International Labour Day 2025

Concept Note on Migrant Labour – International Labour Day 2025
\r\nTheme: \"Safety and Health of Workers\"
\r\nOrganized by: Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh (GPSVS)
\r\nLocations: Supaul, Madhubani, and Darbhanga, Bihar

Every year on May 1st, International Labour Day is observed to honour the contributions of workers around the world. In 2025, Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh (GPSVS) is celebrating this day across Supaul, Madhubani, and Darbhanga with a special focus on the theme announced by the International Labour Organization (ILO): \"Safety and Health of Workers\". This theme highlights the growing urgency to address the occupational safety, health risks, and vulnerabilities that workers — especially migrant labourers — face in their daily lives.

Migrant workers form the backbone of India\'s informal economy. As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and other studies, India has over 100 million internal migrants, many of whom move seasonally or permanently from rural areas like Madhubani, Supaul, and Darbhanga to urban centres for employment in construction, brick kilns, garment industries, domestic work, and agriculture. According to a 2023 report by NITI Aayog, nearly 45% of Bihar’s workforce are migrant workers, highlighting the region\'s economic dependency on migration.

Despite their essential role, migrant labourers often face harsh and unsafe working environments. They are exposed to long working hours, lack of safety equipment, inadequate sanitation, low wages, job insecurity, and absence of social protection. The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed their vulnerabilities, leading to massive reverse migration, unemployment, and a public health crisis among the migrant population.

GPSVS, through its ongoing interventions in Bihar, recognizes that addressing the safety and health of workers is not just a labour rights issue but a public health and human dignity issue. On this occasion, GPSVS will organize awareness campaigns, health check-ups, worker safety demonstrations, and interactive sessions with labourers, community leaders, and stakeholders in all three districts.

Through these efforts, we aim to:

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  Raise awareness on occupational health rights and entitlements of migrant workers

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  Advocate for safer workplaces, decent living conditions, and access to health and welfare schemes

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  Promote the inclusion of migrant voices in labour planning and policymaking at local levels

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International Labour Day 2025 serves as a reminder to respect, protect, and empower those who toil silently, often invisibly, to keep the economy running. It is time we build systems that ensure not just employment, but dignity, safety, and health for every worker.