February 24, 2022
Apparel
COVID Revealed Just How Vulnerable Apparel Workers Are. Now What Do We Do About It?
Read this postOne half of survey participants reported having no monthly household income.
Understanding the Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Migrant Construction Workers in India
October 20, 2020
This briefing presents the results of a survey conducted with migrant workers in the construction sector aimed at assessing the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures on their lives, jobs, and personal well-being. By developing a better understanding of the changes in the vulnerabilities of migrant construction workers due to COVID-19, learnings from this research can help identify gaps in current pandemic-specific policies and service delivery, as well as inform the implementation of construction worker focused programming for government and private sector stakeholders. The study was conducted via telephone interviews over a 3-month period, resulting in 10,464 completed responses from a pool of construction workers who migrated from the Bundelkhand region to Delhi NCR.
Select Key Findings:
- 95% of workers surveyed reported having a job in construction prior to March 2020, compared to only one-third as of August 2020, indicating a 65% decrease in the number of participants employed in the construction sector during the pandemic
- As of this study’s conclusion, 52% of — or one out of every two —participants did not have a monthly household income, compared to only 1% of participants prior to the COVID-19 lockdown, suggesting the pandemic significantly affected the livelihoods of participants.
- Of the migrant construction workers surveyed, 58% were unaware of the welfare schemes and benefits they were entitled to receive, and a further 27% were unable to receive benefits despite having the necessary documents.