The covid-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the apathy with which migrant workers are treated by the state. Estimates suggest that around 600,000 migrant workers are stranded on the road currently due to the lockdown and around 400 million informal workers are at the risk of falling into deeper poverty.
Surprisingly, a review of recent legislative discussions would reveal that the benefit of migrant workers was on top of the mind of the government.
So, what went wrong? In effect, the pandemic has exposed the complete disconnect between those in power and the ground realities.
It is time to turn good intentions to reality. A couple of months ago, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour was deliberating on the conditions of