LPG crisis triggers migrant worker exodus from Kerala

The ongoing LPG crisis, which has led to the mass closure of restaurants and hotels across Kerala, has triggered an exodus of migrant workers returning to their native places, as Ramzan approaches and elections are to be held in West Bengal and Assam.

Restaurant and hotel operators are trying to retain their staff from other States, fearing that if migrant workers leave now, they may not return until after the election.

G Jayapal, State president of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), told PTI that migrant workers from West Bengal and Assam were expected to return home a week before the elections in their respective States.

“However, with the LPG crisis forcing hotels and restaurants to shut down, migrant workers will start returning to their native places early. They will return only after the elections. Also, Ramzan will be celebrated next week, and people who were working in restaurants will start returning to their states due to the lack of jobs here,” he said.

Jayapal said that, in addition to exploring alternative cooking fuels, restaurant operators are also trying to prevent workers from leaving early, expecting that the LPG crisis will be resolved soon.

“A majority of the workforce in hotels and restaurants are migrant workers. Restaurants are desperate to keep them here. However, small-scale restaurant operators find it hard to maintain staff when their shops are closed,” he said.

Binoy Peter of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), which closely monitors migrant worker movements, told PTI that around 50 per cent of Kerala’s migrant workforce comes from the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal.

“With hotels closed, migrant workers in the hospitality sector have started moving to their native places. Apart from restaurant closures, the movement is also triggered by Ramzan and the elections in West Bengal and Assam. Reserved tickets in trains to these states are already in the waiting list,” he said. Usually, migrant workers from Kerala return home mainly during the local body polls in their State.

However, this time, due to the SIR procedure, workers are anxious and want to cast their votes in the Assembly elections in West Bengal and Assam, Peter said.

“Usually, once migrant workers return to their native places, they come back only after one or two months. This will put all sectors in Kerala that depend on them in a crisis,” he said.

Shibin, owner of KLR Facility, which supplies workers, especially housekeeping staff, to major malls and hotels, said that after the LPG crisis, migrants have already started returning home.

“The LPG crisis is only one factor for their movement. The major factor is the elections in West Bengal and Assam. We have already started facing the heat as a number of workers have moved back to their native places,” he said.

Shibin said he used to provide 25 migrant workers for housekeeping at a major mall in Thiruvananthapuram.

“Now we have only five workers from other States there. We are managing the situation by recruiting local women for the work. We have already informed the companies to which we supply manpower and requested their cooperation until the elections in West Bengal and Assam are over,” he said.