While lakhs of male migrant labourers, especially from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Bengal and Jharkhand, have returned to their native places––as demonetization have robbed them of their jobs––hardly any thought has been spared for the female workforce from these very states working in various metros and other cities and towns. Their role is not being taken into account even when they have, in some cases, emerged as the main bread-winner in this hour of crisis.
Male workers are employed both in organized and unorganized sectors. In Haryana and Punjab they work as farm labouerers, or in woollen garment and cycle industries; in diamond cutting and powerlooms in Gujarat; and in stone business in Rajasthan. They work as rickshawallahs, thela-wallahs, cab and auto-drivers in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and other places. Masons are engaged in construction works, while semi-skilled workers are employed in thousands of medium, small and cottage industries across the country.
A huge number of them are seasonal migrants and are paid wages on the daily basis, while many others get monthly emoluments as contractual labours. There are few who work in organize sector.
The story of female migrants are somewhat different. There are some who moved to those places with their husbands to live in slums and work as domestic helps. Besides, a large number of young women/girls from Jharkhand and Odisha, especially tribals, can be found working as domestic helps in National Capital Region and some other places. Some Christian missionaries are engaged in supplying trained girls.
Many women from these eastern states migrate from rural to urban areas of the sme state and are also engaged in household works. It is now being observed that in this post-demonetization joblessness the earnings by women workforce––even if it is meagre––has come to the rescue of their families. In many cases the small earnings by wives as domestic-help have helped them survive as apart from money they get some food too.
Though they are engaged in unorganized sectors they are the one who have, in general, escaped retrenchment after November 8.
Samita Sen, Director, School of Women’s Studies, Jadavpur University and former VC, Diamond Harbour Women’s University, told BiharTimes that the last thing that the lady employers would do is to remove the domestic helps. True, they work in unorganized sector, yet whatever is their earning they are assured income and get at the end of the month.
No doubt these female workers are facing the problem of delayed payment or were paid in old demonetized notes, yet they are at least getting something.
In contrast most male workforce have been rendered permanently or temporarily jobless. Those who migrated with their wives have at least their spouses meagre income to fall back upon.
In big cities some domestic-helps even earn around Rs 4,000 to 5,000 per month or more by working in more than one places.
Demonetization was announced on November 8 after a large number of agricultural labourers from north-western states had returned to their homes after harvesting. As harvesting is done earlier in these states most of the labourers were back to their homes in native villages by the time notes of high value were banned. True, they came with pockets somewhat full. But most of them came with old Rs 500 and 1,000 currency notes. Yet their situation was better than those who were suddenly thrown out of job.
There are other set of migrant labourers, who work in woollen garment industries in Ludhiana and other places in Punjab. Many of them usually leave their homes before the dawn of winter. Demonetization has affected this industry as well.
Thus, the reverse migration of female workforce was minimum in the weeks after ‘notebandi’..
