New Delhi [India], April 1: When discussing India’s workforce, the one worrisome trend that is often spoken about is brain drain – the emigration of our skilled workers abroad. What is going on unnoticed, though, is a phenomenon I would like to call ‘brawn drain’ wherein blue-collared workers, both skilled and semi-skilled, are opting to move to countries that offer them better remuneration or standard of living than India.

As per data shared by the Ministry of Skill Development, the number of emigration clearances sought by unskilled and semi-skilled workers rose threefold between 2021 and 2023. These workers were engaged in construction, domestic work, mining, the service industry and driving among other sectors. Gulf countries are the preferred destinations for a large number of them.

Surprisingly, this is happening at a time when the construction sector in India is seeing an unprecedented boom and several multinational companies are showing interest in establishing manufacturing units in the country. This mismatch of availability of jobs but workers not being interested in filling up the vacancies can hit India’s economic growth hard.

A recent survey by a portal that helps blue-collared workers seek jobs in India revealed that almost 58% of workers in the country’s unorganised sector earned less than Rs 20,000 monthly, while 30% of them earn between Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 per month. In contrast to this, even unskilled workers stand to earn an average monthly salary of around Rs 50,000.

Ironically, many of the Indian workers chose to migrate to countries like Israel and Russia despite the ongoing wars in the two regions, lured by the prospect of earning five times what they would earn at home working as a mason, farm hand, delivery driver or retail worker.

In more developed countries, the workers get a chance at upward mobility through support of the social schemes and local Indian communities, on top of making a decent living, assured legal protection of their rights and a society that provides them dignity of labour.

These advantages are often missing in India, where informal employment and exploitation remain significant concerns. If we do not work on a major overhaul of the way blue-collar workers are treated in our country, we will fail to utilise our human capital as a country.

We need strict adherence to a minimum wage and better working conditions for our workforce by ensuring safety norms are followed rigorously in all industries. The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 lays down these norms in a pretty comprehensive manner but its implementation still remains poor. When it comes to upskilling, we already have the National Skills Development Corporation, yet more than 51% graduates in the country are unemployable according to the Economic Survey 2023-24 presented in front of the Indian parliament last year.

India’s development in the coming decades hinges on whether we can make the workplaces in the country safe, providing sufficient monetary benefits to lead a dignified life. Addressing the wage gap, providing better working conditions, and offering social mobility will be key to reversing the brawn drain and ensuring that India’s economic boom benefits all sections of its workforce.

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