Activists seek mandatory registration

CHENNAI: Migrant Workers’ Protection Movement, Nirman Mazdoor Panchayat Sangam and several other trade unions demanded the source and receiving states of migrant labourers to strictly implement the Inter-State Migrant Workers Act, 1979, and other pro-labourers act to create a safety net and ensure a safe migration for the labourers.

Francis Bosco, coordinator, Migrant Workers’ Protection Movement (MWPM), said: “We’ve been repeatedly asking the State government to ensure the registration of migrant labourers from other parts. It also needs to ensure accommodation and their civil and labour rights such as healthcare, education to their children, etc. An exclusive welfare board should be created for the migrant labourers.”

Arul, a labour activist and member of MWPM, said the political outfits such as Seeman’s Naam Thamizhar Katchi should refrain from indulging in divisive politics, which put the livelihood of migrant workers in grave danger. “It’d also have serious ramifications on the wellbeing of Tamils working in other parts of the country. The government should take stern measures against false campaigns and vested interested persons peddling rumours to disturb the harmony of the State,” he said.

Industrialist Raja M Shanmugam, who is also the president of Tirupur Exporters’ Association, lauded the State government’s prompt efforts to dispel rumours that calmed the uneasiness among migrant labourers. “However, the government should take proactive measures to avert such incidents in the future, as migrant labourers represent 50% of the workforce in textile industry,” he pointed out.