The economic fallout

CHENNAI: After weathering the COVID-19 pandemic and its related challenges, migrant labourers had begun to rebuild their lives, as the industries in Tamil Nadu were also getting back on track. But the ‘politically motivated’ and ‘vilified campaigns’ that labourers from the north of the country were being attacked in the State is likely to have more than one impact.

Such a misinformation would affect the industrial sector and economy as well and have adverse impact across the nation and its recovering economy.

Industrialists and experts opined that the false narrative set on social media, and amplified through WhatsApp, to whip up fear among migrant labourers, particularly from the Hindi-heartland, would have a butterfly effect in industrialised states like Tamil Nadu. It’d work against the livelihood of the thousands employed in multitude sectors.

Unsung heroes

Many industrialists and factory owners opined that migrant labourers are ‘unsung heroes’ and the vital cog of the nation’s development and growth.

“Instead of celebrating them, it was disheartening to see them used as pawns in a political game plan,” said an industrialist based in Tirupur. “Politicians’ concern now over labourers’ safety is a joke. Where were they when thousands of migrants were forced to walk back home with their kids and belongings during the lockdown in 2020?” The ongoing politically motivated campaigns among the migrant labourers, particularly targeting labourers from Bihar, would bring more harm to the nation’s economic growth. North and northeastern states are providing labourers to the West and Southern states.

“Without them, industrialised states like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka will suffer badly. It’d also have an equal impact on the source states that benefit through remittance,” said economist and political critic J Jayaranjan, who is also the vice-chairman of TN state planning commission. “Such fake campaigns will benefit only vested interests, who are behind this, and destabilise the development of the nation.”

Compulsory registration

Migrant workers are exploited and most of them are victims of distress migration. They migrate to escape poverty and discrimination in their native states.

“The false narrative will create havoc to their livelihoods. They work long hours for less wage. Turning them into scapegoats for the political gain of certain divisive forces is unjustifiable,” said R Geetha of Unorganised Workers’ Federation.

She reiterated the need for compulsory registration of migrant workers to ensure their civil rights. “We want the DMK government to implement the Action Plan prepared during former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s regime in 2006-2011. It aimed to create a safety net and social security as part of the reassurance-building measure among migrant labourers,” she said.

Geetha also pointed out that 60% of India’s GDP comes from unorganised sectors that provide jobs to majority of the migrant workers. “If the existing ecosystem is disturbed, it’d have an egregious impact on the nation,” she averred. “A national political party is manipulating the routine pattern of migration to suit their agenda. It has nothing to with labourers’ well-being.”

Destabilise economy

Chair of International Institute of Migration and Development, Kerala, S Irudaya Rajan, said migration was a natural process and that nobody could stop it.

“It’s the duty of the source and receiving states to guarantee the rights of migrant labourers and ensure their well-being. The government should end such rumour mongering at the earliest and create a conducive environment for migrants from other states,” he said. “People behind vilifying campaigns should be taken to task as a preventive measure.”

Other experts concurred that such campaigns would destabilise the country’s economy if it spilled over to other states. And, it’d also set a wrong precedent if political leaders do not set aside their differences and work together to keep the nation’s interest at the forefront.

“The constitution gives all rights for a citizen to go to any part of the nation to work and settle there. But dividing migrant labourers in the name of region, religion and language is unwarranted. They’re the replacement workforce for states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu where the local people have moved up the ladder and are seeking jobs elsewhere,” explained Rajan.

Umi Daniels, head of Migration-Aide et Action-Odisha, lamented over the adverse impact of such politically motivated false narratives on the lives of migrant workers. “If they return to their native places permanently, it’d result in mass unemployment and poverty. The remittance will dry up in states like Bihar and UP. The impact would be felt in service and manufacturing sectors in states like Tamil Nadu,” opined Umi.