Directions dated 3rd April 2020 were issued by the Kerala HC to District Labour Officers to work in cooperation with the District Legal Services Authority and monitor the present conditions of migrant labours in the state till April 17.
This direction comes in pursuance to a suo moto case where the bench, comprising of Justices AK Jayasankaran Nambiar and Shaji P. Chaly had sought a report from the Advocate General with regards to the State’s efforts towards providing food and shelter to the migrant workers in question. Considering the report, yesterday the Court opined strict adherence to the directions issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Alakh Alok Srivastava v. Union of India in order to ensure access to basic necessities including medical needs for migrant workers in the light of the recent lockdown.
In this regard, Amicus Curiae Parvathi Menon had submitted “while it cannot be denied that the State Government has taken significant measures to ameliorate the hardship faced by the said migrant workers, it would be desirable that the continued efforts of the State Government are monitored at the District level and by this Court so as to ensure that the assurances given by the State Government before this Court actually materialize on the ground.“
Thus, the High Court directed all District Labour Officers being the Nodal officers, in co-ordination with the respective Taluk Legal Services Authorities to “monitor the effective implementation of the steps taken by the State Government in providing food, shelter and other essential commodities and services to the migrant workers in the State, during the lockdown period.“
These directions are to remain applicable till April 17.
Here is a link to the order
