Pandemic impact: 81% stranded workers out of job, just 18% receive last month's wages

By Jag Jivan*
A Stranded Workers Action Network (SWAN) survey has said that just about 81% of the workers, who are either still stranded during the second pandemic wave or are in their homes, asserted they are currently out of job due to locally declared lockdowns/ restrictions.
“On average, workers said that work had stopped for 19 days”, a SWAN note on the survey said, adding, “68% of workers said that they had received their full or partial wages for the previous month, but only 18% had received any money from their employer since the work had stopped.”
Pointing out that some workers have returned to their native villages, others were unsure about whether they should go back or wait for work to resume, the note prepared by the civil rights group said, 76% of the workers needed ration and/or cash support.
A group of around 100 volunteers, SWAN claimed to have been formed last year in response to distress calls from over 30,000 migrant workers from across India, the civil rights group said, it helped connect these workers to local organisations and government officials for providing ration and assisted them with their travel arrangements, apart from distributing over Rs 63 lakh in emergency cash transfers.
“This year, again, as lockdowns and restrictions continue to be imposed, we have resumed our efforts to provide support and relief to workers who have been stranded away from their homes with limited means of sustenance. SWAN has been in touch with the families/groups of hundreds of migrant workers over the last two weeks”, the note said.

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*Freelance writer

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