Kerala 'guest' labourers prefer to stay back in Kerala

As migrant workers are hopping on special trains to reach their villages desperately, Kerala's guest workers prefer to stay back. If they return to their homes, they are not certain whether they would be able to get regular work and the pay that they get here.

Thiruvananthapuram: Many of the migrant workers who have come to Kerala for work and remain stranded here due to the lockdown situation prefer to stay back in Kerala, as they feel Kerala cares for their needs. This is at a time when most migrant workers stranded in different parts of India are seen seeking the respective State governments to help them return to their native places elsewhere in India.

The migrant labourers referred to as ‘Guest labourers’ in Kerala in a more dignified manner feel that Kerala is safer in this crisis situation. They also think that they will surely get work in Kerala. If they return to their homes, they are not certain whether they would be able to get regular work and the pay that they get here.

Kanchan Chandra Das, an Assam native who had come to Kerala looking for a job says, “The COVID threat prevails across all states in India. So there is no point in returning to Assam in such a chaotic situation, more so, as we will not get paid as well in our states.”

Kerala’s care and special measures to ensure the guest labourers’ well being gives them a sense of security here. However, with no relaxation in lockdown norms in many places, the guest labourers are yet to start working.

From the change in the way they are being addressed - ‘migrant workers from other States’ to ‘Guest labourers’ in Kerala - these labourers express their gratitude for the love and care they have been getting in Kerala.