202 Chapter 8 Conclusion 8.1 Introduction This research study on the social networks of migrant construction workers in the construction labour market in Goa has attempted to make some contribution to the fields of economic sociology, migration studies and labour studies. This chapter presents a summary of the major findings of this study followed by its contributions, which have been classified into theoretical contribution, methodological contribution and policy implications. It concludes with limitations of the study and further scope for future research. 8.2 Major Findings of the Study This study on migrant workers in the construction labour market in Goa have either confirmed some known facts about migrant workers or unearthed new findings about their social networks in the construction labour market. The major finding of this research is given below. 8.2.1 Relationship between Migration and HDI Karnataka, being a neighbouring State, has been the source of a large number of migrants to Goa on account of its relative prosperity and its proximity to the state. This only confirms the neighbourhood effect of trends in migration. However, the neighbourhood effect does not apply if one takes into account the districts from which the migrant workers have come. The migrant workers entering the construction sector come from relatively backward districts of Karnataka, especially those with low HDI index. Therefore, though the neighbourhood effect in migration does exist to a certain extent, the most important factor in migration the extent of backwardness of the region, which is captured adequately through Human Development Indices. There is a distinguishable link between migration and HDI values. People migrate from regions with low HDI to regions with high HDI, even if these regions are quite far off.
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202
Chapter 8
Conclusion
8.1 Introduction
This research study on the social networks of migrant construction workers in the
construction labour market in Goa has attempted to make some contribution to the fields
of economic sociology, migration studies and labour studies. This chapter presents a
summary of the major findings of this study followed by its contributions, which have
been classified into theoretical contribution, methodological contribution and policy
implications. It concludes with limitations of the study and further scope for future
research.
8.2 Major Findings of the Study
This study on migrant workers in the construction labour market in Goa have
either confirmed some known facts about migrant workers or unearthed new findings
about their social networks in the construction labour market. The major finding of this
research is given below.
8.2.1 Relationship between Migration and HDI
Karnataka, being a neighbouring State, has been the source of a large number of
migrants to Goa on account of its relative prosperity and its proximity to the state. This
only confirms the neighbourhood effect of trends in migration. However, the
neighbourhood effect does not apply if one takes into account the districts from which the
migrant workers have come. The migrant workers entering the construction sector come
from relatively backward districts of Karnataka, especially those with low HDI index.
Therefore, though the neighbourhood effect in migration does exist to a certain extent, the
most important factor in migration the extent of backwardness of the region, which is
captured adequately through Human Development Indices. There is a distinguishable link
between migration and HDI values. People migrate from regions with low HDI to regions
with high HDI, even if these regions are quite far off.
203
8.2.2 Social profile of Migrant Labour
The casual labour market in the construction industry is pre-dominantly male
dominated. The construction labour force demands a great deal of hard manual labour
which can be largely performed by a youthful work force. The social profile of the
construction labour force indicates that the construction sector is an attractive
employment prospect for the poorest sections of society in India, like backward castes,
scheduled castes and Muslims. They come from families who are mainly landless or
small and marginal farmers.
8.2.3 Level of Educational Attainment of Migrant Labour
The overall picture of the level of educational attainment of construction workers
show that almost the entire migrant labour force in the construction sector have either not
gone to school or are dropouts not being able to complete their schooling. The migrant
workers who enter the construction labour market do not have the skills required for
being employed in the construction industry since they have just come out of schooling
and have had no formal vocational training in any trade. This study validates various
studies that expose the lacunae in the education system that unleashes a huge army of
unskilled labour to small islands of prosperity in India. Almost all migrant workers have
become skilled through on-the-job training and not through any formal training. This fact
underlines the need for a national effort to empower youth with vocational skills.
8.2.4 Living Conditions of Migrant Labour
Migrant workers often live in appalling conditions. The houses of two thirds of the
migrant workers who live in temporary tin shed structures are regarded as "kaccha"
houses of less than 250 square feet with poor sanitation facilities and hardly any personal
assets. The consumption expenditure of the migrant workers is just over $ 1 per day and
they live frugal lives in order to be able to send remittances back home.
8.2.5 Working Conditions of Migrant Labour
The working conditions of the migrant workers are quite pathetic. Many of them
have to work for more than eight hours every day of the week. The sanitation facilities are
204
poor and they do not even have first aid facilities. They are ignorant of labour laws and do
not have access to any form of collective bargaining making them vulnerable to
exploitation. This study reveals that though there are several legislations stipulating the
conditions of service for migrant workers as well as construction workers, the benefits of
these legislations have not reached them due to the failure to implement them and the lack
of political will to do anything for the welfare of migrant workers. This study also shows
that migrant workers are not even aware of the existence of such legislations.
