Inter-State migrant worker Act

Introduction

An inter-State migrant worker is anyone employed by or through an agent in one State through an agreement or arrangement to be used in an establishment in another State, either with or without the employer’s knowledge regarding the establishment [11.

Workers’ migration to India is not a new idea, but it has gained special significance for the country and society due to the opening to world markets. The economic policies of India and the 1991 monetary policy of India, where India took on Liberalization, Privatization, and Globalization (LPG), provide the opportunity for rural workers in India to work outside of their country of origin and become part of the founding team of the developing India.

Answering this query isn’t easy to determine and depends on many factors. On one side, globalization has brought new possibilities for workers, which include opportunities to work in different and contemporary contexts.

However, the increasing movement of employees has caused the abuse of workers in certain instances since employers attempt to exploit workers who do not know their rights. To ensure that globalization doesn’t cause the exploitation of workers, it is essential to create safeguards to provide workers’ rights.

The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, was enacted to safeguard the rights of workers who are migrants in India. The Act was passed by the courts in Maneka Gandhi vs. Union of India[2] and Francis Coralie Mullin vs. Administrator of the Delhi Union territory[3in which the area of the Right to Live was expanded. The Court declares that the non-observance of the directives of the Inter-State Migrant Worker Act also relates to the violation of Article 21.

The Coronavirus and the migrant workers

Sixteen migrant workers died on May 8, 2020, in the Jalna in the Jalna and Aurangabad districts of Maharashtra as a freight train struck them while they tried to walk back home to Madhya Pradesh, their home State. [4] The abrupt nationwide lockdown that was put in place on March 24, in the aftermath of the latest coronavirus epidemic, has angered many workers who are migrants across the nation

Many people have been observed trying to walk from their workplaces across Rajasthan, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and other states to their homes located in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Odisha.

Their safety and the absence of protection under the law for their rights are a source of concern. The 1979 legislation passed to regulate working conditions, and employment of immigrants from the United States is popular with labor welfare workers. Yet, they think it was not correctly implemented, leading to an indifference to workers’ rights under the law.

The Court has ruled its position in Shashank S. Mangal & Anr. vs. Govt. in the NCT of Delhi & Ors. The recent turmoil involving workers who are migrants to the country has faced demonstrated the urgency requirement for accurate information available at all times for effective enforcement and application of the Act.

This is particularly important in a pandemic, such as COVID-19, or any other emergency. The vertical integration of information collection is required to ensure that the information about migrants from the Central Government and the States is collected, cross-checked, and stored promptly and immediately. These data are essential to be able to inform any action that is taken to assist migrants.

Workers from other states (regulation of work and conditions of service) Act of 1979

It was simple for recruiters to infringe rights of the fundamental rights of migrant workers from other states to gain a profit. There was no limit on the migrant laborers’ working hours; they were also forced to work all days of the week in deplorable working conditions.

The committee compact, established in February 1997 upon the advice of the State Labour Ministers Conference, suggested adopting separate legislation centrally to regulate the hiring of interstate workers who are migrants.

In consultation with the state administration and relevant ministers, the Interstate Migrants’ Workers (Regulation on employment conditions) Act, 1979, was adopted to protect the rights of migrants in India. Interstate, the migrant worker’s Act of 1979, is complied with by any establishment employing five or more employees from a different state on any day within twelve months. Additionally, this law applies to contractors that use five or more foreign workers.

The Act permits the registration of migrants and their employers to supervise their work and conditions. Employers are prohibited from hiring workers who are migrants from another state without an official certificate from a reputable authority.

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