Why L&T’s Subrahmanyan should worry more about supporting migrant workers

L&T chairman S. N. Subrahmanyan has a knack for making statements that grab headlines. Read this | Rural jobs scheme, direct benefit transfers causing labour shortages: L&T chair Perhaps, if construction companies had access to the full complement the workers they were seeking, growth might have been even stronger. Rather than blaming welfare for keeping workers in villages, Subrahmanyan should focus on the lack of support systems for migrant labourers in the urban and peri-urban areas where construction is concentrated. The existing state-level boards end up locking up the money collected from the likes of L&T for the welfare of their workers instead of using the funds for the workers’ benefit. A slightly higher wage for construction workers wouldn’t just ease labour shortages but also put more money in the hands of consumers, boosting demand across the economy.