Karnataka witnesses second round of labor migration due to surging Covid cases

Bengaluru: A large number of industrial workers in and around Bengaluru are again migrating due to the surge in Covid cases. As a result, the construction industry, MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) and the domestic workers’ sector are facing a major labour shortage.

Many factors have led to the shortage of labour, a crucial one being the assembly elections in West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Most of the workers went to their hometowns to vote and are now hesitant to return to Karnataka fearing the virus. Some of them went home for harvest and the others went to celebrate the upcoming new year festivities in States like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

After the workers migrated during last year’s lockdown, most of them from other states started returning since October. About 50% of some 30 lakh workers came back to Karnataka by February-end. Now, it is observed that most of them are heading back to their hometowns again. Around 8 lakh people have already gone back and many more are likely to follow.

K Mahantesh, national secretary of Construction Workers’ Federation of India, said, “Most of the workers want to come back after the April 13 New Year festival. But with the changing Covid scenario in Karnataka, they also want to watch out how things pan out. Last year, due to the lockdown, they were stuck in the city with no employment. They don’t want to land in a similar situation this time.” This has left the industries with a labour shortage and the government is planning to take measures to help both the workers and the employers.

Labour Minister, A Shivaram Hebbar stated, “I would like to assure the labourers that there is a lot of difference between the situation last year and the current situation. The government does not favour extreme turns such as a lockdown. Let them enjoy the festival and happily return to Karnataka. We will take care of their safety.”

Hebbar added that the government is setting up transit homes and shelters for labourers along with all the amenities that they need. In the meantime, local labour supply has been hit by the public transport employees’ strike. Due to this, most MSME units are struggling to function.

The labour shortage comes as the input costs of cement and steel rise. Suresh Hari, chairman of CREDAI- Bengaluru said that the productivity jas decreased drastically.