Socio-economic conditions of inter-state migrant workers in Kerala with special reference to iron and steel industrial units in Kanjikode in Palakkad district

The report titled ‘International Migration 2020 Highlights’ marks out several interesting global migration trends that are of interest in India, the ‘largest transnational community in the world’ with 18 million of its citizens living outside their homeland in 2020, above Russian Federation and Mexico (11 million each), China (10 million) and the Syrian Arab Republic (eight million). (In 2019 India received USD 83 billion in remittances from its diaspora.) The report indicates that as world population is ageing rapidly, there is an increasing ‘gender-specific demand’ for migrant workers, especially for care-related work in many high-income countries.

Women now comprise slightly less than half of all international migrants and, increasingly, they migrate on their own for study or work, unlike earlier when they used to do so as dependants of spouses or other family members. In 2020, 48 per cent of all international migrants worldwide were women or girls. The number of female migrants has grown more rapidly than that of male migrants in both Europe and North America in the past decades. The report said 165

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association this could be a trend associated with several factors, including sex differentials in survivorship and migration policies. Population ageing and changes in labour force participation and in labour preferences of native-born women also help to explain the higher share of female migrants in Europe and North America.

The report found that migrant women from lower-income countries were increasingly taking up care-related work, which was previously done by native-born women, often without pay. In turn, older women in low-income countries were playing a more important role serving as caregivers to children “left behind” by female migrant workers. At the same time, there is rapidly increasing masculinization of migration in high- and middle-income countries in West Asia and Northern Africa, and to a lesser extent in sub-Saharan Africa (Y. Shi et. al 2020) . The demand for male workers outpaced the demand for female workers in several oil-producing countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and countries that relied primarily on temporary labour migration contracts. Overall, the impact of this is so pronounced that “it is driving the trend of declining share of female migrants at the global level,” the report said. The United States of America remained the largest destination of international migrants with 51 million migrants in 2020, equal to 18 per cent of the world’s total. Germany hosted the second largest number of migrants worldwide (around 16 million), followed by Saudi Arabia (13 million), the Russian Federation (12 million) and the United Kingdom (9 million). And, Central and Southern Asia had the largest share (78 per cent) of its diaspora residing outside the region.

The Indian diaspora is distributed across a number of major countries, with the UAE (3.5 million), the U.S. (2.7 million) and Saudi Arabia (2.5 million) hosting the largest numbers of migrants from India. Other countries with large numbers of migrants from India include Australia, Canada, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar and the U.K .

Migration in India

Migration is the movement of people away from their usual place of residence, across either internal (within country) or international (across countries) borders. The latest government data on migration comes from the 2011 Census. As per the Census, India had 45.6 crore migrants in 2011 (38% of the population) compared to 31.5 crore migrants in 2001 (31% of the population). Between 2001 and 2011, while population grew by 18%, the number of migrants increased by 45%. In 2011, 99% of total migration was internal and immigrants (international migrants) comprised 1%.

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association

Patterns of Migration

Internal migrant flows can be classified on the basis of origin and destination. One kind of classification is: i) rural-rural, ii) rural-urban, iii) urban-rural and iv) urban-urban. As per the 2011 census, there were 21 crore rural-rural migrants which formed 54% of classifiable internal migration (the Census did not classify 5.3 crore people as originating from either rural or urban areas). Rural-urban and urban-urban movement accounted for around 8 crore migrants each (Guobin Chen et. al 2020). There were around 3 crore urban-rural migrants (7% of classifiable internal migration).

Another way to classify migration is: (i) intra-state, and (ii) inter-state. In 2011, intrastate movement accounted for almost 88% of all internal migration (39.6 crore persons). There is variation across states in terms of inter-state migration flows. According to the 2011 Census, there were 5.4 crore inter-state migrants. As of 2011, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar were the largest source of inter-state migrants while Maharashtra and Delhi were the largest receiver states. Around 83 lakh residents of Uttar Pradesh and 63 lakh residents of Bihar had moved either temporarily or permanently to other states. Around 60 lakh people from across India had migrated to Maharashtra by 2011 .

The present study focused on socio-economic condition of inter-state migrant workers in iron and steel industrial units in Kanjikode in Palakkad district. The hypotheses tested were, the migrant workers did not differ significantly in their monthly income and expenditure.

Review of Literature

Anjali Sasi and Santha (2017) presented a paper on “Migrant Labourers in Perumbavoor”. The study aims to analyse the characteristics of migrant labourers in Perum-bavoor, Kerala. The respondents of the study consist of migrant labourers from different states of India who came to work in Perumbavoor. Most the respondents were males below the age of 30 years. The respondents dwelled in rooms and in houses. Most the respondents used common toilet than individual toilets. The number of inmates of the respondents in a room was 5 to 10. Most of the respondents got information about employment opportunities from their friends. The workers got employment for a period of 6 days in a week. Construction, trade and manufacturing were the main sectors of working by the respondents. More than half of the respondents were unskilled workers. \Most of the respondents were males below the age of 30 years. The respondents dwelled in rooms and in houses. The workers got employment for a period of 6 167

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association days in a week. Construction, trade and manufacturing were the main sectors of working by the respondents. More than half of the respondents were unskilled workers.

