With Rs 178 as minimum wage, new Wage Code will push migrants into poverty

The landmark Code on Wages, which was passed on August 2, 2019, will have many consequences for the lives and livelihoods of millions of India's migrant workers who

“I get Rs 300 for a day’s work and this is the best work I can get,” said Kamlesh*, an Adivasi migrant worker from Banswara in southern Rajasthan.

For Kamlesh, “best work” involves 12-hour shifts, without a single day off, at a garment factory in Ahmedabad. For cleaning ash from a boiler machine while it is running in high heat, he earns Rs 9,000 a month.

Although Kamlesh has been in Ahmedabad for over a decade, he continues to live in an empty lot outside the factory walls to save on rent. This allows