Delegation from Government of Jharkhand, Dept of Labour visits Kerala

Ranchi: A delegation of the Government of Jharkhand, led by Prawin Toppo, IAS, Secretary Labour visited Kerala to meet officials from the Department of Labour, Government of Kerala to discuss inter-state mechanisms as part of the Safe & Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI).

SRMI was launched by the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on the 16th of December, 2021 to demonstrate evidence-based and data-driven robust policy action focused on migrant workers of Jharkhand.

Officials from both the State Governments discussed best practices related to securing the welfare of migrant workers during and after the COVID pandemic, and developing a better understanding amongst origin states and destination states to establish a framework for the social welfare of migrants workers.

The delegates from the Government of Jharkhand shared the need of having a robust coordination mechanism between source and destination states via the setting up of a “Workers Consulate” to ensure safe migration practices.

This coordination will help both the states in maintaining a joint database of the workers from Jharkhand working in Kerala to ensure availability and accessibility of social security benefits as per the provisions of the Government of Kerala and Central Government and provide regulatory coverage to workers ensuring their safety, dignity and social welfare at the destination state.

Smt Mini Antony, IAS, Principal Secretary, Labour, Government of Kerala along with Smt Anupama T.V, IAS, Labour Commissioner, Government of Kerala were present in the meeting. The government of Jharkhand’s efforts receive appreciation from the Department of Labour Officials from the Government of Kerala appreciated the efforts of the Government of Jharkhand to drive a welfare centric approach to mitigate the migration crisis and its sustained approach towards mainstreaming migration.

In the current context, the team members of SRMI are working closely with source districts, destination states and CSOs to develop a data-driven policy framework for safeguarding the welfare of migrant workers from Jharkhand. Delegates visited Migrant Facilitation Centre, tea plantations, and factories across Kerala.

The delegation visited the Migrant Facilitation Centre (Shramik Bandhu Sewa Kendra) in Trivandrum and Perumbavoor run by the Department of Labour, Government of Kerala, tea estates in Munnar, and fish processing units in Ernakulam to interact with workers hailing from various districts of Jharkhand and understand their experience in Kerala and the challenges faced by them so as to design suitable institutional mechanisms to facilitate maximum support.

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