Puthuma Joy (2016) presented a paper on “Impact of migrant workers in the Kerala economy”. The study reveals that emergence of migrant labourers in to the labour market of Kerala was a relief to the manual labour deficit market and they supply cheaper labour force in the labour market. Migrant workers engage in almost all activities as engaged by native workers. They perform various agricultural operations. Migrant workers have an important place in the labour market and contribute much to the economic development of the state by providing labour force to various economic activities, which otherwise will be impossible due to scarcity of workers. Even though migrant workers are an important source of labour, have started their task long ago and have played an important role in making up present face of the state and economy by providing labour force, they have get little recognition and consideration in the state and also they are neglected by the academic community in studying their conditions and contributions. Migrating for work is an historical source of livelihood for many regional households and migrant labour is an important source of labour for many sectors including agriculture. West Bengal and Assam dominated the sources of migration to Kerala. Kerala economy faces the existing agriculture sector is mostly dependent on migrant labours the economy transferring our labour force from farm employment to non-farm employment. That shift would create a wide gap between the demand for and the supply of labour in the agriculture sector. Our existing agriculture sector was the sweat of migrant labours.

Aijaz Ahmad Turrey (2016) made a study on “An analysis of internal migration type in India in purview of its social and economic impacts”. Internal migration in India is mainly from states having low agricultural productivities and industrial backwardness. Orissa, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh, parts of West Bengal and Telegana region in Andra Pradesh fell in this category .But recently it was found that migration also caused by environmental suitability or preference. The pattern of migration in India varies from sector to sector and state to state and is not uniform. For instance the position of migrant agricultural workmen from Bihar and UP is slightly better than the constructional workmen from Orissa and Andra Pradesh. As regards long distance, inter-state migration in the country ,a clear sex differential is found from Census 2011 .Rural to urban inter-state stream of migrations stands at top in case of male migrants accounting for 47 %. On the other hand ,rural to rural has remained the major pattern of female movement, with 38 % of them migrating from rural to rural areas. Agriculture is the main sup- 168

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association porting pillar of the economy in the country as a consequence rural to rural stream of migration leads in the internal migration process.

Methodology

Iron and steel related industrial units in Palakkad district are concentrated in the Industrial Development Area (IDA) and New Industrial Development Area (NIDA) in Kanjikode. These units produce iron/steel rods, bars, pipes, ingots and other allied products, mainly from scrap iron (MM Kamruzzaman et. al 2022), Rawal et. al (2021), Poongodi M et. al(2022), Poongodi M et. al (2021), Ramesh TR et.al (2022), Ahila A et.al (2022), Muniyappan et. al(2022) , Y. Shi et. al (2020), Guobin Chen et.al (2020), Yuanjin Xu et. al (2021), Ding Li et. al (2021) , Bin Yuan et. al (2021), Chi Z et. al (2021) . The industry depends on migrant labour, significantly from Bihar and Odisha. Iron and steel was one of the first few sectors in Kerala that engaged male workers from eastern India significantly. Workers from Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have also made their presence felt in this sector. Like in most of the industrial settings, workers live on the factory premises. Workers with families live outside. Buxar, Nalanda, Vaishali, East Champaranin Bihar, and Ganjam, Mayurbhanj and Ken-dujhar in Odisha are some of the districts from where migrants come to work in the iron and steel industry here (cmid.org.in).

The data were collected from primary sources. Based on census method about 640 respondents were selected for the study. The statistical techniques used in the analysis were percentage method and regression. The present study is based on primary data. But primary data has its own limitations. The respondents were reluctant to provide correct details regarding income, expenditure, savings and remittance. The respondents were reluctant to provide correct information regarding problems faced at work place because of fear of job loss. The respondents were also not willing to disclose the full information regarding the native place. To have accuracy in the data collected, the investigator has applied cross checking method. In this way, gross inaccuracy in the given data was minimized.

Findings of the Study

The study brings out the socio-economic conditions of inter-state migrant workers in iron and steel industrial units.

Socio-Economic Conditions of Migrants

To have an in-depth analysis of the migrants, the major components of soci0 and economic characteristics must be considered. Social environment consists of religion. Economic 169

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association environment is a combination of factors such as monthly income, expenditure, and savings. It is essential to take into consideration the influence of socio and economic factors on the work and life of the study group. Such an analysis is presented in the following section.

