Daily wage workers and members of the unorganised sector are the worst hit by the current lockdown in force in Puducherry. With all establishments remaining closed since Sunday, sources of their livelihood have dried up.
Though the government’s move in relaxing the norms for opening essential services including vegetable markets have helped a few, the bulk of those employed in the construction industry and other unorganised sectors have been going without wages due to the current lockdown in force across the Union Territory.
Construction activities have completely come to a standstill due to the current situation. The situation is worse in the rural areas where workers engaged under the Mahatma Gandhi National RuraL Employment Guarantee Scheme have been without work due to the lockdown.
According to M. Shanmugam, a load man at the Goubert Market, “The arrival of vegetables from neighbouring States has trickled down. As against 30 truck loads of vegetables, only five vehicles are arriving at the market here. Though we are ready to work, loadmen attached to our team from rural areas have not been able to reach the market due to the lack of transport and strict restrictions imposed by the police.” The workers earn anywhere between ₹300 to ₹500 per day on an average, he said.
“We don’t have much work to do during the lockdown and the wages have also come down. Five of us who reported for work have shared the wages to ensure that our families don’t starve. We don’t know how long we can sustain” said D. Govindan, another load man.
S. Rabelle, a cycle rickshaw driver in the Boulevard has been doing household chores to support his family of four. He delivers essentials including medicines to his customers and is paid ₹50 based on the distance.
Sathish Kumar, an autorickshaw driver has been idling away his time on his phone at the autorickshaw stand near Latha Steels on the East Coast Road. “There has been no business for the past four days due to the lockdown. I have two payments due in the first week of next month and have been finding it difficult to make both ends meet,” he said The Unorganised Labourers Welfare Board has also failed to safeguard the interests of the daily wage workers during the lockdown, he added.
K. Sethu Selvam, General secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has urged the Puducherry Government to provide suitable relief to migrants and daily wage workers who have been affected due to the lockdown. The government should also provide free rice along with LPG cylinders to both BPL and APL cardholders till the lockdown ends, he said.
