KOCHI: The demographic pattern of the workforce of the State is fast changing with labourers from north and eastern India dominating the scene.

If it was the workers from Tamil Nadu who mostly used to reach the State, now workers from West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are also coming to the State in large numbers.

The construction boom in Kerala is offering immense job opportunities and better wages to these workers as there is a huge demand for carpenters, casual labourers, masons and experts in laying granite and marble slabs.

Building contractors are finding it difficult to get Keralite workers for construction-related work whereas they have enough number of workers from other States.

"There is a dearth of Keralite workers and a majority of the workers is from other States," said Mathew Joseph, a contractor.

While a worker in West Bengal would get a maximum wage of Rs.40 a day, he will be earning around Rs.250 here. They will also be paid overtime wages for additional work, said Mr. Joseph.

Exploitation

At the same time, trade union leaders point out that the migrant labourers are subjected to severe exploitation.

The migrant workers are paid 30 to 40 per cent less than what is paid to the workers of the State, said K.V. Manoj, Ernakulam regional secretary of the Kettida Nirmana Thozhilali Union (CITU).

This has also led to a situation where the wages of the Kerala workers are being cut down. These workers do not have the bargaining power and are often denied basic amenities, he said.

The heavy influx of these workers has also thrown up several social issues.

The antecedents of workers not brought by contractors would be unknown and it would be difficult to track those with criminal or dubious background, said Mr. Manoj.

While the Inter-State Migrant Workers Act and the Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act covered the workers recruited by contractors, the minimum wages act and such ones govern others, said Additional Labour Commissioner Prakash Oliver.

For the contract workers, the Labour department is issuing ID cards and collecting deposit from the contractors for the welfare of workers, he said.

It is the task of finding accommodation that is daunting workers the most. In many cases, they stay in tents erected at the sites.

In other cases, the workers are forced to stay in dingy and small houses hired by the contractors leading to social issues.

In one such incident that took place at Vennala, nearly 30 workers were provided accommodation in three portions of a small house. The presence of strangers in the house invited protests from the residents of the area who approached the police. Eventually, the workers had to leave the place following the intervention of the residents' association.

The rent of houses in areas like Thevara, where these workers are accommodated, have also gone up considerably, said Mr. Manoj.

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