Plight of Migrant Workers

Migration of labour in any country has its ill effects on the migrating community. People coming out of their vicinity are vulnerable to exploitation owing to the pressure of daily needs adding to the pressure of sending money back home for the dependents. This pressure is doubled with the unavailability of work/job. Millions of workers across the globe end up working in hazardous work environment. They are also subjugated to poor living conditions and excessive work load. They often stay in groups,  often 6-7 or even more workers stay in one rented room and a shared toilet. For them it is there need to work more and more and hence earn more and more. They do not have a family waiting for them back home and hence there is nothing to do out there. They come to cities for work with a mind set to earn as much as they can and return back to their respective villages for the seasons of harvesting/sowing and be with their families. They do not want them to be covered by any insurance and hence loose on money from their earnings. They want to gather the required amount of money and reach back their respective destinations. World for them revolves around trying to meet both the ends coupled with the agony of staying away from their loved ones. 

Social Audits on the contrary wants these workers to work within limited permissible hours and get covered under insurance for their own good. In this tug of war between the right and wrong the one who benefits the most is the Employer. He trains these workers to outsmart audit-interviews adding on to workers’ plight. He being an ignorant gets exploited at this front as well.

Time has come for CSR to look beyond the audits and remediate accordingly.

Courtesy:
www.drdconsultants.com