Labour crunch imminent

As hordes of migrant workers trudge to their far-flung hometowns and villages in UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh by just any mode — if not a Shramik train, by foot or cycle — the Punjab industry stares at an acute workforce shortage even as the factories, construction sites and brick-kilns sputter back to life after nearly two months of shutdown. Emotionally and financially drained by the lockdown-induced crisis, appeals by government officials to the frustrated labour force to stay back are failing to cut ice. The recent gesture of a young woman migrant bank employee donning the police uniform for a day at Lehragaga in Sangrur with the aim of convincing the migrants against leaving at a time when the economic activity is restarting and jobs are opening up is, indeed, heartwarming.

However, with the Central government providing the fiscal push to help the small and medium industries rev up, the onus of winning back the confidence of the workforce — the backbone of our industry — rests with the state government and the employers. The task of reassuring lakhs of workers suffering from a sense of having been left in the lurch is uphill, but the promise of payment of pending wages and adequate work is a potent tool. The depleting workforce following the imminent exodus of nearly 10 lakh workers who have registered to leave Punjab is worrisome. Ludhiana is the most impacted as 40 per cent of the state’s 2.52 lakh units are located in this industrial hub. Similarly bleak is the condition in neighbouring Haryana and Himachal Pradesh as they scramble to stem the tide of outgoing labour.

The migrant workers would do well to impassively weigh in their livelihood in the states of their karma against that in their home states which are already creaking under the burden of a huge influx of returnees that entails a quarantine period and shrinking job opportunities under MGNREGS. With the trains having chugged back on track, the prospect of visiting home a bit later with pockets full should appeal to their sentiment. An assurance to this effect is needed.