Visualization:

As per the National Portal of India, more than 90% of the labor force is working in unorganized

sectors and roughly 50% of India’s GDP is contributed by the unorganized labor force. Sadly,

details about these workers are not in records. These are basically low-income groups, or the

migrants from other countries who have come to India in search of job to meet their daily

livelihoods. Manufacturing industry is accounted to be the largest employer to these

unorganized labor force. This is the reason; manufacturing sector had been a major

contributor to a positive change in employment index. But the global pandemic has brought

everybody’s life to a standstill. Be it e-commerce, hospitality industry, restaurant chains,

mobile repair shop or transportation, everything has been shut down. The most affected

people are the migrant workers who work at a daily wage. They are forced to stay in their

workplace and are left with no source of income away from their family.

Application:

Among all these, there is Santosh who works in textile industry in Surat, Gujrat. He is in his

late thirties and has a family of four including his wife Sumitra and two daughters of 5 and 8

years old. He originally hails from Sundergarh district of Odisha where his parents are living

and are dependent on Santosh’s income for livelihood. Because of the sudden lockdown,

Santosh was unaware of the scenario and he and his family are in Gujrat and his parents are

in Odisha. The production in his factory is at halt, and since he is a daily worker, he is left with

no source of income and fails to feed his family. He has requested the government to allow

him move to his home state where he can at least work as a farmer. His request has been

denied by the government and now he has no idea what he should do to feed his wife, two

daughters and old parents.

Insights and Approch

This is one of the ugliest realities in India. We have no provisions for the unskilled workers.

Even though certain government schemes were launched, it could not deliver as expected.

Workers like Santosh, they didn’t get a proper education and because of family

responsibilities they enter into the labor market at an early age, as a result they can not upskill

themselves with passage of time and get stuck doing the same work till there physical health

permits and are left underpaid throughout their life. They have no scope for financial growth

and are left with high financial insecurities and responsibilities. Though the state governments

are coming up with effective schemes and programs for them, but these migrant workers

remain unaware of the schemes. They are the deprived people in the society without any

social safety or healthcare benefit. It has been noticed that most of them don’t even have

voter ID cards.

Everyday we see in news how desperately these workers try to escape and run away to their

respective homes to their families amid this crisis. It is really sad to see how desperate these

people are. Every day we see videos in news channels where women and children are walking

miles to reach their home or to their families. People every day are dying because of

starvation. In spite of creating so much awareness about the issue some of them move along

the roads to get back to their respective house, but cannot. We see video footages in news

where workers are made to sit in line and are sanitized. Though this is the need of the hour

and safety is the first priority but they should be treated with respect. Recently it was in news

that because of spraying of sanitizer, a worker was blinded. They keep on counting days and

when the shutdown will be over so that they can reach to their family or start working to earn

their basic livelihood.

Needless to say, these workers have played a major role earlier in reviving the economy, as

manufacturing sector is one of the biggest contributors to the GDP and they have done their

part to increase the productivity of manufacturing industry. But now they are left helpless.

Design Thinking frameworks can be used to solve problem of these migrant workers. If the

results are successful, they can be used so that the problem never occurs again.

Frameworks like focused interviews, ethnographic studies can be used to find out the root

cause of the problem, as we know problem identification is the most important stage in

solving a problem and mostly people mistake in problem identification. We can use all the

Design thinking frameworks to reach to the root cause of the problem. The labor market in

India is highly dominated by the unorganized workers and we need to solve their problem so

that they don’t have to face such scenario again in future. They are left with no savings and

in this chaotic situation they are the one who suffers the most. The best tool for these

problem solutions can be found in Design thinking itself.

If I am asked to solve these problems, I will go for Standford Design Model, 360 empathy and

ethnographic study. Because this issue of migrants’ workers needs to be dealt with empathy,

creating a persona, brainstorming, ideation with all the stakeholders (migrant worker, NGOs,

Government, Factory and family members) followed by developing a working protype and

testing phase.

By using 360 empathy and ethnographic studies, the plight of the workers can be understood

properly. As mentioned earlier, there is no records of these migrant workers and collecting

primary data of such a large segment is a cumbersome task which needs a lot of efforts.

As of now, I am going with Santosh and will plot his journey map. So, it starts with he finds a

need to earn money to support his family. He doesn’t find sufficient opportunities in his home

location and moves out of his home state. The next points will be his income, his spending

and savings.

Drawing an analogy, I find myself in the shows of Santosh. I had gone out of my hometown to

pursue engineering since there was no good engineering college in my home town. After

completion I had to move in to a different state, to join a job, since I didn’t have sufficient

opportunities in my home state. Santosh had to go through the similar situation.

Now, after creating an analogy I can relate with Santosh. He is not going to return home

permanently unless he has sufficient money or other source of income that can keep him

going and with it, he can afford a somewhat similar lifestyle he is affording now. In this case

by lifestyle we mean working day long to meet the basic needs of his family. Family

responsibilities plays a major role in his decision making.

To solve this problem, a constant source of income is the need of the hour for Santosh that

will suffice feeding his wife, children and parents. Government is coming up with financial

benefits and social schemes for underprivileged sections of the society.  He needs to open a

bank account in his village. This will help the government in record keeping and pass on the

benefits to Santosh. Government can additionally hire them for agricultural works so that

they do not feel left out incase they lose their job because of lay off or the factory shuts down.