8.2.6 No Collective Bargaining
This study reveals that migrant workers are not members of any trade union in
Goa. Since they are highly mobile and keep moving from one construction site to another,
they remain highly unorganised with very low network density. Consequently, they have
no access to any trade unions or any means for collective bargaining. The construction
companies have taken no initiatives to organise their workers as they can easily exploit
their vulnerability to demand more work for low wages.
8.2.7 Wage Rate of Casual Labour
The wage rate of casual labour in Goa is much higher than the corresponding
wage rates at the places of origin of migrant workers. This confirms the neo-classical
theories that wage differentials influence migration decisions. However, in spite of a
relatively high casual wage rate of migrant labour, it is still lower than the corresponding
wage rate of native labour. This finding re-affirms the findings of several studies in India
about the exploitation of migrant labour by construction companies, who view migrant
labour as a perennial source of cheap labour for their construction projects.
8.2.8 Social Networks Determine the Place of Destination
The findings of this study validate earlier studies on construction workers in Goa
that "push" factors involve poverty, unemployment or under-employment, low wages,
natural calamities, shrinking of agricultural land holdings due to increase in population
and other similar factors (Noronha, 1998). However, it is not sufficient for "pull" factors
in a region to merely be the existence of high demand for labour, high wages, low
205
unemployment and other such factors. The destination for migration is often influenced
by social networks of those willing to migrate. There are several other destinations in the
country such as Delhi and Kerala that also have high demand for labour and a high wage
rate. But the migrants who chose Goa as the destination of their migration did so because
there was a family member, relative, fellow villager, native friend or an acquaintance who
was working in Goa. The influence of social networks on the choice of place of
destination is applicable, not only to Goa, but to any developed region in the country.
Migrant workers, who are unskilled and have low educational attainment, depend on
kinship and friendship ties to reduce the costs and risks of migration and to ensure that
there is adequate social support system at the place of destination.
8.2.9 Migrant Labour Depends of Strong Ties
The poverty and the vulnerability of the migrant workers compel them to depend
on their social networks at every stage of their journey in the labour market which
includes labour market information, assistance for migration, entering the labour market,
on-the-job training, work allocation, borrowing, lending, friendship, communication and
sending remittances to native place. The findings of the study reveal that during the initial
stages before entry into the construction labour market, migrant workers depend heavily
on strong ties of family members and relatives. However, once they enter the construction
labour market, they depend on both strong as well as weak ties for their survival.
8.2.10 Reliance of Migrant Labour on Migrant Contractors
Sociograms of networks of migrant construction workers reveal that migrant
contractors play an important role in the life of migrant workers in the construction labour
market in Goa as they depend on him for labour market information, entry into the labour
market, allocation of work, access to credit or financial assistance and to build social
capital at the place of destination. These networks help reduce the cost and risk of
migration and help them to endure the difficult working and living conditions at the place
of destination.
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8.2.11 Upward Occupational Mobility of Migrant Self-employed Workers
Migrant self-employed workers do not have any formal qualification or training
for their skill. They have entered the construction labour market as casual workers and
acquired the necessary skill and experience in their occupation through on-the-job
training. They are older, more skilled and experienced in their occupation as they have
lived in Goa for a longer period of time. After having gone through the ordeal of entering
the construction labour market as a casual labourer, he has achieved upward occupational
mobility to become a self-employed worker with the social support and financial help of
his social networks. While his social networks assisted his upward occupational mobility,
his experience in his occupation over a period of several years helped him gain the
competence required to be a successful entrepreneur in the construction labour market.
8.2.12 Role of Migrant Self-Employed Workers in the Construction Labour
Market
Migrant self-employed workers in the construction industry in Goa play a
uniquely crucial role in the construction labour market. In order to survive in the place of
destination a migrant self-employed worker develops his social capital by having a
network of relations comprising of family members, relatives, friends, fellow villagers
and locals. The social support network among migrant self-employed construction
workers range from very close-knit highly cohesive networks to loosely knit less cohesive
ones. Migrant self-employed workers exhibit homophilous relationship among fellow
self-employed workers from the same socio-cultural background and of the same
occupation.
