Human Rights Issues of Migrant Workers in Kerala

Abstract

Migration of people from one place to another is a complex phenomenon. Migration has become a key policy issue for many developing countries, depending on the state of the national economy and the employment situation. As per ILO figures there are over 175 million migrants worldwide. In India, people migrate from rural to urban areas as well as go outside the country mainly due to poverty, high population pressure on land, absence of infrastructure facilities etc. The spice trade between Kerala and much of the world started as early as 3000 BC led to the beginning of migration into and from the state. Large scale migration of people from Kerala created a gap between the demand and supply of workers in the labour market. This gap is effectively filled by migrant workers from other parts of the country. They are now numbered more than 4 million in the state. The migrant workers are assured certain rights as envisaged by the international covenants as well as the national laws. However, they are found somehow neglected and denied as far as the migrant workers in the state are concerned. The human rights issues of migrant workers ranges from their work site to the dwelling place having multiple dimensions. The present paper is a serious analysis of it. The present paper has been arranged in three parts such as i) migration and settlement history of Kerala, ii) Current status of migrant population and iii) human rights issues of migrant workers in Kerala.