Advance Payouts and Flight Tickets to Get Migrant Labour Back to Construction Projects

 

Many EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) Companies and contractors of different Construction Projects are offering incentives, paying in advance and booking flight tickets to get migrant Contractors and labourers back to work, in response to the shortage of workforce in the construction sector today post Covid 2nd wave in India.

This segment of economy was largely hit due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown/restrictions in different states with a huge number of migrant workers leaving the city for the fear of coronavirus 2nd wave in April and May this year. Although many of them are returning to the projects now, but it is happening in a staggered manner.

At many project site, the number of workers is near to what it was prior to the lockdown but at places construction work is going on with half the required labours. The work resumed in June after a gap of two months, with lesser number of workers. But the workforce is slowly getting back as the fear of the virus is fading. Many EPC contractors booked flight tickets to bring back many construction workers from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal and the picture of migrant construction labours taking flights are common in many airports in India.

On 1st July 21 while returning from Patna airport to Bengaluru, the scenario inside the aircraft was same as at least two third of the Boeing 737 was occupied by migrant labours who were returning back to Bengaluru city at different project site. Mr. Ramanand from Sasaram, who is a welder & was returning back to Project site near Bengaluru said his daily wage has increased by Rs. 100 after the construction was resumed. “I also end up working for extra hours to finish the project early,” he said. In some construction project sites, the EPC contractors had made advance payments to woo the workers to return to the construction site.

Also the small contractors cum labour suppliers are given two months advance payment for onward disbursement to the workers before leaving their villages. There was an initial inhibition to return since the cases were rising. But now they all are more confident and nearly half the workforce is back at the project site.

“Workers were given two months advance payment. There was an initial inhibition to return since the cases were rising. But now they all are more confident and nearly half the workforce is back at the project site.

Mr Ramanand said that the fear of the virus took a backseat with the growing need to earn and look after their families. “I was home for three months without any earnings. It was becoming impossible to stay home without work, so I decided to return when the contractor assured me to book a flight ticket”

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