The Impact Of The National Lock Down On Migrant Workers

A migrant worker is a person who either migrates within their home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. The International Labour Organization estimated in 2014 there were 232 million international migrants worldwide who were outside their home country for at least 12 months and approximately half of them were estimated to be economically active, i.e. being employed or seeking employment (Mainstreaming of Migration in Development Policy and Integrating Migration in the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda).In India about 120 million people or more are estimated to migrate from rural areas to urban labour markets, industries and farms. Migration has become essential for people from regions that face frequent shortages of rainfall or suffer floods, or where population densities are high in relation to land. Areas facing unresolved social or political conflicts also become prone to high out migration. Poverty, lack of local options and the availability of work elsewhere become the trigger and the pull for rural migration respectively. During this after the their widespread of pandemic Covid-19 every one and especially migrant workers wish to go back to their home station because the workers think their lives are important than earning money for their livelihood. Beside the migrant workers were scared that COVID-19 would take a couple of more years to subside and the safest thing was to be at home. So many migrant workers expressed a fear of returning their native place. The purposes of this paper are to examine the problems and challenges faced by migrant workers while travelling to their hometown and the measures taken by Government of India to ensure their safety. The present study is based on primary data collected from the sample population who moved from Chennai district of Tamilnadu to their native rural areas. Structured Questionnaire was used for survey and information were collected with the sample respondents through telephonic conversation. Chi- Square test has been employed to identify the issues and challenges of migrant workers.