi near to the construction site is provided by the builder. Moreover, most of this Jhuggi-Jhopadi does not have electricity facility which makes living in these labour camps extremely vulnerable. The dirty living conditions, with no proper toilets and open drains, make workers even more vulnerable to several diseases, like malaria and cholera. Migrant workers live in shockingly unhygienic. 3.2 Health of the migrant workers Due to long hours of work, unhygienic conditions at the workplace, industrial pollution and troubles because of migration, the migrant workers suffer from various diseases. They take medicines and continue to work until they have reached the last stage of the disease. Beyond this point, they are hospitalized or sent back to their native places. According to them, the lavatories they use are in very unhygienic condition. Secondly, a very common health problem that these migrants face is that of malaria, and cholera emanating from mosquitoes. 3.3 Hours of work and Wage structure The average hours of work during a normal day are 9 hours. 90% reported to have worked for more than or equal to 12 days in the last fifteen days. In this study, researcher collected information on the reason for taking days off. The most frequent answer was to take time off for sickness. According to Minimum wage Act of 1948, Government of India fixed wage structure to the workers, but according to study it is found workers are not paid as per above mentioned law. In the construction industry salaries are paid on daily, weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis. It was found that workers hardly had any bargaining power. They quietly accepted whatever they got in terms of remuneration and treatment; whether it meant increments, bonus payments or accident compensation. Most workers are not proper educated and due to the fear of losing their jobs, they silently accept insulting treatment. 3.4 Medical Aid According to the laws, the owner should provide medical aid to the workers at the time of any accident till he is cured. However, it has been observed that in case of an accident, the owner takes the worker to the hospital and gives him some amount of money. Beyond this point the worker is not looked after and the owner does not bother to ask whether he is better or not. IV. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS This study aimed at examining the socio-economic condition of migrant workers engaged in construction industry in Virar-Mumbai and understanding the problems faced by them so as to arrive at some solutions, as effective as possible, to overcome these problems. The construction industry is second only to agriculture as far as provision of employment opportunities is concerned. However the quality of employment, in terms of wages, working conditions and social security support, is extremely poor. Workers are less educated, their skills are non-formal, and their awareness of their own rights is poor. The conditions of migrant construction workers are still worse. All these facts were highlighted in this undertaken pilot study in the Virar-Mumbai. The following issues have come up prominently through this study: a. The migrant construction workers earn less than the minimum wage. Their wages are decided by the agents/contractor who hires them for the builder or developer. b. They desire to obtain multiple skills but they do not have any access to such training institutions/organizations from where they can obtain multiple skills training. www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 19

c. Lack of unionization among the migrant construction workers reduces the bargaining capacity when they negotiate with the contractor/agent for their wages. d. They do not have knowledge about the governmental developmental schemes through which they can avail of some financial support. The focus in this study has been on understanding and improving the socio-economic conditions of migrant construction workers. With this view the researcher met sample migrant construction workers and had fruitful discussions with them and observed their socio-economic conditions, their living and working conditions. However, an important bill that was recently passed in Indian parliament, Unorganized Sector Workers Social Security Bill, 2008, if enforced with valor, may stage a turnaround of the current situation, bringing significantly more well-being to these workers. The bill hopes to provide social security benefits to the vast majority of the informal sector workers in the country and would also serve as a platform for the informal workers to voice their opinion regarding improving their social security. Nevertheless, the bill still has to clearly mention the ways in which the social security would be provided to the informal workers and what would be the criteria to define the informal worker so as to make this available to all informal workers (Bino et al, 2009). V. ISSUES FOR THE FURTHER STUDY Due to the limitation of time and resources this research report is based on a small-scale pilot study. Therefore, findings on the migrant construction workers above are very tentative in nature. To provide more definite evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, a further extended study is needed, which is based on an extended survey. Reference: Bino Paul, Kishore B., Shaoni S., Piu M., Krishna M., Radhika B, Purandaran, K. and Venkatesh M (2009), India Labour Market Report, Adecco-TISS Labour Market Research Initiative, March 2009, Mumbai, India. Bhattacharya, P., (1998), The Informal Sector and Rural-Urban Migration: Some Indian Evidence, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.33, No.21, May23, 1998. Farah Seedat (2011), Determinants of HIV Risk among Male Migrant Workers in Mumbai, Migration Studies Unit, London School of Economics and Political Science, ISSN 1758-499X, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE www.lse.ac.uk/msu, www.lse.ac.uk Lall, V., Selod, H, & Shalizi, Z., (2006), Migration in Developing Countries: A Survey of Theoretical Predictions and Empirical Findings, World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No.3915, Working Paper Series, May 1, 2006 Minimum wage Act of 1948, India (Downloaded from Google, Aug; 2014). Piu Mukherjee, Bino Paul G D and Pathan J.I. (2014), Migrant Workers in Informal Sector: A Probe into Working Conditions, ATLMRI Discussion Paper Series, Discussion Paper 9, Adecco Institute Regent Street, London, SW1Y4NB, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai 400088, (Downloaded: Google Aug; 2014) www.atlmri.com. Pradeep Gangurde (2014), Socio-Economic Condition of the Power loom Workers of the Bhiiwadi, Thane, Research Directions, Volume 1, Issue 8 / Feb 2014, ISSN:-2321-5488. R. B. Gurav, S. Kartikeyan, R. Wayal, S. D. Joshi (2005), Assessment of health profile of daily wage Labourers, Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine - December 2005 - Volume 9 - Issue 3. Study Report: Naka Workers (Construction Industry), Project Capacity Building for the Promotion of Labour Rights for Vulnerable Groups of Workers. Undertaken by The Ambedkar Institute for Labor Studies, Mumbai, Sponsored by European Union (Downloaded from Google on Aug; 2014). www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 20

Solanki, S., (2002), Migration of Rural Artisans- Evidence from Haryana and Rajasthan, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.37, No.35, August 31- September6, 2002 Takashi Kurosaki, Yasuyuki Sawada, Asit Banerji, and S.N. Mishra, (2007), Rural-Urban Migration and Urban Poverty: Socio-Economic Profiles of Rickshaw Pullers and Owner- Contractors in North-East Delhi, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University, Faculty of Economics, University of Tokyo, Centre of Economic and Social Research, Delhi, February, 2007. www.theinternationaljournal.org > RJSSM: Volume: 04, Number: 08, December 2014 Page 21