Employment, incomes, and the bargaining power of the informally employed, who form 86% of workers in the Indian economy, have been repeatedly impoverished due to disruptions like demonetisation and the lockdown. This article presents additional evidence from a survey of the stranded interstate migrant workers, informally employed in the city of Pune. The lockdown worsened the already depressed labour markets for the informal workers, as it affected their employment, incomes, savings, and well-being. The majority of the workers being from the socially marginalised castes faced multiple vulnerabilities, along with their dependents.
