Status of Inter-State Migrant Workmen in India: Challenges, Legal Framework, and Policy Imperatives

Abstract

Inter-state migration constitutes a significant and enduring characteristic of India's labour market, reflecting deep-rooted disparities in economic development, employment availability, and living standards across different regions. Millions of workers primarily from economically weaker states migrate to more industrialized or urbanized regions in search of livelihood opportunities. This research undertakes a comprehensive examination of the lived realities of inter-state migrant workmen, shedding light on their demographic patterns, the socio-economic drivers prompting migration, the key industries employing them, and the conditions under which they live and work. It also assesses the legal protections extended to them, particularly under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979, while critically analysing the persistent challenges in its effective enforcement, especially within the vast informal employment sector where most migrant labourers are concentrated. The study underscores how the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically magnified existing structural weaknesses, leading to mass reverse migration, widespread unemployment, and human distress, thereby exposing the inadequacy of existing institutional and policy responses. Despite the existence of welfare schemes and legal mandates, migrant workers continue to face marginalization, exclusion from social security mechanisms, and administrative neglect due to lack of documentation, poor interstate coordination, and insufficient awareness. In light of these findings, the paper advocates for an integrated, rights-based policy framework that addresses both the economic and social vulnerabilities of migrant workers. This includes strengthening the implementation mechanisms of existing laws, expanding the reach and portability of social welfare schemes, and developing comprehensive, real-time data systems to monitor and support this mobile workforce. Ultimately, the research calls for urgent institutional reforms aimed at ensuring the dignity, security, and inclusion of inter-state migrant labourers in the national developmental agenda.