News - #SolidarityWorks! Food distribution to migrant workers on 31 March 2020. © SAVE 06 April 2020 The situation of the textile industry and migrant workers in Tamil Nadu during the coronavirus pandemic With the outbreak of the corona crisis, the government of Tamil Nadu imposed a curfew from 23 March to around 14 April 2020. Suddenly there were no more trains or intercity buses. Thousands of migrant workers are stuck. Some migrant workers made their way home on foot - hoping to find a bus along the way - because when all factories are closed, they no longer receive a wage and have to starve. However, many migrant workers remained in the south, they now live in unworthy conditions: Their home is often tents, there is a lack of clean water, they no longer have any income. Those who live for rent are now afraid of being evicted and expelled. Unlike the citizens of Tamil Nadu, migrants do not receive food rations from the government. These are only available to the citizens of the respective state, here Tamil Nadu. Migrant workers are in fact starving now that they are not receiving any support. Precarious employment of migrant workers In India, 1.3 billion people live in 37 states. In the southern state of Tamil Nadu alone, 72 million people live, almost as many as in Germany. There are many textile factories here, especially around 2,200 spinning mills. In Tirupur, the so-called T-shirt city, around 800,000 people are employed in the textile industry, around 250,000 are migrant workers who travelled from the north to the south to Tamil Nadu in search of work. They come from the northern states of Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, among others. Most of the 250,000 Migrant workers They were recruited through agents who also referred them to the factories. They migrate from factory to factory, often only have work on a daily basis and are usually paid per piece according to chord. The agents receive the wages from the factory for them; However, since 23 March 2020, they no longer pay any wages, because they have usually not received any wages from the factories. Workers from Tamil Nadu have an employment contract with the factory, which either includes a monthly wage or they are paid by piece. They have not received any wages since March 23, 2020. There is no short-time work allowance, as in Germany, where the state intervenes. However, citizens in need can receive food from Tamil Nadu with the help of a ration card.
