By Akshat Bhushan
Introduction
The Novel Coronavirus has brought the whole world to a standstill. The virus had reportedly originated in China in November 2019. It spread far and wide across national borders so much so that by March 11, 2020 the disease was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.[1] In India, the first case was reported on January 30, 2020.[2] Partly due to the rising cases as well as the experience of other countries, the Government of India decided to impose a nationwide lockdown from March 25, 2020. The Indian Prime Minister Modi, in his address to the nation, informed people about the lockdown only four hours before it was imposed. This sudden announcement sent shock waves among millions of migrant labourers, whose means of livelihood was in peril. Since the lockdown, the migrant labourers have been suffering immensely due to losing their jobs and are running out of money. Most of these workers were landless and had no place to stay. The Central Government, as well as the various State Governments, failed in providing the workers with even the basic amenities like food and shelter. Though initially the lockdown was imposed for twenty-one days, it has been extended four times by May 17. In such an atmosphere of uncertainty, these labourers plan to set on foot towards their villages for social security. It has also been reported that many labourers died on their way back home[3]
Rights of Migrant Workers based on International Covenants and treaties
There are a number of international covenants that places an obligation on the Indian State to provide food and shelter to its people. Article 253 of the Indian Constitution also gives the Parliament of India the power to makes laws to implement international treaties. India was among the 48 nations that had initially voted in favour of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.[4] The UDHR, which was adopted 3 years after the formation of the United Nations General Assembly, is considered to be one of the most important documents recognizing basic Human Rights. Article 25(1) of UDHR guarantees the right to food and housing to every individual. Article 11(1) of the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights also states that it is the fundamental right of every person to be free of hunger. The said Covenant has been adopted and ratified by India. Therefore, these international treaties place an obligation on the Government to take steps for providing the poor homeless labourers with food and accommodation.
Constitutional Rights of Migrants Labourers
The Indian Constitution protects the interests of the migrant workers by granting them the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21. In Chameli Singh v. State of U.P., it was held that the right to life can be secured only when an individual is provided with all opportunities that are required for his personal growth and development. Therefore, every person is entitled to right to food and shelter under Article 21.[5] Even in Kesavananda Bharati’s case; the case that is famously remembered for the basic structure doctrine, S.M Sikhri J remarked that ‘freedom from starvation is as important as right to life’.[6] The Supreme Court placed reliance on certain decisions to indicate that the wide ambit of Article 21 wherein the term ‘life’ does not mean ‘mere animal existence’ but ‘right to live with human dignity,’ thereby embracing quality of life as a necessary ingredient of right to life.[7] A person’s right to dignity further includes the right to food and shelter.[8] There have also been cases of police brutality against these workers for violating the lockdown norms. Due to the lockdown, the migrant workers have been forced to lead a wretched life of starvation, privation and homelessness, which is a gross violation of these labourers right to life as guaranteed under Article 21.
Duties of the State
Article 39 of Indian Constitution provides that the State must strive towards providing adequate means of livelihood.[9] Article 47 also states that the State has to try to raise the level of nutrition.[10] These are the Directive Principles of State Policy mentioned in Part IV of the Indian Constitution. Even though these are not justiciable like the Fundamental Rights mentioned in Part III, but they still give us an idea of the broader duties and aims of the State. Even under ordinary circumstances India has not been able to feed its population adequately and holds a poor 102nd place in the Global Hunger Index 2019. [11] But these extraordinary times have further exposed the fault lines in our governance model and the way the State has failed in serving the people.
Statutory Rights of Migrant Workers
Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 requires the employer to register the name of every worker who is a migrant of a different State.[12] In addition to the payment of ordinary wages, the employer is also under an obligation to pay his employee Journey Allowance for moving to and fro between his place of work in the State where he is working and his place of residence in the other State.[13] The migrant workers are also entitled to a Displacement allowance equivalent to half of the monthly wages or seventy five rupees whichever is higher from their employees.[14] Looking at the way these workers are risking their lives and violating the lockdown rules by making an attempt to walk back to their villages, it does not seem that these workers are being paid the required wages and allowances. Even the Labour Ministry had come out with an advisory directing the employers not to lay off their staff. But the Government enterprises like All India Radio themselves did not follow these norms and laid off their casual staff. [15]
The Way Forward
There must indeed be some employees who might be flouting the Government rules scrupulously, but for many others it is not possible to pay their workers for a long time. This is because the businesses especially the informal sector of the economy has been in tatters for the last few quarters with the whole Indian Economy registering a low G.D.P rate of 5% in 2018-19[16].
