Question : Wages of Migrant Workers of Kerala

(a)whether the Government has been able to set up a portal for registration of migrant workers as stipulated by the Supreme Court before December 2020, if so, the details thereof, if not, the reasons therefor and the expected time limit to expedite the same;
(b)whether the Government has collected any data on the average wages earned by inter-State migrant workers in different States and if so, the details thereof;
(c)whether the Government has taken note that inter-State migrant workers in the State of Kerala are getting higher wages compared to those in other States; and
(d)whether the Government intends to increase the present income limit of Rs. 18,000 per month to qualify as an ‘inter-State migrant worker as per the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 failing which many such workers in Kerala will fall outside the purview of the definition of migrant workers and if so, the action taken thereon?

MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
(SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a): Ministry of Labour & Employment has launched e-SHRAM portal, a National Database of the Unorganised Workers on 26th August, 2021. It has been made available to the States/UTs for registration of unorganised workers including migrant workers on
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e-SHRAM portal. The main objective of the e-SHRAM portal is to create a national database of unorganised workers seeded with Aadhaar. It is also to facilitate delivery of Social Security and welfare Schemes to such workers. As on 14.03.2022, more than 26.60 crore unorganised workers have been registered on this portal.
(b) & (c): Under the provisions of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, both the Central and the State Governments are appropriate Governments to fix, review and revise the minimum wages of the employees employed in the Scheduled employments including Migrant labourers under their respective jurisdictions. The Central Government and the State Governments are mandated under section 3(1) (b) of the Act to revise the Minimum Rates of Wages payable to the employees engaged in the Scheduled employments including Migrant in their respective jurisdictions at intervals not exceeding five years. Accordingly, the minimum rates of wages in the Scheduled employments in the Central sphere were last revised by the Central Government in 2017. The details of periodic revision of minimum rates of wages in the Scheduled employments in the State sphere are not centrally maintained.
(d): There is no such proposal at present.

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