3 Challenges Faced by Migrant Workers and How Companies Can Address Them

Labour migration in India is crucial for economic growth and improving the socio-economic condition of people. There are more than 500 million blue-collar workers in India. Over 73% of them migrate to different states in search of sustainable livelihoods.

They work in poor conditions, with little to no access to social welfare schemes. Together, with their families who accompany them, they face various risks that remain unaddressed.

The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated the tough realities of India’s migrant workforce. They suffered tremendously at different stages of reverse migration. Studies show that lack of planning led to economic challenges like wage theft, retrenchments, lack of social security, employer accountability, mobility issues, and huge social discrimination.

Today, they are returning to work with new expectations from employers. Workers want a safe, stable, and profitable workplace. With the increased demand for blue-collar workers in every sector, companies need to fulfil these aspirations to retain them.

A people-centric workforce management system can provide companies with various routes to hire, extend benefits, and engage workers.

1. In Search of Local Employment

Most migrant workers have a seasonal nature of employment. During off-seasons, they struggle to feed their families. Repeated lockdowns made situations more difficult for migrants to find jobs in their localities. They faced travel restrictions which hindered their job search as well.

Workers need to be able to search and apply for hyperlocal jobs through a singular platform when they need it. Companies need workforce management systems that can facilitate end-to-end automation of hiring workflows, right from lead generation, screening, and interview scheduling to onboarding. For companies, this is a great way to tap into a large pool of candidates and hire workers at scale when demand is high.

2. Insurance Benefits in a Pandemic Environment

Migrant workers work in precarious conditions with little wages and no access to government schemes and services. Poor and unsafe working and living conditions make them prone to diseases. Greater threats of occupational illnesses, nutritional diseases, alcoholism, HIV, and communicable diseases are rampant in the migrant workforce.

The pandemic has further elevated the risks. While the government is doing much to bring them under social security schemes, it’s time for employers to streamline the efforts.

Health insurance, life insurance, workmen’s compensation, and accidental coverage can offer financial support to them and their families. Companies can offer these benefits to make them feel valued, and, in turn, improve loyalty and motivation. This can lead to over 20% reduction in employee attrition.

A full-stack, end-to-end technology platform can aid companies to do this seamlessly. With cross-platform integrations, they can enroll workers in various insurance schemes, manage the policies, and offer them 24/7 claims assistance. With such a workforce management solution, workers can be assured of help in crises periods.

3. Timely and Fair Payment of Wages

The informal workforce in India consists of more than 150.6 million regular and daily wage earners. Most of these workers are unaware of their rights as ‘migrant workers’. Many unscrupulous agents coerce them and don’t pay minimum wages as per law.

Transparent and accurate attendance data and payrolls can help companies to pay accurate wages to workers. With a customised payroll system, companies can manage salary calculations and seamless wage disbursals across multiple sites.

This reduces many human errors and the burdens of workforce management on HR personnel and supervisors. Regular and overtime calculations, EPF contributions, and salary slips, all are generated within a click providing convenience and fostering employee trust.

A New Dawn for the Migrant Workforce

For too long, migrant workers have been a victim of exclusion. In this new India, where smartphone and internet connectivity are fast spreading across Tier-I and Tier-II cities, companies have new opportunities to bring workers under various benefits schemes.

Betterplace with its end-to-end workforce management solutions enables companies to provide the above benefits and more in a cost-effective manner. Contact us to learn more.