The Government did come out with a package of 20 lakh crore rupees claiming it to be 10% of the GDP of India.[17] However, as the saying goes, the devil lies in the details. If one were to take a closer look, then one would find that most of the benefits that were being provided in this package were already declared in this year’s Budget[18] or were in the form of collateral-free loans[19]. 8.74 lakh crore out of the 20 lakh crore package were already given out by the Reserve Bank of India.[20] This amount was being paid out of RBI reserves and not the Government’s budgetary expenditure. Therefore, according to Barclays and CARE rating, in effect, the whole package is worth merely 1.75 to 2.3 lakh crore which is 0.75 to 1.3 % of the GDP.[21]
This relief package is much lower than the packages being provided by other large economies. United States is providing a stimulus package of 10 % of their GDP, Canada is providing 9.7 % of their GDP as relief package to deal with the economic crisis that has emerged as a result of COVID-19 pandemic..[22] Even a small economy like Pakistan, has rolled out a relief package which accounts for 3.34% of their GDP. In terms of the percentage of GDP which has been effectively used to provide immediate relief to its citizens, Pakistan has outspent India by more than twice. In this package a significant amount has been used for facilitating the income of daily wage earners and direct benefit transfers to families belonging to lower income group. The package has also been used to expedite the procurement of wheat grains.[23]
Taking a cue from other countries the Indian Government needs to come out with a greater relief package in the subsequent weeks. The measures adopted by the Government might help to a certain extent but this would not give an immediate boost to the economy. It is important that the businesses and employers have money in hand so that these can then be passed on to the employees especially the migrant workers who are the most vulnerable right now. It is also the responsibility of the Government to provide free food with accommodation to homeless migrants workers. The decision of the Union Government to provide free food grains for 2 months even to non-ration card holders is a welcome step.
If these workers stay out of work for long, then the economy would fall into the vicious cycle of fall in income, which will cause a decline in demand. This in turn would result in lower levels of production that would lead to the employees being laid off. This would mean that the people’s income will fall which would lead to a fall in the tax collection for the Government thereby increasing the fiscal deficit. At present, the Government should not bother much about the fiscal deficit and provide a bigger stimulus package in the form of direct benefit transfer to the employers. This will ensure that there is cash in hand and less burden on the employers to repay these loans.
The ongoing lockdown in India is a crisis of unprecedented nature, especially for vulnerable sections of society such as migrant labourers whose very survival is at stake. The Indian State should strive towards providing them with habitable and hygienic accommodation, wholesome food and monetary assistance to meet their bare necessities till their means of livelihood are restored. It is incumbent upon the ruling dispensation at the Centre and various states to mitigate the sufferings of the migrant workers and to instill a sense of security and well-being.
The author, Akshat Bhushan, is currently a law student at the Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), Raipur.
[1] Holly Secon, Aylin Woodward, A comprehensive timeline of the new coronavirus pandemic from China’s first COVID-19 case to the present, Business Insider India(20/03/2020), https://www.businessinsider.in/science/news/a-comprehensive-timeline-of-the-new-coronavirus-pandemic-from-chinas-first-covid-19-case-to-the-present/articleshow/74721166.cms, last seen on 10/05/2020.
[2] David Reid, India confirms the first case of of the Coronavirus, CNBC, (30/01/2020) https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/30/india-confirms-first-case-of-the-coronavirus.html, last seen on 10/05/2020.
[3] Kabir Agarwal, Not Just The Aurangabad Accident,383 People Have Died Due To The Punitive Lockdown, The Wire, (10/05/2020) https://thewire.in/rights/migrant-workers-non-coronavirus-lockdown-deaths, last seen on 12/05/2020.
