Bengaluru: More than 92.5% labourers, including daily wage earners, have lost work for up to three weeks owing to the 21-day lockdown, according to a survey of 3,196 migrant workers in north and central India. This is despite the labour ministry’s plea to owners and contractors not to retrench workers.

Jan Sahas, a civil society organisation focusing on socially excluded communities, reached out to 3,196 people, all construction workers, between March 27 and 29. The workers, suddenly out of jobs and thrown out of their shelters and homes, found themselves abandoned and stuck miles away from their hometowns within days of the lockdown coming into effect. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on March 24 that a 21-day national lockdown would come into effect within hours to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The construction sector in India employs the highest number of migrant workers of which around 55 million are daily wagers. These daily wagers have been adversely impacted due to unemployment, lack of savings and no access to social security measures to sustain the lockdown.

Of the respondents, 68% were from Madhya Pradesh followed by 36% from Uttar Pradesh and the rest from Delhi and other states. An overwhelming majority, 95%, were males. “Anguish, helplessness and desperation defined the distress calls,” the Jan Sahas researchers stated in their report, Voices of the Invisible Citizens, a rapid assessment on the impact of lockdown on migrant workers.

Of the 3,196 respondents, 55% or 1,758 respondents, reported earning between Rs 200 and Rs 400 per day through which they support an average family size of four. Another 32% support a family size of more than four. Four out of 10 reported that they’ve already run out of ration and have no cash or food supplies to sustain during the lockdown period. The survey found that 14% respondents do not have ration cards while another 12% cannot access it in their current location being migrants.

The majority, 94%, said they did not have the Building and Construction Workers (BOCW) identity card, which is critical to avail benefits that the state has declared from its Rs 32,000 crore BOCW fund. In the absence of the BOCW card, it would become challenging for these people to access state benefits. For instance, labour minister Santosh Gangwar has reportedly asked states to transfer funds to construction workers via Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) mode. But without BOCW cards, thousands of these workers will not be able to access this welfare.

A general lack of up to date identification documents such as mandatory link of Aadhaar to the ration card and inactive bank accounts have caused hurdles for migrant workers to access the benefits of Covid-19 relief efforts, the survey found.

Getting food and ration, the survey found, are of prime concern to the respondents followed by ability to pay rents, repay home and other loans and the ability to access healthcare. Eigh out of 10 respondents said a month-long ration support will make their lives easier. More than 79% (774 out of 984) of the respondents who answered this question said they would not be able to pay off their debts in time.

About 10% or 328 respondents said their households included someone who was pregnant and another 15% or 479 felt that they will face problems due to illness during the lockdown period. About 34% or 1,100 respondents said they do not have access to government or private hospitals when required.

The survey also found that despite multiple directives being issued by the central ministries and states to respond to the crisis, relevant information about welfare measures has not reached 62% of the respondents. Merely 5% respondents had knowledge of the provisions offered and how to access them.

Disclaimer:(The author is a member of 101Reporters, a grassroots reporter network. Views expressed are personal.)