Kerala - Kozhikode   

New norms to employ migrant workers

KOZHIKODE: In view of the increasing number of thefts in the city, the police are coming out with new norms asking those engaging migrant labourers to maintain photos and personal data of employees.

Two years ago, the police created a database of migrant labourers at each police station. But the process remained incomplete after the influx of job seekers from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka and Assam.

Now, the police stations will have to identify the employers who engage workers who are personally not known to them previously. They will ask the employer to keep photographs and other particulars of the employees with them.

Employers will have to maintain a copy of identity cards such as driving licence or voters’ identity card of the worker. The copy should be produced for verification at the police station for any lawful purpose.

Apart from that, station house officers will prepare a database of all such employees staying within their police station limit. The officer will get in touch with the employer following information regarding a major crime in which the involvement of a worker is suspected.

The city police say that a large number of people from other States are employed as construction workers, contract labour and domestic help. One of the studies showed that more than 40 per cent of the labourers, out of the 1.5 lakh in the city, belong to other States.

Over 75 per cent of them are employed in the construction sector. Private telecom, government agencies such as the Kerala State Electricity Board and the Kerala Water Authority also employ migrant labourers.

To solve criminal cases and prevent anti-national activities, it is essential to check the identity of persons who are physically present at a particular place of work or those who shift from one place to another to take up temporary job, an officer said.

The following procedure needed to be followed to help in prevention of crimes and identification of strangers, he said.

The police had earlier suspected links between extremists and migrant labourers in the construction industry. Some of the extremists wanted in many cases in other States could be using the State as a safe haven.

Meanwhile, the police have improved surveillance of those travelling to the State, especially during the Sabarimala season. The intelligence wing suspect that many radicals masquerading as pilgrims reach the State to hold secret meetings, an officer said.

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