Social networks of migrant self-employed workers play an important role in
recruiting and training migrant workers in specialised occupations required by the
construction industry. Consequently, migrant workers from specific regions in the country
are found to have developed the expertise in particular skills and occupations without any
formal training or qualification. This study found that migrant self-employed employers
as well as migrant workers, who were engaged in tile-fitting in the construction industry
in Goa, came from a specific region in Malda District of West Bengal.
Ego networks of migrant self-employed workers reveal that they depend on strong
networks with builders, engineers, fellow self-employed workers, their own skilled and
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unskilled migrant labour and their social networks at the place of origin. Finally, his
functions in the construction labour market include entering into contracts with builders,
assessing demand for labour, recruiting labour, organizing work at construction sites,
making financial arrangements with builders as well as workers and facing the challenges
of the labour market.
8.2.13 Network Linkages of Migrant Self-Employed Workers with Construction
Companies and Migrant Labour
Ego networks of migrant self-employed workers reveal that they depend on social
networks consisting of builders, engineers, fellow contractors, workers and persons in his
native place in order to be a successful contractor in the Goan labour market. However, in
order to be a successful entrepreneur, he employs migrant construction workers, who
have to depend totally on their relationship with him for physical and socio-economic
security. He provides them with the necessary social and financial support to survive at
the place of destination. More importantly, he is a bridge between the construction
companies or builders and the migrant labourers. On the one hand, he provides cheap
migrant labour for construction companies; while on the other hand, he provides
employment and the necessary social support and social security for migrant labourers.
8.2.14 Networks of Migrant Workers from Malda
The findings of migrant construction workers from Malda District of West Bengal
reveal that it is one of the backward districts of West Bengal where there is hardly any
industrial development and therefore lacks employment opportunities. The casual wage
rate for agricultural and non-agricultural labour is also lower than other regions. Besides,
the region is flood-prone as rivers regularly overflow and break their banks causing a lot
of hardship for the people. Widespread poverty and even distress among families
contributed to the migration of people from the District. However, the main reason for
migration to Goa for employment is due to the strong social network links between Malda
District and those who have migrated to Goa. There have been early migrants who came
to Goa in late 1980s and early 1990s. This resulted in chain migration of people coming
to Goa to take advantage of the demand for labour in the booming construction industry.
While initial migrants may have used weak ties to come to Goa, the present trend has
208
been the use of strong ties of family members, relatives, neighbours or fellow villagers to
go to Goa. The ties between migrant workers in Goa and people in the native places
remain strong on account of annual home visits and remittances sent by migrant workers,
which have enhanced the living standards and purchasing power of families in the native
villages. The constant movement of people between Malda and Goa has established
strong links between two distant regions in the country. The youth of Malda are a
constant source of cheap labour supply for the labour markets in Goa. However, most of
the migrant workers return home trying to explore livelihood options in native villages
due to homesickness or the inability to sustain a rigorous lifestyle of hard work for a long
period of time. In spite of the many challenges faced by migrants in Goa, many families
try to ensure that there is at least one migrant worker in the family who will remain
employed in Goa and send remittances to support the family. Consequently, there
continues to remain social networks of strong ties that exist between the people of Malda
and migrant workers from Malda working in Goa.
8.3 Theoretical Contributions
The earliest contribution to migration studies came from Ravenstein, where he
formulated the laws of migration. The Push-Pull framework of analysis of migration was
a development of Ravenstein's laws of migration. Classical and neo-classical economic
approaches used economic variables such as wage differentials and unemployment levels
to validate the Push-Pull theoretical approach (Harris and Todaro, 1970). This research on
migrant construction workers in Goa provides further development to the Push-Pull
model of understanding migration. The findings of this study validate earlier studies on
construction workers in Goa that "push" factors involve poverty, unemployment or under-
employment, low wages, natural calamities, shrinking of agricultural land holdings due to
increase in population and other similar factors (Noronha, 1998). However, it is not
sufficient for "pull" factors in a region to merely be the existence of high demand for
labour, high wages, low unemployment and other such factors. The destination for
migration in influenced by social networks of those willing to migrate. There are several
other destinations in the country such as Delhi and Kerala that also have high demand for
labour and a high wage rate. But the migrants who chose Goa as the destination of their
migration did so because there was a family member, relative, fellow villager, native
friend or an acquaintance who was working in Goa. Migrants, who are unskilled and have
209
low educational attainment, depend on kinship and friendship ties to reduce the costs and
risks of migration and to ensure that there is adequate social support system at the place
of destination. Therefore, the first theoretical contribution to the Push-Pull analytical
framework for migration studies that has emerged from this study is that social networks
of migrants, who are unskilled and have low educational attainment level, depend on their
social networks of kinship and friendship ties to determine the place of destination for
migration.
