How online platforms and apps are coming to the rescue of jobless migrant workers and labourers

It was in March that the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed the normal life across India with the first phase of 21-day lockdown announced by the government throughout the country. The nation-wide lockdown triggered huge unemployment crisis, which mostly affected the migrant workers and labourers. Many small and medium-sized factories had to close down, leaving a significant number of people jobless.

With no immediate relief in sight, these migrant workers and labourers walked hundreds of kilometres back to their home-town. As per a report posted by International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), more than 40 lakh people lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is when some online platforms and apps emerged to help these workers get jobs amidst the pandemic. These portals opened the doors of these workers to find jobs, even during the crisis. Here is the list of some of these apps and platforms:

Pravasi Rojgar: Through this app, actor Sonu Sood helped more than 3 lakh migrant workers to lead the pack. The app boasts of more than 500 companies. Pravasi Rojgar has set up several helplines across New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad and Thiruvananthapuram.

MyRojgaar: This particular portal is helping workers get jobs on the basis of their skillset and location. Connecting labourers with companies/MSMEs, the app is offering jobs across sectors, such as construction, agriculture, hotel, and transportation.

The portal is available in many languages, including English, Marathi, Kannada, Hindi, Telugu, Bangla, etc. It has received registrations from 100+ MSMEs and more than 1000 workers.

Vahan: Helping companies find potential blue-collar workers, this AI-backed company can be operated through WhatsApp. The selection process is automated through AI-driven Chabot that takes only a few minutes. Food delivery firms like Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo and logistic company Lalamove are some of the major recruiting companies at Vahan.

Jobsgaar: It helps blue-collar and grey collar workers get jobs in 100-150 km radius of their house. Jobsgaar has received 10,000 registrations in the last 45 days and is active across 146 districts of U.P, Bihar and Assam.

Jobs.delhi.gov.in: This portal has been setup by the Delhi government to stop fraud within jobs in Delhi-NCR. Around 22 Lakh jobs have been posted by around 620 companies. Out of these, 10 lakh entries have been filled. Some of the leading companies hiring through the portal include Kotak Mahindra, Amazon, HDFC Life, HDFC Bank, Flipkart, etc.

There are many such platforms and apps that have opened doors of many migrant workers, offering them a chance to earn their livelihood with dignity. However, we have listed only a few of them. If you want to add more, write in the comments section below