Lok Sabha Question No. 338 (STARRED), answered on 2025-03-24
Subject: Empowerment of Migrant Workers
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Shri Kuldeep Indora

(a) to (d):

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 338 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.03.2025

## EMPOWERMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS

*338. SHRI KULDEEP INDORA:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  new  measures  for empowering migrant workers by ensuring their long-term security and opportunities to grow;
- (b)if so, the details thereof;
- (c)the details of the steps taken by the Government to create a safer, more supportive environment for migrant workers; and
- (d)the measures taken by the Government which aim at helping them to  have  easy  access  to  skills  training,  social  security  and  fair wages?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (DR. MANSUKH MANDAVIYA)

A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *338 FOR REPLY ON 24.03.2025 RAISED BY SHRI KULDEEP INDORA REGARDING EMPOWERMENT OF MIGRANT WORKERS.

(a) to (d): The  Government  has  enacted  the  Inter-State  Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Services) Act, 1979 to provide for conditions of service of the migrant workers and matter  connected  therewith.  The  Act  provides  for  registration  of certain  establishments  employing  Inter  State  Migrant  Workers, licensing of contractors etc. Workers employed with such establishments are to be provided minimum wages, journey allowance,  displacement  allowance,  residential  accommodation, medical facilities and protective clothing etc.

This Act has been subsumed in the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH) Code, 2020. The OSH Code, provides for decent working conditions, minimum wages, grievances redressal mechanisms, toll free helpline to migrant workers.

The Government implements various welfare schemes for workers,  including  migrant  workers,  such  as  Ayushman  BharatPradhan  Mantri  Jan  Arogya  Yojana  (AB-PMJAY)  for  healthcare, Pradhan  Mantri  Jeevan  Jyoti  Bima  Yojana  (PMJJBY)  and  Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) for life and accident insurance respectively.  Pradhan  Mantri  Shram  Yogi  Maan-Dhan  (PMSYM)  for pension benefits, the One-Nation- One-Ration-Card Scheme for food security, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) for housing, and skill development  initiatives  such  as  Deen  Dayal  Upadhyay  Gramin Kaushal  Yojana  and  Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana.  The Mahatma Gandhi NREGS for employment guarantee to name a few.

Ministry  of  Labour  &  Employment  launched  the  eShram portal (eshram.gov.in) on 26 th August  2021  for creation of a comprehensive  National  Database  of  the  Unorganised  Workers (NDUW), including migrant workers, seeded with Aadhaar.  eShram portal is meant to register and support the unorganised workers by providing  them  a  Universal  Account  Number  (UAN)  on  a  selfdeclaration basis.

So far, 13 schemes of different Central Ministries/Departments have already been integrated/ mapped with the  eShram  including  Pradhan  Mantri  Street  Vendors  Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM-SVANidhi), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  Pradhan  Mantri  Awas  Yojana -Gramin  (PMAY-G),  Ayushman  Bharat  -  Pradhan  Mantri  Jan  Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) and  Pradhan  Mantri  Matsya  Sampada  Yojana  (PMMSY),  Pradhan

Mantri Kisan Maan Dhan Yojana (PM-KMY). To  enhance  the  accessibility  of  the  eShram  portal,  the Ministry of Labour and Employment launched multilingual functionality on the eShram portal on 7th January 2025, using the Bhashini platform. This enhancement now allows workers to interact with eShram portal in 22 Indian languages, improving accessibility and promoting inclusivity for all. Under the Government of India's Skill India Mission (SIM), the  Ministry  of  Skill  Development  and  Entrepreneurship  (MSDE) delivers  skill,  re-skill  and  up-skill  training  through  an  extensive network  of  skill  development  centres  under  various  schemes,  viz. Pradhan  Mantri  Kaushal  Vikas  Yojana  (PMKVY),  Jan  Sikhshan Sansthan (JSS), National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) and  Craftsman  Training  Scheme  (CTS)  through  Industrial  Training Institutes (ITIs), to all the sections of the society across the country. The SIM aims at enabling youth of India to get future ready & industry ready skill. The  government  has  enacted  the  Minimum  Wages  Act, 1948 to ensure that workers get wages at a rate not less than the minimum rate of wages fixed by the appropriate government. The Act provides for different minimum wages across various industries. The provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, have been rationalized and  subsumed  under  the  Code  on  Wages,  2019.  The  Code  makes minimum wages universally applicable across employments.

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