Home for Guest Labourers

ARATHY K.R.

Innumerable people from other states in search of better living conditions gravitate towards the state. Though Kerala fondly calls them guest workers, they are quite at home here.

It’s half past 6 in the evening. A deserted workers’ camp near Ernakulam is slowly coming to life. After a strenuous day at work, the occupants are returning ‘home’. “If home is where we feel safe, secure and cared for, then this is indeed our home”, says Santhosh Kumar Yadav, who hails from Bihar. He is one among over 30 lakh migrant workers from 25 states who have made Kerala their home, melting the hundreds of kilometres distance from their native land.

The evenings become livelier at these camps with the banter, phone calls and video calls to loved ones and collective cooking. “We definitely miss our family and friends back home. But our friends and colleagues here make it up with their warmth “, says Deepak from Jharkhand.

It is the warmth that Kerala as a society extended to these people that engendered an enormous migration of workers from other states in the last two decades. And the Government of Kerala institutionalised this affection with essential and consistent measures. Guest workers, as they are cordially called, have now become an integral part of Kerala’s social fabric and administrative ambit. Thus, Kerala became a paragon in welcoming migrant workers and providing them with decent living and working conditions. The peaceful atmosphere, high standards of living and cordial work culture have made Kerala the favourite destination of migrant workers. Migrant workers now constitute approximately 26.6% of Kerala’s workforce, according to a study published by the Times of India.

Verifiable Identity

Every single person coming to Kerala for work is accounted for. The Home Department has developed a portal for the registration of guest workers coming to the state. Guest registration is mandatory for availing benefits under the Homeless Workers Welfare Scheme. By making registration mandatory, the details of the activities of migrant workers are readily available. This has gone a long way in ensuring law and order in the state and preventing the involvement of migrants in unlawful activities.

Financial Inclusion

T he registration in the portal helps migrant workers avail the numerous welfare schemes that the Government of Kerala provides. Apart from schemes that ensure housing, medical insurance, the government also takes care of the health, living conditions and upliftment of migrant workers. Frequent inspections are conducted in camps and corrective measures are taken. Free medical camps are also conducted for the migrant workers. The government also gives opportunities for the education of migrant workers and their children. T he state government introduced a special scheme called Roshni to ensure education of children of guest workers.

Listening to their Aawaz

Kerala is the first state to provide health insurance to migrant workers. The Aawaz Health Insurance scheme was launched by the Kerala Government in 2017 to cover the accidents and medical expenses of migrant workers. Under this scheme, individuals between 18 and 60 years can claim a sum insured of ₹25,000 to cover their medical expenses. In addition to this, accident insurance of Rs. 2 lakh and disability insurance of Rs. 1 lakh are also provided. Those who join the scheme are also eligible for maternity treatment. Migrant workers registered in the scheme get an Aadhaar-style identity card with a unified identification number and QR code.

Advice and Assistance

Shramik Bandhu Facilitation Centres have been started in all districts to implement the Aawaz scheme to ensure the health care and registration of guest workers. The services of facilitators proficient in various regional languages have been made available in these centres. These centres provide guest workers with the necessary advice and assistance on various issues such as employment, banking, health, and accident financial assistance through the facilitation centres.

Training has been provided in smart phone usage, internet navigation and online access to government services.

Ensuring Housing

The government has made many arrangements for the accommodation of guest workers. The ‘Alay’ project provides guest workers with a rented building with a f loor area of 6.5 square meters and improved facilities. T he portal and app allows building owners to upload details of their buildings, and guest tenants can access this portal and select buildings that are suitable for them.

The government’s determination to ensure affordable, clean and safe hostel accommodation for migrant workers resulted in the inception of the Apna Ghar scheme. These hostels provide safe, hygienic and affordable rented accommodation in the form of hostels to migrant workers. They have shared rooms, multiple kitchens, mess areas, bathrooms, toilets, recreational facilities, etc. Sewage treatment plant, rainwater harvesting, diesel generator backup, and CCTV systems are also available here. “I feel so gratified because I get good salary here and also get neat and decent accomodation facilities”, says Krishnakumar Yadav, a resident of Apna Ghar at Kanchikkode, Palakkad.

The first Apnaghar in the state was established at Kanchikode. The 520-bed Apna Ghar hostel, spread over one acre of land in three blocks within the K.S.I.D.C. Industrial Growth Centre in Kinalur, Kozhikode is home to thousands of workers. The Apnaghar project in Ernakulam is coming up on an acre of land with 534 plots within the B.F.K. Kalamassery Kinfra Hi-Tech Park in Ernakulam.

“I embarked on the journey to Kerala with a lot of hope and I am proud to say that I am indeed very happy here.” These words of Rohit Kumar who works in Palakkad reiterate the receptivity and hospitality of Kerala. And the state has made good use of the influx of migrant workers in its economic development.