Story 8: Mehboob Ali

"Our employer was struggling to pay the garment unit's rent, so he moved to a smaller unit. He might move again, who knows? But there is no other work in the market. We are getting paid less, but we will have to move with him wherever he goes." (1/4) Before the lockdown, Mehboob's unit employed 7 workers: now his employer has only hired 2 to cut costs. While overall orders has drastically reduced, Mehboob personally has to cover up for the labour shortage by working longer hours for the same pay of INR 9,000. (2/4)

Story 7/10: Mainuddin

"Earlier we used to work from 9am-10pm. Now all our work is finished by 7pm. We are paid per piece, so if there is no work how can we earn? Even the salaried staff is not making enough: from INR 20,000, for some of them it has gone to INR 13,000." (1/4) Mainuddin has been working at his garment unit for 8 years as a karigar/skilled worker & has always been paid on a piece-rate basis. While the rate has remained the same, the lockdown has gutted the garment industry. With no orders or 'kaam' he earn less from fewer pieces. (2/4)

Story 6/10: Ramesh

"I got INR 420 for 8 hours before lockdown when our [metal making] unit was running full-fledged. Plus overtime for 3-4 hours, so with 12 hours I made INR 700. Now without enough work, there is no overtime, not even 8 hours. What I earn is what I spend." (1/5) Ramesh has been working in Khairani Road's metal fabrication industry (pictured) for over 11 years. At his current unit, he must 'punch' in to report to work: even a half hour delay costs him an hour of his wages. Currently, he is paid INR 420 for 8 hours plus overtime. (2/5)

Story 5/10: Sadar

"The vendors are taking a shortcut to reduce the jeans manufacturing cost by making the [design] pattern simple. So how will the employer pay us [well]? Only with a fair rate can he keep more staff in the unit! Until then, we have to work on Sundays." (1/5) Sadar describes the precarity of garment units: with fierce competition, they must undercut each other to appease large vendors, who extract value from informal workers without fair compensation. "The effort to stitch jeans is the same but the earnings have dropped," he says.

Story 4/10: Atiullah

"Before lockdown, we had 17 workers doing two 12 hour shifts a day. Now, only 10 of us are working: we still have 12 hours and somehow have to manage the overall production. Since the unit is not profitable, the employer cannot hire more workers." (1/5) In Atiullah's unit, the employer earlier employed 17 workers in 12 hour shifts. Now, with immense competition among smaller units & vendors not budging on rates, 10 workers must subsidise the value chain and unit with their physical labour & long work hours.

Story 3/10: Ali Akbar

“My brother-in-law helped me to come to Mumbai 10 years ago, he taught me stitching work for 2-3 months... all these years I have worked in the garment sector in Mumbai but [without any work] now I have come to Hyderabad and working here as painter." (1/4) For 10 years, Ali had worked in Mumbai in the garment sector as a karigar, or skilled worker & paid on a piece-rate basis, for every shirt stitched. His employer was forced to close down his unit, leaving Ali unemployed. (2/4)

Story 2/10: Mujib Khan

"I worked in one hardware shop for 15-20 years, but the employer gave me only INR 200 during the lockdown: what could I do with that much? Without that job, since the day I came back to Mumbai, I have visited the naka in search of work everyday." (1/4) Mujib Khan has lived in Mumbai for 20 years, of which he spent over 15 as a salaried employee at a hardware shop, earning INR 15,000 per month. Despite his many years of work, his employer abandoned him during the lockdown, giving him only INR 200 to survive. (2/4)

Story 1/10: Motiya Meena

"During the lockdown my [construction] contractor said he would pay me but now he is refusing. If each contractor continues to defraud me, how will I feed my family? That's why I changed [to the garment line]." (1/6) For 10 years, Motiya has worked as a karigar or skilled construction worker, seeking waged work from the naka (labour congregation point) daily. He often changed contractors, but earned INR 7-800 per day regardless and was able to get work for at least 25 days a month. (2/6)

Welcome to Aajeevika's #InternationalMigrantsDay campaign, “Badalta kaam, badalta daam,” where we centre the diverse coping mechanisms of #migrant workers as they face depressed wages, wage theft, and body burdens amidst a post-lockdown economic ‘recovery.’ (1/8) Our narratives come from migrants who work in Mumbai’s informal manufacturing and construction sectors. Specifically, they live and work in Khairani Road & Netaji Nagar Nagar: industrial-residential neighborhoods in Sakinaka, in the city’s L-ward. (2/8) #InternationalMigrantsDay

Join us at 10am tmrw, on #InternationalMigrantsDay, as we launch our campaign, “Badalta kaam, Badalta daam.” Migrant workers' firsthand narratives capture the changing (badalta) meanings of work (kaam) & wage/value (daam) as they navigate a precarious post-lockdown economy. (1/6) The burdens of economic 'recovery' have fallen heavily on the shoulders of India’s informal migrant workers. Working at the lowest ends of manufacturing & construction value chains, they have been compelled to confront depressed wages, body burdens & wage theft. (2/6)

#MeTooMigrant trend creates a dangerous false equivalency b/w circular, footloose & socially excluded migrant workers & migration by privileged sections of the population. It is symptomatic of the same structural inequalities which have precipitated the current crisis. Thread: Footloose & circular migrants are represented by those who are pushed out of their villages due to landlessness & impoverishment. This poverty is not natural but engineered by the capture of their land, water and forest based resources by rural elites and corporations

UP & MP (with more states to follow) have prioritised economic growth over workers' right to life thru moves to remove most labour protection laws- leaving the large section of India's marginalised workforce without the bare minimum required for survival. Read this thread (1/n) Safety standards at worksites will be removed & employers will face no penalties for hazardous worksites where death, disease, disability are already common. Migrant workers are hired in dangerous industries - their right to life stands suspended (2/n)

Undocumented migrants in India are hired by industry precisely because they form cheap & flexible labourforce, without access to social networks, trade unions or the state at work destination to call employers to account

https://twitter.com/IndiaMigrant/status/1256178269499555840

India's urban led, export oriented economic model is based on cheap labour provided by circular migrants as a comparative advantage for attracting investments and producing cheaply for global markets making

Updates from #Rajasthan : Workers moving across bordering cities have started walking towards their villages as there is no transport; being asked to provide health certificates on the boarder. No health facilities nearby. @CMOGuj @CMORajsthan @PMOIndia 50 male members of the Ujala samooh families set out from Ahemdabad on foot due to lack of transportation. There's no access to food either. Now they are stuck in Himmmatnagar, don’t know where to get tested for any probable symptoms. @CMOGuj @CMORajsthan @PMOIndia