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Migrant Workers and Access to Legal Pathways

A case study of Delhi

In 2011, Delhi reported having 43.03% of its total population as migrants. Migrant workers, including those in Delhi, face several challenges, such as lack of access to social protection schemes, disruption in schooling of children, inadequate housing, low-paid hazardous work and discrimination based on class/caste/gender. These challenges were further exacerbated by the lockdown that India witnessed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the aftermath of the migrant worker crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, critical issues have emerged vis-à-vis India's development politics that require interrogation at a policy level. Prominent amongst these are the legal status, protections, and access to justice for the working class in our country. On this front, in 2019, as a part of its labour law reform initiative, the Government of India started the exercise of consolidating 29 central labour laws into four major labour codes. There is, however, a legitimate fear that this legislative reform will come at the cost of their rights, protections, and entitlements.

In this background, MAP undertook a six-month study with 500 migrant households as well as legal service providers to identify the legal needs of migrant worker populations in various settlements in Delhi and, the challenges they faced in accessing legal entitlements and protections. Our study highlights that the lack of a legal identity as a pertinent cause of poor access to rights at different levels. Additionally, the lack of identity seeps into complex relations at the workplace as well, complemented with job precarity, as migrant workers suffer from unequal terms of exchange leading to their exploitation. Based on these findings, we hope to make programmatic interventions to address the root of the problems of identity & accessibility to entitlements and protections among the migrant communities of Delhi.

 

Objectives

In this background, the Project sought to:

  • Map the level of knowledge within the target community regarding their rights under the existing legal framework;

  • Identify the pressing legal needs and challenges faced by migrant workers in Delhi, particularly in accessing legal documentation, legal entitlements and protection, and redressal mechanisms;

  • Understand the role community support structures, particularly CSOs, can play in addressing the heightened vulnerability of this community and, in strengthening their access to protection services; and

  • Assess the challenges faced by legal aid providers in facilitating access to justice systems (both formal and informal), and identify ways in which we can work in partnership with them to provide quality legal aid to migrant workers.

 

Methodology & Intervention

For the purpose of the study, MAP undertook the following:

  • Designed and carried out six comprehensive surveys relying on a combination of qualitative and quantitative indicators with our target group - migrant workers, civil society organizations, lawyers and worker's rights organisations, paralegal volunteers registered with the Delhi State Legal Services Authority ('DSLSA'), and legal aid clinics at law schools around the country; and

  • Twelve settlements were identified for surveying migrant worker households. The selection of these settlements was guided by multiple factors such as the presence of a higher proportion of the migrant community, and M.A.P’s ongoing legal programmes in the area among others.

 

Structure of the Report

The structure of the project is as enshrined below:

  • Chapter 1, “Migrant Workers’ Survey”: An analysis of the needs assessment survey conducted with the migrant community with a focus on the demographics of the target community, identification of their legal needs, and the challenges in accessing existing legal pathways.

  • Chapter 2, “Learnings from Non-Governmental Organisations”: The key findings of the needs assessment surveys conducted with local NGOs that are operational in the identified settlements, their role in facilitating workers' access to legal rights and entitlements.

  • Chapter 3, “Survey with Legal Stakeholders”: Outlines the observations from surveys conducted with legal stakeholders and highlights the challenges they face in providing legal assistance to migrant and unorganised sector workers.

  • Chapter 4, “A Brief Glance at the Legal Codes”: Briefly touches upon the newly passed labour codes and its implications on workers protections and entitlements.

  • Chapter 5, “Roadmap: The Way Ahead”: Presents the road map for CSOs and other stakeholders and informs the development of programmatic interventions for the way ahead. Further, it discusses the programmatic interventions M.A.P seeks to undertake to address the legal needs of migrant and unorganised sector workers.