The Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has upped the ante on jobs on “sons-of-the-soil”, by asserting that all migrants wanting to return to the State for work should register themselves under the Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 and that 80 per cent preference be given to locals in jobs that will be created in the state in the coming months.

Within weeks after the migrants returned to their state from Maharashtra, the MNS sought to set ground rules for the migrants, a majority of whom will return to the State after the lockdown is lifted fully.

A delegation of MNS, led by party’s senior Bal Nandgaonkar and the MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray, met Maharashtra Governor  Bhagat Singh Koshyari  on Monday and submitted a memorandum demanding among other things that 80 per cent preference be given to locals in jobs and the need for migrants’ registration under the Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act, 1979.

In its memorandum, the MNS stated: “During the recent lockdown triggered by the spread of Coronavirus, thousands of migrants from different parts of the state were stranded in Maharashtra. They showed a lot of anxiety to return to their respective states.  Since they had not registered themselves with the Maharashtra government, the migrant workers faced a lot of difficulties while returning to their respective states”.

“If it had registered migrant workers for various jobs in the state and if it had all the details about the migrants working in the state, the Maharashtra government would have planned in systematic manner the return of the migrant workers to their respective states,” the MNS stated.

“Now we are reading reports about the migrants, who had gone back to their states, have begun to return to Maharashtra. This is the time when we can correct our earlier mistakes,” the MNS said.

“In cities like Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad, the authorities are finding it difficult to contain the spread of Coronavirus. It is a fact that these cities cannot handle additional population. Given that the industries are closing down in the state, there is a dire need for jobs to the unemployed local people,” the MNS stated.

“...Hence it is essential for the Maharashtra government to collect data about the migrants returning to the state for jobs. For the purpose, it should be mandatory for the migrants to register themselves under Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979. Simultaneously, keeping in view of closure of industrial units and resultant unemployment, it is essential for the state government to give 80 per cent preference in jobs to locals,” the MNS added.   

Apart from Nandgaonkar and Amit Thack eray, the others present  in the delegation that met the Governor included party's general secretary Shalini Thackeray and MLA Pramod  (Raju) Ratan Patil.

Among other things, the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1979 make it mandatory for all establishments hiring inter-state migrants to be registered, and contractors who recruit such workmen be licensed. Contractors are obligated to provide details of all workmen to the relevant authority. Migrant workmen are entitled to wages similar to other workmen, displacement allowance, journey allowance, and payment of wages during the period of journey. Contractors are also required to ensure regular payment, non-discrimination, provisioning of suitable accommodation, free medical facilities and protective clothing for the workmen.

This is not for the first time the MNS has stressed on the need for migrants registering themselves under the Inter-state Migrant Workmen Act, 1979

Speaking at a function organised by Uttar Bharatiya Mahapanchayat at Kandivli in north Mumbai, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had said on December 2, 2018: “People say that MNS workers insult the Indian Constitution (by speaking and acting against north-Indians) which promises everyone freedom to move to any part of the country and settle there. I have strong reasons to criticise me for not reading the Inter-State Migration Act. The law does not say that people from any state can settle anywhere else and do anything they want. The law clearly states that people who migrate to other states should go to the local police register their name, mentioning the state they had come from, the purpose they had come for, who had given them a job and the locality where they would settle”.