Tag: migrant workers

luxury house
Business World

Return of migrant workers to kindle revival in realty

Nov 6, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #Dhiraj Bora, #Harvinder Singh Sikka, #migrant workers, #Mr. Vikas Bhasin, #NAREDCO-UP, #Paramount Group, #realty, #SAYA Homes, #Sikka Group

Real estate sector is the backbone of the country, impacting overall GDP and the employment ratio for a great magnitude of the labour force. As the realtors strive hard for returning to the Pre-COVID levels, the impact April-June quarter had on the sector continues to get gradually subdued. One of the significant driving factors determining this revival in realty is the return of migrant workers back to metro cities.

Mr Vikas Bhashin

 

Speaking on the same Mr. Vikas Bhasin, MD, SAYA Homes said, “The exodus of labourers who went back to their hometowns and villages in the hope of saving and earning more in the adverse times of lockdown, began changing their perception as cities began to unlock and construction sites were open for providing them job opportunities. The labourers that stayed back in the cities were made to do rotational shifts and upskilling to make up for the time lost during lockdown months and ensure timely deliveries of projects.”

Delhi NCR, being the major real estate market of North India, gets migrant labourers from the nearby states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand etc.

 

Mr. Harvinder Singh Sikka, MD, Sikka Group

 

Harvinder Singh Sikka, Managing Director Sikka Group said, “Many established players in the construction and real estate began rolling out facilities and incentives to attract the migrants back to the cities such as flight tickets, insurances, better living conditions etc.”

Real estate body NAREDCO-UP also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Yogi Adityanath government on May 29 to facilitate buses for return of migrant workers. The continuation of operations in the infrastructure and real estate sector provides a significant boost to the overall development scenario in a country.

 

Dhiraj

Dhiraj Bora, Head Marketing and Communication, Paramount Group said, “NCR stands with an unsold housing stock of about two lakh units, reported a recent survey. A significant portion of it remains in the under-construction categories, and the return of labourers would bring the restored glory by kickstarting the marred construction activities due to lockdown and disrupted supply chain. Sales have started picking up during the festive season, and demand for property is consistent across the verticals of RTMI homes and under-construction projects.”

Timely deliveries of projects in the coming quarters will further strengthen the positive sentiment in the realty sector and bring back buyers and investors in greater numbers than present times.

training workers
Business World

Road to Recovery: Organisations working towards streamlining occupational skill training for Migrant Workers returning back to work

Oct 14, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #migrant workers, #occupational skill training

Pandemic & lockdown has made many vulnerable migrants to walk back to their homes after having lost their jobs. Those who came to the capital in search of making a living here were called off from their jobs as there was no cash flows in the companies. A major part of the migrant workforces in the suburbs and metros got affected. To support them and bring their lives back on track, a few organizations came forward to bridge the gap by reskilling these workers, to equip them with additional skills and open alternate avenues of revenue generation in the market.

Here are a few organizations that are making a difference in the lives of migrant workers.

PanIIT – PanIIT Alumni Reach for India Foundation, the Nation Building arm of Pan IIT Alumni, works towards providing various skill development programs to create opportunities for vulnerable migrant labour – the most affected group today, facing challenges of meeting their daily livelihood and sustenance needs. PanIITs vocational skilling programmes aim to enhance the incomes and livelihoods of the undeserved.

Ajeevika Bureau – Ajeevika Bureau is an Udaipur based NGO that provides job opportunities to the rural poor; especially migrant workers who move to cities in search of employment. Along with Skill development, NGO also connects these workers with job providers and ensures that they don’t get exploited by their contractors. Workers have been issued with an identity card so that they have access to all government schemes and initiatives.

Capacita Connect – Shipra Sharma Bhutani, from Capacita Connect, is helping migrants learn new skills and be absorbed by companies across sectors. The brand is using a mobile app skill mitra to upskill migrant workers and help them earn employment, they have reached to more than 20,000 migrant workers with jobs.

BMW CSR Initiative – Magic Bus India Foundation partnered with BMW for a skill development programme to provide job opportunities to youth. The project focussed on training people. The project focuses on training disadvantaged youngsters and supports them in achieving their personal and professional goals by moving into sustained employment or job-based training.

Business World

The return of migrant workers will be the key in reviving real estate

Oct 10, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #migrant workers, #Mr. Bhushan Nemlekar -, #Mr. Kaushal Agarwal, #Mr. Rajan Bandelkar, #real estate

The return of migrant labourers to their hometowns due to Covid-19 pandemic had created a vacuum in India’s real estate and construction sector. Several projects in the metro cities were held back owing to the exodus. States that have been hit the hardest by the exodus are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala and Delhi. There has been a massive labour shortage plaguing the construction sector and there is tremendous uncertainty on when these migrant labourers will return.

According to Mr. Rajan Bandelkar – President, NAREDCO West and Convener, Housingforall.com, “Around 30-35% of the migrants never left MMR. Of the rest, 15-20% has already returned. Many construction workers are cyclical migrants and return to their villages before the monsoon to help sow the rabi crop. We estimate that the remaining construction workers will return by Dussehra or Diwali.”

This is a tough time for the industry, but on the ground, several developers are trying to do their bit. Many branded developers and industry bodies are stepping forward with plans and policies to deal with this unforeseen situation. “The developers and contractors are trying to give as many incentives as they can to the migrant workers such as flight tickets, arranging private buses, boarding facilities and medical insurance, in addition to weekly medical check-ups at the site,” says Mr. Bandelkar.

With the economy now rebooting, the industry along with the Government need to find ways to meet pent-up demand due to an acute shortage of workers.

Expecting a steady return of the migrant workers, Mr. Bhushan Nemlekar – Director, Sumit Woods Limited said “Reports of migrants returning to their work cities gradually suggest that economic activity may return to normal sooner than we might have initially feared. The skilled work or businesses that these workers have been engaged in for many years in cities give them much higher incomes against what is available in villages. In addition, fear of loss of jobs, especially for those who have worked in a particular organization for many years, will prompt many to return back.”

Mr. Kaushal Agarwal, Chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory said “If the construction activity begins in full swing as migrant workers return back, it will have multiple advantages as it brings wages to labourers, cash flow to developers, much need credit growth for banks and resumption of economic activity in the country. The government needs to now look at targeted relief measures for the real estate sector to ensure the industry continues to remain a leading employment generator and the effect of the lockdown do not further hamper the prospects of this sector,”.

The real estate sector, heavily dependent upon migrant labour from other States, sees their return to work as a major factor for its revival.