Visualization : As per the National Portal of India , more than 90 % of the labor force is working in unorganized sectors and roughly 50 % of India ’s GDP is contributed by the unorganized labor force . Sadly , details about these workers are not in records . These are basically low - income groups , or the migrants from other countries who have come to India in search of job to meet their daily livelihoods . Manufacturing industry is accounted to be the largest employer to these unorganized labor force . This is the reason ; manufacturing sector had been a major contributor to a positive change in employment index . But the global pandemic has brought everybody ’s life to a standstill . Be it e - commerce , hospitality industry , restaurant chains , mobile repair shop or transportation , everything has been shut down . The most affected people are the migrant workers who work at a daily wage . They are forced to stay in their workplace and are left with no source of income away from their family . Application : Among all these , there is Santosh who works in textile industry in Surat , Gujrat . He is in his late thirties and has a family of four including his wife Sumitra and two daughters of 5 and 8 years old . He originally hails from Sundergarh district of Odisha where his parents are living and are dependent on Santosh ’s income for livelihood . Because of the sudden lockdown , Santosh was unaware of the scenario and he and his family are in Gujrat and his parents are in Odisha . The production in his factory is at halt , and since he is a daily worker , he is left with no source of income and fails to feed his family . He has requested the government to allow him move to his home state where he can at least work as a farmer . His request has been denied by the government and now he has no idea what he should do to feed his wife , two daughters and old parents . Insights and Approch This is one of the ugliest realities in India . We have no provisions for the unskilled workers . Even though certain government schemes were launched , it could not deliver as expected . Workers like Santosh , they did n’t get a proper education and because of family responsibilities they enter into the labor market at an early age , as a result they can not upskill themselves with passage of time and get stuck doing the same work till there physical health permits and are left underpaid throughout their life . They have no scope for financial growth and are left with high financial insecurities and responsibilities . Though the state governments are coming up with effective schemes and programs for them , but these migrant workers remain unaware of the schemes . They are the deprived people in the society without any social safety or healthcare benefit . It has been noticed that most of them do n’t even have voter ID cards . Everyday we see in news how desperately these workers try to escape and run away to their respective homes to their families amid this crisis . It is really sad to see how desperate these people are . Every day we see videos in news channels where women and children are walking miles to reach their home or to their families . People every day are dying because of starvation . In spite of creating so much awareness about the issue some of them move along the roads to get back to their respective house , but can not . We see video footages in news where workers are made to sit in line and are sanitized . Though this is the need of the hour and safety is the first priority but they should be treated with respect . Recently it was in news that because of spraying of sanitizer , a worker was blinded . They keep on counting days and when the shutdown will be over so that they can reach to their family or start working to earn their basic livelihood . Needless to say , these workers have played a major role earlier in reviving the economy , as manufacturing sector is one of the biggest contributors to the GDP and they have done their part to increase the productivity of manufacturing industry . But now they are left helpless . Design Thinking frameworks can be used to solve problem of these migrant workers . If the results are successful , they can be used so that the problem never occurs again . Frameworks like focused interviews , ethnographic studies can be used to find out the root cause of the problem , as we know problem identification is the most important stage in solving a problem and mostly people mistake in problem identification . We can use all the Design thinking frameworks to reach to the root cause of the problem . The labor market in India is highly dominated by the unorganized workers and we need to solve their problem so that they do n’t have to face such scenario again in future . They are left with no savings and in this chaotic situation they are the one who suffers the most . The best tool for these problem solutions can be found in Design thinking itself . If I am asked to solve these problems , I will go for Standford Design Model , 360 empathy and ethnographic study . Because this issue of migrants ’ workers needs to be dealt with empathy , creating a persona , brainstorming , ideation with all the stakeholders ( migrant worker , NGOs , Government , Factory and family members ) followed by developing a working protype and testing phase . By using 360 empathy and ethnographic studies , the plight of the workers can be understood properly . As mentioned earlier , there is no records of these migrant workers and collecting primary data of such a large segment is a cumbersome task which needs a lot of efforts . As of now , I am going with Santosh and will plot his journey map . So , it starts with he finds a need to earn money to support his family . He does n’t find sufficient opportunities in his home location and moves out of his home state . The next points will be his income , his spending and savings . Drawing an analogy , I find myself in the shows of Santosh . I had gone out of my hometown to pursue engineering since there was no good engineering college in my home town . After completion I had to move in to a different state , to join a job , since I did n’t have sufficient opportunities in my home state . Santosh had to go through the similar situation . Now , after creating an analogy I can relate with Santosh . He is not going to return home permanently unless he has sufficient money or other source of income that can keep him going and with it , he can afford a somewhat similar lifestyle he is affording now . In this case by lifestyle we mean working day long to meet the basic needs of his family . Family responsibilities plays a major role in his decision making . To solve this problem , a constant source of income is the need of the hour for Santosh that will suffice feeding his wife , children and parents . Government is coming up with financial benefits and social schemes for underprivileged sections of the society . He needs to open a bank account in his village . This will help the government in record keeping and pass on the benefits to Santosh . Government can additionally hire them for agricultural works so that they do not feel left out incase they lose their job because of lay off or the factory shuts down .