According to the rule book, migrants who have worked for over six months at one place will be entitled to leave once a year, with a sleeper class ticket provided by the employer. In case of a job shift, it will be the responsibility of the new employer to provide the ticket for travel, if the worker has completed six months with the previous employer. The employer will have to display the helpline number at the working area in the language known to workers. An employer should also seek the help of social organisation to secure the workers’ safety, health and welfare.

“The proposed changes are related equally to the workforce and the workplace. This will be brought before the cabinet in the next meeting,” said Vinita Vaid Singhal, principal secretary, labour department.

Over 1.1 million migrants, including over half a million workers, travelled back to their home states, such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand during the first wave of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown. The state and central government had arranged 799 shramik trains in May 2020, to transport them to control the spread of the virus.

The amendment has also proposed the safety and securing health benefits of women working in the night shift. “The code allows women to work from 7pm to 6am, where the employer is entrusted with their security. The employer will have to provide sanitation facilities and drops. Additionally, companies are mandated to set up committees that will work as watchdogs to protect the women from any kind of exploitation,” said another official from the department.

“The state government discusses many issues related to workers only with the unions affiliated with them without taking other unions into confidence. The proposed changes in the labour codes should have been circulated among the workers and the unions, which was not done in the case,” said Anil Ganacharya, Mumbai unit chief of Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC).