Scared migrant workers ‘quit Maharashtra’ amid shutdown

Mumbai:22.03.2020

Amid a near-total shutdown in the country’s commercial capital, several thousands of panicky migrant labour from different parts of India are bolting the city daily to escape the clutches of coronavirus pandemic as the state led with 63 cases on Saturday.

Since the past four-five days, various railway termini in the city, particularly the Central Railway (CR), have witnessed hordes of migrant workers jostling to catch trains bound for Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and other locations.

Migrant labour from different parts of India forms a significant chunk of the state’s workforce with many working in Mumbai, Raigad, Thane, Palghar districts, besides Pune and Nagpur.

Many apprehend that they would face pay-cuts or job losses, but a Maharashtra government order has decreed all public-private sector not to cut wages or terminate casual, temporary or contractual workers.

“The termination of employee from the job or reduction in wages in this scenario would further deepen the crisis and will not only deepen the financial condition of the employee but also hamper their morale to combat their fight with this epidemic,” Maharashtra commissioner of labour Mahendra Kalyankar said.

Kalyankar added that if any worker takes leave, he/she should be deemed to be on duty without consequential deduction in wages of this period with the coronavirus pandemic, in tune with the appeals made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray.

The problems of the migrants hopeful of returning to the safe havens of their native homes were compounded with the Central Railway (CR), Western Railway WR) and Konkan Railway (KR) together cancelling around 275 long-distance trains till March 31. IANS

LAST-MINUTE PANIC: Migrant workers try to board an overcrowded passenger train on Saturday after government imposed restrictions on gatherings in Mumbai