The ongoing LPG disaster, which has led to the mass closure of eating places and lodges throughout Kerala, has triggered an exodus of migrant staff returning to their native locations, as Ramzan approaches and elections are to be held in West Bengal and Assam.
Restaurant and resort operators try to retain their employees from different states, fearing that if migrant staff go away now, they might not return till after the election.
G Jayapal, state president of the Kerala Hotel and Restaurant Association (KHRA), advised PTI that migrant staff from West Bengal and Assam had been anticipated to return residence per week earlier than the elections of their respective States.
“However, with the LPG crisis forcing hotels and restaurants to shut down, migrant workers will start returning to their native places early. They will return only after the elections. Also, Ramzan will be celebrated next week, and people who were working in restaurants will start returning to their states due to the lack of jobs here,” he stated.
Jayapal stated that, along with exploring various cooking fuels, restaurant operators are additionally making an attempt to stop staff from leaving early, anticipating that the LPG disaster will probably be resolved quickly.
“A majority of the workforce in hotels and restaurants are migrant workers. Restaurants are desperate to keep them here. However, small-scale restaurant operators find it hard to maintain staff when their shops are closed,” he stated.
Binoy Peter of the Centre for Migration and Inclusive Development (CMID), which intently displays migrant employee actions, advised PTI that round 50% of Kerala’s migrant workforce comes from the poll-bound states of Assam and West Bengal.
“With hotels closed, migrant workers in the hospitality sector have started moving to their native places. Apart from restaurant closures, the movement is also triggered by Ramzan and the elections in West Bengal and Assam. Reserved tickets in trains to these states are already in the waiting list,” he stated. — PTI