[4]Ambassador Bhaswati Mukherjee, Dilemma confronting UN Human Rights Mechanisms, Ministry of External Affairs, (27/07/2014) https://mea.gov.in/in-focus-article.htm?23751/Dilemma+confronting+UN+Human+Rights+Mechanisms, last seen on 14/05/2020.
[5] Chameli Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 1996 (2) SCC 549.
[6] Kesavanand Bharti v. State of Kerala, (1973) 4 SCC 225.
[7] P . Rathinam v. Union of India, AIR 1994 SC 1844.
[8] Francis Coraile Mullin v. Administrator, Union Territiry of Delhi and Ors, (1981) 1 SCC 608.
[9] Art. 39, the Constitution of India.
[10] Art. 47, the Constitution of India.
[11]PTI, India slips to 102nd rank in Global Hunger Report 2019, The Hindu Busienss Line, (16/10/2019) https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/india-slips-to-102nd-rank-in-global-hunger-report-2019/article29698494.ece, last seen on 15/05/2020.
[12] S. 6, The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
[13] S. 15, The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
[14] S. 14, The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979.
[15]Anusuya Som, All India Radio ignores Government advisories, puts casual staff out of work, Newslaundry, (21/04/2020) https://www.newslaundry.com/2020/04/21/all-india-radio-ignores-government-advisories-puts-casual-staff-out-of-work, last seen in 15/05/2020.
[16] PTI, India’s GDP growth rate for 201-20 estimated at 5% against 6.8 % of FY19, ,Business Standard, (07/01/2020) https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/gdp-first-advance-estimates-predict-economic-growth-at-5-in-2019-2020-120010700990_1.html, last seen on 18/05/2020.
[17] PTI, Rs. 20-lakh cr stimulus package: At 10 % of GDP, Narendra Modi’s Atma-nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan ranks among biggest in world, Firstpost, (13/05/2020) https://www.firstpost.com/business/rs-20-lakh-cr-stimulus-package-at-10-of-gdp-narendra-modis-atma-nirbhar-bharat-abhiyan-ranks-among-biggest-in-world-8364191.html, last seen on 20/05/2020.
[18] Jonathan Ananda, Atmanirbhar announcements ring a bell?They were part of earlier budget speeches, The New Indian Express, (16/05/2020) https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2020/may/16/atmanirbhar-announcements-ring-a-bell-they-were-part-of-earlier-budget-speeches-2143941.html, last seen on 16/05/2020.
[19] BQ Desk, Covid-19 economic package: MSMEs Get New Definition Collateral Free Loans And Other Funding Support, The Economic Times, (13/05/2020) https://www.bloombergquint.com/economy-finance/covid-19-economic-package-msmes-get-new-definition-collateral-free-loans-and-other-funding-support, last seen on 16/05/2020.
[20] PTI, Economic stimulus package includes Rs. 8 lakh crore liquidity measures by RBI:FM Sitharaman, The Economic Times, ( 17/05/2020) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/economic-stimulus-package-includes-rs-8-lakh-crore-liquidity-measures-by-rbi-fm-sitharaman/articleshow/75786026.cms, last seen on 19/05/2020.
[21] Sunita Natti, Centre’s outgo on stimulus package less than 3 lakh crore, The New Indian Express, (18/05/2020) https://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2020/may/18/centres-outgo-on-stimulus-package-less-than-rs-3-lakh-crore-2144720.html, last seen on 19/05/2020.
[22]Radhika Merwin, Covid-19 stimulus package: Centre’s Rs. 1.7 Lakh crore no match for global response, The Hindu Business Line, (27/03/2020) https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/portfolio/news-analysis/covid-19-stimulus-package-centres-rs-17-lakh-crore-no-match-for-global-response/article31176067.ece/amp/, last seen on 19/05/2020.
[23] Deepankar Basu and Priyanka Srivastava, COVID-19 in South Asia: India Lags Behind on Stimulus, Lanka on Overall Performance, The Wire, ( 19/05/2020) https://thewire.in/political-economy/covid-19-in-south-asia-india-lags-behind-pak-on-stimulus-lanka-on-overall-performance ,last seen on 21/05/2020
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