The second theoretical contribution of this study is derived from Gunnar Myrdal's
theory of cumulative causation (Myrdal, 1944), which has been extensively used in
development studies to explain various phenomena including the vicious cycle of poverty
in developing countries. Piore (1979) used this theory of cumulative causation to explain
the phenomenon where migration of workers into a particular labour market leads to the
withdrawal of "native" workers from the labour market due to the change in the social
definition of work and cultural labelling of a particular work as "migrant" jobs, thus
creating a perennial structural demand for "migrant" workers in the labour market. This
research on migrant construction workers has theoretically hypothesized another process
of cumulative causation based on the findings of the report of National Commission for
Enterprises and Unorganised Sector (NCEUS, 2007) which states that the availability of
surplus migrant labour brings down the wage rate. The findings of this study of migrant
construction workers, who also are classified as 'unorganised labour', reveal that the wage
rate of migrant workers is less than the casual wage rate in Goa according to NSSO
reports. This finding underlines the phenomenon that construction companies prefer
cheap labour offered by migrant workers in the construction labour market as the wage
rate of "native" workers is much higher. Since "native" casual workers are not prepared to
work for a low wage rate, they have been moving out of the construction labour market,
resulting in the phenomenon of cumulative causation, where there is a perennial structural
demand for "migrant" workers in the casual labour market of the construction industry in
Goa.
The third theoretical contribution is a development of the network theories on the
basis of the homophily principle, that is having ties with those with similar traits such as
age, gender, race, caste, class or occupation. This study on social networks of migrant
construction workers reaffirms the homophily hypothesis. The finding that migrant
workers with similar socio-cultural background tend to have stronger ties resonates with
210
the social identity theory (Turner and Oaks, 1989) that suggests that individuals tend to
relate to those sharing the same "social identity" with the focal person (Monge et al,
2003). Similarly, the finding that migrant self-employed workers with similar occupation
have stronger ties than those with different occupations echoes Feld's (1981) activity
focus theory which argues that individuals engaged in similar activities are more likely to
interact more often than others. However, the theoretical contribution of this thesis is a
nuanced understanding of the theories of physical proximity in migration studies. The
findings of this study of migrant self-employed construction workers reveal that migrant
workers whose families reside in closer proximity at the place of origin, tend to have
stronger ties in the place of destination.
Another theoretical development from this research is the based on Granovetter's
thesis on "Strength of Weak Ties" (1973), which hypothesizes that labour market
information is more likely flow more quickly through networks with weak ties rather than
strong ties. In the context of migrant construction workers in Goa, the findings indicate
that a large majority of migrant workers depend on strong ties for jobs, labour market
information and other needs in the construction labour market in Goa. Since the migrant
construction workers have low educational attainment and no formal skill formation, they
need to depend on networks of strong ties to enter into the construction labour market and
sustain themselves in the construction industry in Goa.
8.4 Methodological Contribution
The study of social networks of migrant workers in the construction industry in
Goa required a unique methodology that would unravel the significance of migrant
workers in the construction labour market in Goa.
The three stage research design has been a serious attempt to collect as much
information about migrant workers in the construction industry in Goa as well as their
roots at their place of origin. The first stage presented the general characteristics of
migrant construction workers, while the second stage was a detailed study of migrant self-
employed workers, who play a crucial role in the construction labour market by providing
labour to construction companies and at the same time providing gainful employment
with necessary social support for migrant workers coming to Goa in search of
employment. Since a study of migrant workers at the place of destination is incomplete
211
without understanding their roots at their place of origin, a case study of migrant workers
from Malda District of West Bengal was conceptualised as a third stage to bring this
research to completion.
Most research on migrant workers uses qualitative methods or quantitative
methods. Some researches adopt the mixed methodology of both, qualitative as well as
quantitative methods. However, the main methodological contribution of this study has
been the use of social network analysis. The sociograms generated through network
software programs have revealed the various networks of migrant workers that exist in
the construction labour market in Goa. Though simple measures of degree, connectedness
and network density was used to understand relationships at different stages in the labour
market, such as information, job seeking, work allocation, friendship and credit seeking.
Similarly, sociograms of migrant self-employed workers in the construction industry in
Goa revealed their social support mechanism and the homophilous relationship that exist
with migrant workers of the same occupation and from the same place of origin. Ego
networks of migrant construction workers using multiplexity of ties has also been an
innovative way of understanding the strength of different types of relationships migrant
self-employed workers have in the construction labour market.
