85% of migrant workers in Karnataka come from 6 states: Govt. data

Most interstate workers in Karnataka come from Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and UP with Bengaluru emerging as the main hub, labour department figures show.

Karnataka is home to nearly a lakh registered workers from across India who have come here to earn a livelihood, and just six states account for 85% of this migration, according to labour department data.

The labour department does not have accurate data on the number of migrant workers living in the state, as no survey was conducted. However, there is a count of interstate workers based on details furnished by employers and establishments under various laws. As per this, Karnataka has 78,289 workers from other states.

There are another 18,865 migrants registered with the Karnataka Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Apparently, interstate workers can register with the Board, which provides various monetary benefits towards healthcare, children’s education, marriage and so on.

These 97,154 migrants are from all Indian states, but most of them hail from Bihar, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. Also, most of the migrant workers accounted for are in Bengaluru.

Workers migrate to Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, because of better pay and quality of life. 

In 2023, IT/BT Minister Priyank Kharge explained migration thus: “Have you ever heard any Kannadiga going to Uttar Pradesh for a job? Why do people from Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh come here? Because of our ecosystem. Because the Hindi heartland thinks they can come to South India and Karnataka to earn a livelihood. Nobody from the south thinks they can go to the Hindi heartland and earn a livelihood. Because of the social infrastructure.”

The number of migrant workers is far higher than the labour department’s count.

“Workers in all main projects like Metro and water supply come from Jharkhand, Bihar and Odisha,” senior BJP lawmaker S Suresh Kumar, a former labour minister, said.

“In the hospitality segment, many workers are from the northeast. The startup Urban Company is full of people from Odisha and West Bengal,” he said. 

Kumar, the Rajajinagar MLA, raised a question on migrant workers during the just-concluded monsoon session of the legislature. “I wanted to know what kind of a life they lead in Bengaluru,” he said, expressing concerns over crimes committed by them.

“They don’t mingle, they don’t learn the [Kannada] language and succumb to addictions like gutka. I intend to know how we should take care of them,” he said.

The Inter-State Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act requires contractors, who bring in workers from other states, to register with the government and provide equal pay, defined work hours and other facilities. The Act asks employers to provide interstate workers with housing and other benefits.