Collaboration a key for sustainable livelihood: JEEVITAM
Changing Landscape of Livelihood - Migrant Workers: As part of the interventions required on an immediate basis to help address the plight of job-seeking migrant workers, all the stakeholders i.e. Government, Corporates and Philanthropy Organizations need to urgently collaborate and work together to help these migrant workers find a sustainable livelihood who can lead a dignified and secure life.
By Munish Chawla
The ongoing pandemic has put the plight of Migrant Workers in the forefront. We have read enough about the challenges faced by the Migrant Workers and their related problems.
I am Co-Founder of Jeevitam, a Livelihood Platform focussing on the vulnerable segments of the society. I have been a banker for over 20 years and have a very good understanding of the limitations of disadvantaged sections of the society. When we launched Jeevitam about three years back, we were committed to finding a resolution to this problem in association with the industry and we approached the problem from the first principle perspective. So we questioned everything to understand the problem of livelihood for this segment of workers.
We realized there were three key attributes unique to the vulnerable segments. First, most of them are not well educated. Second, most of them do not have access to the Internet or Smartphone. Third, they need to interact in their own native language. So we realized quickly that a website or App alone will not work for this Segment. Besides, the scale of the problem was really huge, there are more than 100 million workers in the unorganised or the unskilled / semi-skilled segment in our country. And there were not many players in the organised sector addressing this big problem. So we readily accepted the challenge and the opportunity.
The problem of unemployment or meaningful employment was already looming large over the country and then the Pandemic struck. We are suddenly in the center stage with the onset of the current Pandemic. Our prominence is not only because we have a solution but also because, we have, in the last, over three years we have been able to bring around 15 million work seekers on our platform and it’s growing fast.
The ongoing pandemic has been very difficult for these migrant workers. We have observed, there are three key trends emerging from this crisis.
First, many of these migrant workers have gone back home and many of them are not coming back soon. Second, there is a shortage of workers in the cities and industries they were working and there is an urgent need to replace them. Third, these migrant workers who have reached home are looking for work nearby.
The Central Government and all the State Governments are well aware of these three trends and are taking necessary steps to solve this problem on an immediate basis. The Central Government has launched Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana in six States with a total outlay of over 50,000 Crs, has also assured minimum ration to this segment of workers for the next few months and money has been credited to the accounts of many under the Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT Scheme).
Similarly, State Governments are also trying to help these migrant workers who returned to these states, find a sustainable livelihood in their states through Central & State-Sponsored schemes. A few States have started doing Skill Mapping of these Migrant Workers and have tied up with various Industry Associations to help them find Jobs. Besides, there are many Philanthropy Organizations that have been doing great work in the last few months to help these migrant workers. Many had helped them with food and shelter, many helped them reach back home and many helped them with requisite medical care.
However, in my view, a lot more needs to be done. This crisis has provided a massive push for change. With a large impacted population, the country doesn’t have time to crystal gaze into the future with long term solutions to the problem of the migrant workers as things are changing so fast. Jeevitam was committed to finding a solution to what we can do to solve this problem for the next 3-6 months. Here is my take on this :
First, few State Governments have already started doing Skill Mapping of these Migrant Workers who have reached home. However, since these workers are still in transition, it’s important to do Digital Skill Mapping of these Migrant Workers so that we know their location, profile, their requirements, and their aspirations. This will help geo-tag available resources and help them with targeted support.
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Second, it’s important to also do matchmaking with the available Livelihood Opportunities which include Jobs, both part time & Full Time, Entrepreneurial opportunities which include Self Employment, Micro Entrepreneurship, GiG Economy Jobs, etc. And the Work Opportunities under the Center & State-Sponsored Schemes like MGNERGA etc. There is also a need to change the mindset from Jobs to Livelihood Opportunities.
Third, the Government has recently launched a big stimulus package. However, the Government at the Center had always faced the challenge of ensuring that these schemes & stimulus packages are delivered to the intended beneficiaries. DBT is definitely one way to do it but there still could be a large unidentified but eligible population for this stimulus.
However, it’s important that Government has to use Technology at scale and within a very short span of time to identify the targeted beneficiaries from its data, make them aware of the schemes in their local language, and take consent from them to provide the required benefits. JEEVITAM has brought together its experience of working on the ground level and is already delivering services at the ground level across the length and breadth of the country in local language through means familiar to the population that is in need of support.
I feel these are the few interventions that are required to be done on an immediate basis to help these Migrant Workers. And for this, all the stakeholders ie. Government Bodies, Corporates & Philanthropy Organizations have to Collaborate and work together to help these Migrant Workers find Sustainable Livelihood for their Dignity & Security.
About the Author:
Munish Chawla is the Co-Founder of Startup Jeevitam, a Tech-Enabled Livelihood Platform. Munish leads Jeevitam’s strategic engagement with National and State Governments of India, Industry Associations, Corporates & Philanthropy Partners on a wide range of Initiatives involving Livelihood Opportunities to the Vulnerable Segments of the society. Munish is based in New Delhi. An industry veteran of over 28 years, Munish actively participates in public policy forums in India and is a Member of CII National Committee on Startups & Entrepreneurship. Munish is also a Former Banker with over 20 Years of banking experience.