8.5 Implications of the Study
Migrant workers working in the construction industry come from backward
regions of the country and belong to the weakest sections of society. They belong to the
economically poor families and socially backward communities. They are unskilled and
have low educational attainment levels. Therefore, this study highlights the inadequacies
of the various legislations and government schemes that are implemented for their
welfare.
Firstly, this study validates various studies that expose the lacunae in the
education system that unleashes a huge army of unskilled labour to small islands of
prosperity in India. Almost all migrant workers have become skilled through on-the-job
training and not through any formal training. This fact underlines the need for a national
effort to empower youth with vocational skills.
Secondly, this study reveals that though there are several legislations stipulating
the conditions of service for migrant workers as well as construction workers, the benefits
212
of these legislations have not reached them due to the failure to implement them and the
lack of political will to do anything for the welfare of migrant workers. This study also
shows that migrant workers are not even aware of the existence of such legislations.
Thirdly, since migrant workers are highly mobile and keep moving from one
construction site to another, they remain highly unorganised and do not have any means
for collective bargaining. This study reveals that migrant workers are not members of any
trade union in Goa. Organising migrant construction workers and other unorganised
workers is a herculean task for policy makers as well as trade unions.
8.6 Limitations of the Study and Future Scope
This study has various limitations and there is a lot of scope for further research
on social networks of migrant workers.
Firstly, this study has ignored the gender dimension of migrant labour. Though the
occupations in construction industry are male dominated, there are a large number of
female labour who work alongside their male counterparts but are underpaid. Besides, the
specific issues related to female labour have not been addressed in this study. There is a
lot of scope to study the role of gender in labour relations and other issues related to
migrant female labour force in labour markets, including the construction labour market.
The second limitation of the study is that only simple measures of social network
analysis were used to analyse the sociograms of networks of migrant construction
workers. There is a lot of scope for using more advanced methods of social network
analysis in order to make a deeper and more detailed analysis of networks of migrant
workers.
The third limitation of the study is the limited use of statistical analysis to analyze
the data. In this study only descriptive statistics were used in data anlysis. There is a lot of
scope for more advanced statistical analysis of data using a larger sample of migrant
workers in the construction industry in Goa or any other part of India.
213
Appendices Appendix 1: Descriptive Statistics of Migrant Construction Workers in Goa
Variable Respondents Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Age 122 15 60 25.70 8.68
Family Size 122 1 14 5.91 2.48
Time taken to learn skill (in
months)
92 1 60 17.82 15.34
Daily wage 110 50 320 147.59 47.22
Daily wage (native place) 34 50 200 75.29 31.65
Monthly Household Income 121 1300 19000 5729.75 3284.12
MPCE 118 500 5000 1739.83 728.09 Number of Friends in Goa 122 0 8 2.78 1.73
Number of persons brought for
construction work
121 0 25 1.37 4.38
Number of persons residing in
the house
122 1 21 4.38 3.12
Number of family members
residing in native home
121 0 10 3.3 1.81
Land Holding in Ha. 122 0 30 1.63 4.30
N = 122; Source: Primary data from field survey of construction sites in Goa.
Appendix 2: Descriptive Statistics of Migrant Self-Employed Workers in the Construction Industry in Goa
Profile Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation
Age 21 40 31 5.66
Family Size 3 11 5.32 1.91
Number of workers 2 50 9.16 9.16
Years of schooling 0 11 7.48 2.42
Year of arrival 1986 2005 1997.44 5.46
Duration of training in skill 9 months 10 years 2.82 2.14
Years working in Goa 3 22 11.52 5.84 Years in Construction Industry 5 22 12.72 5.19
Duration working as Contractor 1 month 13 years 5.2 3.84
Years to become Contractor 3 16 7.88 3.47
Annual Income 60,000 3,00,000 1,23,500 57,574.12
Annual family Income 60,000 3,00,000 1,39,200 58,586.12
A = Duration of relation, B = Number of construction projects, C = Annual financial turnover, D = Type of contact, E = Frequency of contact, F = Purpose of contact, G = Type of relationship,
H = Quality of relationship, I = Borrowing, J = Lending, K = Getting work, L = Work Allocation, M = Labour Market Information, N = Upward occupational mobility, O = Work relationship,
P = Friendship, Q = Financial help, R = Room sharing, S = Brought from native place, T = Support from native place, U = Labour market information in native place, V = Journey to Goa,
W = Influence to get employment, X = Entering labour market in Goa, Y = Training in Skill, Z = Remittances