Inter-State Migrant Workers under the OSH Code

Millions of Indians work in a State other than their own, often far from family, without local documents, and outside the reach of welfare schemes tied to residence. The 2020 lockdown exposed how unprotected they were. The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979 covered only workers recruited through contractors and was poorly enforced. Part II of Chapter XI of the OSH Code replaces it with a wider definition and portable benefits. This note covers the definition, the benefits, and the Supreme Court's role.

1. Who Is an Inter-State Migrant Worker

Definition and application

Figure 1: Definition and application

Two routes. A worker recruited by an employer or contractor in one State for work in another, and a worker who migrated on his own and found work in another State, are both covered.
Other Codes apply too. Migrant workers are also employees and workers under the other Codes, entitled to minimum wages, social security and the general protections of the OSH Code.

2. Benefits and Facilities

What the Code provides

Figure 2: What the Code provides

Displacement allowance. The 1979 Act provided a displacement allowance; the Code does not, focusing instead on the journey allowance and portability.
Registration. Migrant workers can also register as unorganised workers on the national portal under the Social Security Code (Topic 26)

3. The Supreme Court and Migrant Workers

PUDR v Union of India (1982). In the Asiad case, migrant workers on construction sites were held entitled to minimum wages and the protections of the 1979 Act, and payment below the minimum wage was held to be forced labour.
In Re: Problems and Miseries of Migrant Labourers (2020). During the lockdown the Court took suo motu notice and directed free travel, food and shelter for stranded migrant workers.
Directions of 29 June 2021. The Court directed the creation of a national database of unorganised workers, which became the e-Shram portal, and the implementation of One Nation One Ration Card for ration portability.

⚠ Exam trap

The OSH Code covers self-migrated workers, not only those recruited through contractors as under the 1979 Act. The wage limit is ₹18,000 a month. The Part applies to establishments with 10 or more inter-State migrant workers. Benefits include an annual journey allowance, a helpline, ration portability and construction welfare in the destination State; the old displacement allowance is gone.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

Who is an inter-State migrant worker under the OSH Code?

Under section 2(1)(zf), a person who is recruited by an employer, directly or through a contractor, in one State for employment in an establishment in another State, or who comes on his own from one State and obtains employment in another, and who draws wages of not more than ₹18,000 a month or any higher notified amount.

What is the journey allowance?

The employer pays an inter-State migrant worker a lump-sum amount of fare for a to-and-fro journey to his native place once a year, subject to the minimum period of service, periodicity and class of travel prescribed by the appropriate Government.

How does the OSH Code differ from the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979?

The 1979 Act covered only workers recruited through contractors and applied where five or more such workmen were employed. The Code covers self-migrated workers as well, applies where ten or more inter-State migrant workers are employed, adds a wage limit of ₹18,000, drops the displacement allowance, and adds a helpline, a portal and portability of ration and construction welfare benefits.

5. Related Topics

Topic 32: Contract Labour under the OSH Code. Licensing and the principal employer.
Topic 26: Gig, Platform and Unorganised Workers. Registration and portable social security.