ABSTRACT
The conventional governance approach to the welfare of internal migrants in India has been legislation like the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. These approaches place the onus on the employer or contractor, usually becoming applicable when five or more interstate workers are recruited. However, the implementation of such instruments is extremely patchy. Additionally, the ephemeral nature of employment of migrant workers meant that government could do little more than being a night watchman state. These inadequacies in instrumentalities of the state meant that the health and welfare measures for migrant workers remained neglected. In this context, we explored the response of local self-government institutions in Kerala for improving the health and welfare of interstate migrant workers in the state.
