Karnataka: Labour pangs begin to ease in construction, other sectors

BENGALURU: The pandemic forced Raju, a construction worker, to leave Bengaluru and return to his hometown in Vijayapura district. After weeks of struggle without work and wages, he returned to the city as his employer offered him free transport.
Many other companies, which saw an exodus of labour during lockdown, are ferrying migrants back to places of work.The trend is not just limited to intrastate movement. Workers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are also gradually returning to Bengaluru.
There is steady demand for Karnataka-bound trains, and certain sectors, especially construction, have seen an uptick in labour numbers in the past seven to 10 days. “It’s a heartening development: work has resumed at 558 under-construction projects in Bengaluru. Production activities have also picked up as migrant workers are slowly returning,” said Suresh Hari, chairman (Bengaluru), CREDAI, the apex body of real estate developers.
According to the state government’s data, about 3.7 lakh workers from across sectors had travelled to their native states on Shramik trains. A section also used other modes of transportation to make the long journey home. Hari said about 20 per cent of an estimated 1 lakh migrants associated with the construction industry had returned and more were expected in the coming days. Industries, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), are also seeing encouraging signs. C Janardhan, president of the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FKCCI), said about 40 per cent of migrants had rejoined work.
Before the coronaviruslinked lockdown, 6.5 lakh lakh MSME units in Karnataka had employed 50 lakh people, including locals. “About 70 per cent of MSME units in the state are operational and there is a steady inflow of labourers, especially from the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana and Andhra,” said Janradhan.
K Mahantesh, state secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, said the situation in June-July cannot be compared with that of April-May when there was a complete lockdown. “Labourers could not earn a livelihood during lockdown as sectors were closed. Food was also a problem because restaurants had shut down. The situation is different now and workers already know that prospects are better in cities like Bengaluru than in their native places,” said Mahantesh.