Vikram Rajput, a native of Mawai village in Jhansi, is ready to go back to work. He is happy because he had never imagined that it would be possible to get his job back within five months of its loss during the Covid-19 crash.
Not only is he getting his job back, but he also has a welcoming red carpet from his employer, who sent his representative to the Rajput village with a van to take him back to Gujarat with other workers who had returned to the village. after the factory. closed during the national shutdown announced by the central government on March 24 to fight the Covid 19 pandemic.
“I worked in a rubber shoe factory located near Ahmedabad. After the closure of the factory, the owner expressed his inability to pay wages. With shattered dreams and little savings, I traveled hundreds of miles together with other workers to get home in mid-April. I was afraid that I would never be able to earn decent money and improve my family’s standard of living and provide a quality education for my children, ”Rajput said.
Rajput and his friends from the factory registered as MNREGA workers in the village. It helped them earn 200 rupees a day and the district administration used to supply rice, but it was barely enough for the survival of the eight members of the Rajput family.
“I was earning 1,200 rupees a day in Ahmedabad as a skilled laborer; digging a pond or a canal drain damaged our dignity, but to survive we continued with menial labor, ”said Rajput.
In the first week of September, I got a call from the factory owner saying that he was restarting manufacturing and that we should return immediately. He also assured us that we would provide free room and board.
Within a week, the factory representative arrived in town with a taxi to take us back, he said.
In Gorakhpur, the story of Motilal, a resident of Ahirauli village, is no different.
He worked in a furniture manufacturing unit in Delhi.
After the factory closed in March, he returned with the family to his hometown.
“An expert in home furnishings manufacturing, I have worked in Delhi for the past eight years. The confinement put me out of work and, together with other workers from the Gorakhpur region, I returned to my village. With little savings, he somehow managed the family. The factory supervisor arrived on Monday and assured us that the factory will not close and that our wages will also go up. The trains are full, so he has booked us plane tickets to Delhi, ”Motilal said.
Vikram Rajput and Motilal are not the only ones getting their jobs back.
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The Bundelkhand and Gorakhpur regions, known as the land of migrants, are witnessing a similar story with migrant workers being returned to their workplaces in cities. Interestingly, factory owners, real estate entrepreneurs, construction agencies are sending their representatives to convince the workers and organize their return by road, rail and air.
“Push and pull factors are propelling migrant workers back from towns to cities. The deprivations and fear of the Covid pandemic had forced the workers to return to their villages. The resumption of business activities in the unlock phase has healed the scars along with the realization that there are limited options in the villages. The workers are more than willing to come back, ”said Professor Rajesh Kumar Mishra, former head of the department of sociology at Lucknow University.
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“Recent studies show that purchasing power in rural areas has declined, adding to the plight of workers returning home. Entrepreneurs settled in cities trying to start their commercial activities are acting as a pull factor, attracting migrants to return by sending representatives, offering better wages, shelter and food, ”he said.
Labor Minister Swami Prasad Maurya said that the state government had managed to provide employment for several migrants based on their abilities.
“They were provided shelter and ration and were enrolled in the MGNREGA plans. The skills mapping of the workers was carried out to provide them with employment in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) sector. With the commencement of post-unlock activities, a large number of skilled workers have been provided jobs in various manufacturing units across the state, ”he said.
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