After Friday, construction labourer Guna Nayak has had to wait till Monday to resume work, courtesy the weekend curfews imposed two weeks ago in Delhi.

The migrant worker from Odisha’s Kendrapara district depends on his daily wage of Rs 500, and prefers to work round the week.

“Whenever there are restrictions like a night curfew or a weekend curfew, or 50 per cent occupancy in public transport, people like us are the worst sufferers,” Nayak said.

“I have to sit out Saturdays and Sundays without work or pay. On other days I have to leave home two hours before my reporting time at the work site, because the public buses will not allow more than 50 per cent occupancy.”

Unorganised workers — day labourers, drivers of rickshaws, taxis or other transport vehicles, fruit and vegetable vendors, and workers at canteens and roadside eateries — are witnessing a reduction in work and income in Delhi.

The state government has enforced weekend curfews and work-from-home for private office staff, except for those dealing with essential commodities and services.
Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Haryana and Maharashtra too have enforced night curfews and restrictions on gatherings.

Pawan Kumar, north zone secretary of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, said the central government had already collected data on 21 crore among India’s estimated 38 crore unorganised workers — including migrant workers — through registrations on the e-Shram portal.

“Now, in areas where there is a partial lockdown and the workers are in distress, the Centre and the states should provide them with assistance, such as free rations,” he said.

The Centre provides 5kg food grains per person per month at subsidised rates under the National Food Security Act. An additional 5kg grains per person that was given free to the Act’s beneficiaries since the onset of Covid has been stopped since last November.

The Centre has started a One Nation One Ration card scheme under which a beneficiary can get subsidised rations anywhere in the country. But lack of awareness has kept many migrant workers from claiming the benefit.

Bihuti Khatua, a migrant plumber, said he had enrolled under the National Food Security Act in Odisha but was not receiving subsidised rations in Delhi. “Nobody told us about this One Nation One Ration card scheme,” he said.

Union labour secretary Sunil Barthwal held a review meeting with his state counterparts on Thursday to assess the states’ preparedness to meet the needs of workers amid the latest Covid restrictions.

The states told him that no restrictions had been imposed on construction, business and industrial activities or the running of shops, and that weekend curfews were being enforced only at a few places.

“So far, there is no report of unusual movement of migrant workers at present (sic) owing to the limited restrictions imposed by the governments,” a Press Information Bureau release said.