An Employment Guarantee for the Urban Worker

Public attention has focused on the problems of urban migrants returning to rural India due to the Covid-19 crisis. It may be months before the majority of returning migrants, including several different kinds of migrants, go back to urban areas and are absorbed in employment. We know that there is considerable movement of labour between rural and urban areas, some of it long-term and some of it short-term or periodic or circular. This is necessary and is not going to change. There is a case for extending the existing rural employment guarantee to urban India. This works through self-selection and can reach groups not always reached by other, equally important, welfare schemes. Given how little we know about the magnitudes and characteristics of migrant workers, it is desirable to proceed with caution. A pilot project may be started in one or more selected cities, without calling it a guarantee. Based on what we learn from this experience, it can then be extended to the whole of urban India. Components on adult education and training/retraining should be included in the project to improve skills, productivity and worker rights.