Inter-State Migrant Workers — Labour Law II Notes

Inter-State Migrant Workers

A recruiter in Odisha promises 200 men good wages on a Karnataka construction site. They travel a thousand kilometres, only to find lower pay, no housing and no way home. The inter-state migrant worker law exists precisely for this worker — recruited in one State to work in another, far from any support.

Who is protected, and the facilities and duties

Applicability (Section 59, OSH Code Ch XI Pt II). The Part applies to every establishment and to every contractor who employs 10 or more inter-State migrant workers (a person recruited in one State for employment in another). The Code also lets a worker who moves on his own for work register as an inter-State migrant worker to claim benefits.

Registration and licensing.

• the principal employer must register the establishment employing inter-State migrant workers (with revocation of registration for breach); and

• the contractor must hold a licence to recruit and employ them.

Facilities and benefits (duties/obligations of the employer/contractor):

• Journey/displacement allowance (Section 61) — payment for the journey from the home State to the workplace and back;

• suitable conditions of work, and wages not less than those under the law;

• portability of benefits — a migrant worker can access ration and welfare benefits in the State where he works (a Code innovation, echoing “One Nation One Ration Card”);

• a helpline and facilitation (through the Social Security Code, Section 112);

• displacement-related protections and medical facilities.

Section 61, OSH Code 2020 (in brief): “The employer shall pay to every inter-State migrant worker employed in his establishment, a journey allowance … for … the journey from his place of residence … to the place of work …”

In Simple Terms: The migrant worker is recruited in one State for work in another. His employer/contractor must register/be licensed, pay him a journey/displacement allowance, give proper wages and conditions, and — new under the Code — let him carry his ration/welfare benefits to the State where he works.

🧩 WORKED EXAMPLE — the migrant’s journey home

Facts. A contractor recruits workers in one State for a site in another but pays no travel money and denies benefits in the host State.

Rule. The employer must pay a journey/displacement allowance (s.61) and the worker can access welfare benefits in the host State (portability).

Apply. The failure to pay the journey allowance and to allow portable benefits breaches the Part’s obligations.

Conclusion. The worker is entitled to the journey allowance and portable benefits; the contractor/employer is in breach and the registration may be revoked.

flowchart TD
    ROOT["Inter-State Migrant Workers (OSH Ch XI Pt II, s.59)"]:::root
    ROOT --> REG["Register establishment (revocable) + licence contractor"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> JA["Journey/displacement allowance (s.61)"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> COND["Suitable conditions; proper wages"]:::leaf
    ROOT --> PORT["Portability of ration/welfare benefits; helpline"]:::pay
    classDef root fill:#FFF8DC,stroke:#000,stroke-width:1px,color:#000;
    classDef leaf fill:#E6F3FF,stroke:#1E3A8A,color:#000;
    classDef pay fill:#E7F6E7,stroke:#217a21,color:#000;
    linkStyle default stroke:#888,stroke-width:1px;

Case Laws

• People’s Union for Democratic Rights v Union of India (1982) — migrant construction workers are entitled to the protections and minimum wages; denial is exploitation and forced labour under Article 23.

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