A State level observance of International Migrant Day on December 18 was organised by Pravasi Odia Sramika Suraksha Manch in collaboration with civil society organizations like Adhikar, Aruna and National Coalition on Migrant laborers (NCMl).
Participated by many migrant workers and trade union leaders, activists and intellectuals, the meeting demanded that the Government should identify and issue identity card to all migrant laborers of the State; set up a task force to study the causes behind migration, working conditions vis-à-vis the work culture , wage structure and other working amenities for benefits, amend Interstate Migrant Workmen Act to accommodate migrant workmen, appoint labour officers in Surat, Mumbai, Gandhidham, Pune, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Raipur, Trissur (Kerala), Srinagar (J&K), Kolkata and in New Delhi, open a migration cell, form a State level committee to examine the plight of Odia laborers, ensure registration in railway stations/bus stops and departure centers to estimate the number of migrants, ensure migrant workers are registered in Panchayats and Revenue officials should issue resident/caste/identity certificates to migrant workers.
NCMl convenor Sudarshan Chhotray gave keynote address. The meeting was inaugurated by Subash Singh, Chairman, Odisha Building and Other Construction Worker’s Welfare Board.