This story is from July 13, 2020

Guest workers keen to return to Tamil Nadu

Guest workers, who had left Tamil Nadu for their home states amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing hassles in the early phases of lockdown, are now looking to come back.
Guest workers keen to return to Tamil Nadu
Though just a trickle as of now, the reverse migration of labour has started (Representative image)
CHENNAI: Guest workers, who had left Tamil Nadu for their home states amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the ensuing hassles in the early phases of lockdown, are now looking to come back.
While some batches of workers have returned on their own, several others have sent feelers to agents or directly to companies, which employed them earlier, to bring them back.
Though just a trickle as of now, the reverse migration of labour has started.

“Hundreds of workers are ready to return. They are waiting for train services to resume,” said Ram Lal, a labour contractor who supplies workers to Tamil Nadu’s construction industry, which depends 90% on migrants.
“Around 1.5 lakh workers had gone back from the district. Now, about 5,000 of them have returned in the last 10 days by arranging buses on their own,” said Namakkal Poultry Farmers’ Association president N Elango.
A group of foundries came together to get back 100 workers from Odisha through buses, but the process is dragging due to government formalities. Some Credai members had planned to bring back a large batch of workers from the north, but lockdowns there are hampering the process.

“When we were shut, those states were open. Now we are open, but states like UP and West Bengal are shutting down,” said Credai Chennai president Padam Dugar.
“I have sanctioned 500 air tickets for those keen to return. We need trained manpower. We tried the locals, but they are neither flexible nor disciplined, thereby affecting productivity. Without migrant workers we cannot run our operations,” said Polyhose Group managing director Shabbir Ahmed.
The state government seems to have its hands full and is in no hurry to intervene.
“We understand the problems of the industries. With growing Covid positive numbers in districts, the health workers are already stressed and we cannot put them under more pressure to undertake tests and to get quarantine facilities ready,” said a senior state government official, seeking anonymity. “Companies may have to wait for at least a month or so,” the official added.
Industries think otherwise. “Today, we are getting orders and it is a good time to make up for the lost opportunities over the past few months. The government should engage in a conversation with us to find a via media solution,” said The Institute of Indian Foundrymen president Sanjay Shroff.
Shroff suggested that the state government opt for a public private partnership (PPP) approach to find out whether the private sector is also willing to partake in the collaboration effort.
“If the government remains in isolation, it is not going to help. Let the industries take the responsibility and the government play the role of a facilitator,” Shroff said.
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