Locating Migrants Within Informal Workers’ Organizing in India: Has COVID-19 Changed Anything?

Abstract

There is a rich narrative on the new dynamics of organizing among informal workers wherein citizenship claims rather labour rights become the basis for negotiation. However, putting citizenship claims at the centre puts migrants at a relative disadvantage. Migrants share their vulnerabilities with other informal workers, but they have additional disadvantages rooted in them being ‘non-citizens’. Ironically, migrants are often treated in existing literature as an undifferentiated part of informal labour. Situated in the aftermath of COVID-19, this article locates migrant workers’ vulnerability within their inability to organize as a unique group rather than just as trade-based associations of informal workers. Specifically, the paper asks; what explains the lack of organization among migrant workers? What is the role of trade unions in this regard? And, how has an NGO-led initiative during the outbreak of Covid-19, unfolded opportunities for migrant street vendors to organize? Based on a qualitative study using, primary data from two districts in India, it is found that migrants are occupationally designed to remain de-organized, whereas trade unions represent a case of moral hazard. In fact, part of this disadvantage persists because migrants’ mobilization is yet to figure as a direct agenda of the trade unions. Alongside, a civil society organization, through iterative negotiations initiates a process that, though unintended, can address the citizenship question for migrants. This process mirrors the dynamics of alternative organizing. However, it also signifies that any claims to organize migrant workers must accommodate their distinct positioning within informal workers.

Keywords:

• Migrants
• trade union
• organizing
• informal workers
• India

Acknowledgements

The author would like to acknowledge all the respondents (migrant workers, trade union leaders and NGO representatives) for their participation in the research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 http://nasvinet.org/road-to-central-act/

2 Every state in India constitutes Construction Workers Welfare Board under the The Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act 1996. For all construction activities in states, a cess needs to be paid to the welfare board, which is expected to be utilized for welfare of construction workers.

3 Sale on essential commodities was permitted during national lockdown subject to various guidelines.

4 https://pmsvanidhi.mohua.gov.in/Home/Schemes

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Neetu Choudhary

Neetu Choudhary is the Lead Technical Expert, at Transformatory Research Collaborative India and also an Adjunct Faculty with Arizona State University. She has been a Fulbright Fellow with the School of Human Evolution and Social Change, ASU. Neetu has a doctorate in Economics from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. She has published considerably in the area of nutrition and water insecurity, gender and informal workers’ organizing. Neetu was also awarded the Global Development Network Award for best research on development in 2014. Among her non-academic assignments, Neetu has been engaged with several UN organizations.