Table 1

Socio-Economic Conditions of Migrants

Age (In years)		Number of respondents
	Less than 20	39(6)
	20-30	276(43)
	30-40	185(29)
	40-50	92(14.4)
	Above 50	48(7.5)
Religion	Hindus	603(94)
	Muslims	34(5.3)
	Christians	3(.5)
Monthly Expenditure (in ?)	Below 5000	400(62.5)
	5000-10000	208(32.5)
	10000-15000	26(4)
	15000-20000	4(.63)
	Above 20000	2(.31)
Monthly Income (in ?)	Below 10000	81(12.7)
	10000-20000	400(62.5)
	20000-30000	113(17.7)
	Above 30000	46(7.2)
Monthly saving in bank (in ?)	Nil	427(66.7)
	0-3000	86(13.4)
	3000-6000	113(17.7)
	6000-9000	14 (2.2)
Monthly saving in LIC	Nil	553(86.4)
	0-500	45(7)
	500-1000	38(5.9)

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association

(in ₹)

1000-1500

4(.6)

Source: Based on field survey, 2019

Note: Figures in parenthesis denote percentage to column total

Table 1 shows the age of migrant workers. Majority of respondents were in the age group of 20-30 years. Around 43.1 percent of the respondents are in the age group of 20-30 years, 28.9 percent are from the age group of 30-40 years, 14.4 percent are from the age group of 40-50 years, 7.5 percent are above 50 years and 6.1 percent are from below 20 years age group.

Religion wise distribution of migrant workers shows that majority (94.2 percent) of migrant workers are ‘Hindus’, 5.3 percent are ‘Muslims’ and 0.5 percent of migrant workers are Christians.

Majority (62.5 percent) of respondents had received monthly income in the range of ₹ 10000-20000, about 17.7 percent of respondents had received monthly income in the range of ₹ 20000-30000, about 12.7 percent of respondents had received monthly income in the range of ₹ below 10000, about 7.2 percent of respondents had received monthly income in the range of above ₹ 30000.

Majority (62.5 percent) of respondents had a monthly expenditure in the range of below ₹5000, 32.5 percent of the respondents had monthly expenditure in the range of ₹5000-10000 and 4 percent respondents had monthly expenditure of ₹10000-15000.

The average monthly income and expenditure was Rs.13214.84 and Rs.4730.16 respectively. To find out whether the income and expenditure significantly varied among of the migrants, ‘t’ test was applied. From the calculated ‘t’ values for income (88.613) and expenditure (48.919) it can be inferred that there was significant difference in the income received and expenditure incurred among the migrants of the study.

Majority (86.4 percent) of the respondents had no savings in LIC. About 7 percentage of respondents had saving in LIC with monthly premium amount of below ₹500. Around 5.9 percentage of the respondents had monthly saving in LIC in the range of ₹500-1000 and 0.6 percent of the respondent had saved in the range of ₹1000-1500.

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association

Simple Linear Regression Analysis

Family income is an important indicator to analyse the economic background of the sample households. The monthly income of the sample households was considered for the analysis. The dominant factor that compels women to go for work is to earn a livelihood. The major share of income earned through work is spent on consumption expenditure which includes money spent on food, clothing, education, festivals, recreation etc (Shobha, 2014 and 2015). An analysis was carried to find out the impact of income on expenditure using simple linear regression technique.

Table 2

Regression

Model	Unstandardised co-efficients		Standardised  co efficients	T	Sig
	Beta	Sta ndard Error	Beta
(Constant) Income	- 2334.436 .535	199 .613 .01 5	.824	- 11.695 3 6.803	.00 0 .00 0
R=0.824        R Square = 0.680     Adjusted R square =0.679 F=1354.482     P=.000

The simple regression equation is Y = a + bx. The effect of total income on total monthly expenditure is given by the regression equation.

Y is the total monthly expenditure a is the constant value

X is the total income

B is the co-efficient for the variable x

Total monthly expenditure = -2334.436+ (0.535) total income.

The F value was 1354.482, P=0.000, which shows the model is fit. R square value is 0.680, which indicates that 68 % variation in monthly expenditure can be explained by

Science, Education and Innovations in the context of modern problems - SEI (2790-0169 IMCRA - International Meetings and Conferences Research Association the independent variable income. The slope co-efficient of independent variable is 0.535. It reveals that the increase in income has positively contributed to monthly expenditure.

Conclusion

The study revealed that the socio-economic condition of migrant workers had improved after migration. It is also found that expenditure and income are positively related. The monthly expenditure level of the migrants was low because accommodation is provided by their companies and majority of migrant workers are living very near to their industrial units so there are no transportation expenses. Moreover majority of migrant workers were living alone as a result a greater portion of their income is sent to their native place. Majority of migrant workers also had no proper source of saving neither in banks nor LIC.