Covid-19 treatment cost must not fall on migrant workers: Govt tells states

 The Central government has asked states to ensure that migrant workers returning to cities get housing, health insurance, facemasks and are tested for the coronavirus disease without "any financial burden" on them.

States should help workers with periodic medical tests and make certain that their children are enrolled in schools “to prevent any adverse effect on education,” said the Union labour and employment ministry.

“The migrant worker should not be put to any financial burden on account of testing and any treatment/quarantine required to be undertaken by them,” said on Tuesday the 'advisory guidelines to State governments for the welfare of migrant workers returning to destination states in the backdrop of Covid-19'.

States have been asked to maintain a database of migrant workers and to map whether such workers are being covered under social security schemes or not.

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“A proper database of migrant workers is a preliminary step in order to identify and protect vulnerability among them…This data should also be shared with the concerned labour authorities to facilitate compliance with the existing labour laws relating to wages, occupational safety and health and working conditions,” the guidelines added.

States have been advised to enrol migrant workers under the Aayushman Bharat scheme to provide them health insurance cover of Rs 5 lakh per family a year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. For construction workers who migrate, the States have been advised to incur expenditure towards payment of premium for state insurance schemes. The Building and Other Construction Workers’ funds can be utilised for this purpose, the Central government has said.

The Centre has also asked States to issue guidelines to employers to take care of the needs of migrant workers. Apart from adequate availability of sanitizers, face masks, soaps at the workplace, “the employers should also be encouraged to provide one time transportation allowance/journey fare to migrant workers.” “Employers should also be encouraged to provide wages according to prevailing labour laws; facilitate provision for suitable housing arrangement and ensure enrolment of the migrant workmen in existing social security and welfare schemes,” the Union labour and employment ministry said.

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The State Governments have been asked to provide an online single window grievance redressal system, including a toll free helpline number to assist the migrant workers in distress.

The national lockdown imposed by the Central government in March to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic led a reverse migration. Workers left cities to go back to their villages as industries were shut and paying off house rent or taking care of basic needs became a challenge, apart from health concerns. According to official estimates, 500,000-600,000 workers had to walk back home on foot as public transportation was not available to them. They travelled miles on foot to reach their villages. According to one official estimate, around 8 million workers migrated back to work after the national lockdown.