SHILLONG — The Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) is preparing to inspect workplaces across Meghalaya, warning contractors that migrant workers cannot be treated as legally registered merely because they carry acknowledgement slips.
The union raised the issue with Labour Commissioner Banteilang Kharshandi on Monday, seeking clarity on the enforcement of the Meghalaya Identification, Registration (Safety & Security) of Migrant Workers Act, 2020. KSU environment secretary Shiningstar Kharbihkhiew said the department had begun steps towards implementation, including orientation programmes for officials, but the union was still waiting for a formal notification confirming full enforcement.
Kharbihkhiew said the union had encountered migrant workers carrying only acknowledgement slips and would challenge such cases during its inspections. Under the procedure he outlined, contractors must first secure a provisional certificate valid for 30 days, followed by the prescribed labour certificate valid for 179 days. An acknowledgement slip, he stressed, is not a work permit.
The union has been pressing Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma and Chief Secretary Dr Shakil P. Ahammed for action over the past few months. KSU now wants its state-wide units to check whether employers and workers are meeting the registration requirements, rather than relying on assurances from the department. Kharbihkhiew also called for action against workers whose credentials are found to be doubtful, saying those identified by the Labour Department or police should be made to leave the state.
The union has separately sought tougher penalties for violations, proposing fines of ₹5,000 to ₹1 lakh for contractors who fail to register workers, and imprisonment of up to one year for migrant workers who breach the law. It has also urged the government to incorporate safeguards from the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Act, 1979.
