Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register

An Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register in India establishes the terms governing the arrangement it covers, giving the parties a clear written record to rely on.

The ISMW Act 1979 defines an inter-state migrant workman under Section 2(e) as any person recruited by or through a contractor in one Indian state and employed in an establishment located in a different state. The Act applies to every establishment and contractor employing five or more inter-state migrant workmen on any day in the preceding twelve months. Both the principal employer — the factory, construction company, or establishment where work is performed — and the contractor who recruits and deploys the workers carry mandatory obligations under the Act. The contractor must obtain a licence under Section 8 from the licensing authority of both the state of recruitment and the state of employment.

Form XIII under the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (RE&CS) Rules 1980 is the prescribed Register of Workmen that contractors must maintain at every worksite. The register records each migrant worker's full name, residential address in the home state, the state from which they were recruited, the date of recruitment, designation and nature of work, daily wages, and displacement allowance paid. The principal employer maintains Form XXI — a summary register of all migrant workmen employed through each contractor.

The ISMW Act 1979 grants migrant workers special entitlements beyond those available to local workers: displacement allowance under Section 14, journey allowance under Section 15, wages during the journey period under Section 16, residential accommodation under Section 17, free medical facilities under Section 18, and equal wages under Section 25. Each migrant worker must also be issued a passbook (Form VI) recording their service details — a portable identity document that follows the worker across worksites.

The Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 (OSH Code) was enacted to consolidate thirteen labour laws including the ISMW Act 1979. The OSH Code and its rules are notified but full enforcement remains pending state-level rule adoption. Until the Codes are fully operative, the ISMW Act 1979 and the 1980 Rules remain the operative framework for inter-state migrant worker compliance.

The legal framework governing the Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register in India draws on several key statutes and regulatory bodies. Under Indian law, the Indian Contract Act 1872 governs contractual obligations, with Section 10 setting essential requirements for valid agreements. The Companies Act 2013 regulates corporate entities through the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The Industrial Disputes Act 1947 and state labour commissioners govern employment disputes. The Information Technology Act 2000 and IT (Reasonable Security Practices) Rules 2011 protect personal data. The Income Tax Act 1961 and Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 govern tax obligations through the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and GST Council. Parties executing a Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register in India should confirm the document reflects current law, including any amendments enacted since the original drafting date. The Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 sets the foundational requirements.

The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register is required to be maintained by any contractor or principal employer who employs five or more inter-state migrant workers at an establishment on any day in the preceding twelve months, regardless of the industry sector.

Construction contractors deploying workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, or Rajasthan for projects in Maharashtra, Delhi NCR, Karnataka, Gujarat, or Tamil Nadu must maintain Form XIII registers at every project site. India's construction sector — which employs an estimated 40–50 million migrant workers — is the primary sector covered by the ISMW Act 1979.

Manufacturing establishments in industrial belts — textile mills in Surat and Tirupur, garment factories in Bengaluru, brick kilns in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana — that engage contract labour sourced from other states through contractors are subject to both the ISMW Act 1979 and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 (CLRA Act). Compliance with the ISMW Act register obligations is separate from and in addition to CLRA Act register requirements.

Principal employers in the real estate and infrastructure sectors operating projects under RERA (Real Estate Regulatory Authority) registration are subject to increased scrutiny of labour compliance, including migrant worker registration. RERA Authorities in several states have issued guidelines requiring developers to confirm their contractors comply with the ISMW Act.

Agricultural enterprises and sugar mills in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and other states that engage seasonal migrant workers — particularly during harvest seasons — for periods exceeding the ISMW Act threshold must register under the Act and maintain worker registers, even for seasonal engagements.

Post the COVID-19 pandemic, state labour departments and the Ministry of Labour and Employment have significantly intensified enforcement of the ISMW Act, following the large-scale distress migration in 2020 that exposed systemic non-compliance. The e-Shram portal, launched in 2021, provides a national database of unorganised workers including migrant workers, and Aadhaar-linked registration on e-Shram is increasingly being treated as a baseline compliance requirement alongside the statutory register obligations.

The Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register (Form XIII) maintained under the ISMW Act 1979 and the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (RE&CS) Rules 1980 must contain the following particulars for each migrant worker.

The establishment and contractor identification section records the name and address of the establishment where the migrant workers are employed, the name and address of the contractor, the contractor's licence number under Section 8 of the ISMW Act, and the principal employer's registration number under Section 3 of the Act.

For each migrant worker, the register must record the worker's serial number (to track all workers across the register), full name, father's name or husband's name, and complete residential address in the home state — including village, district, and state of origin. The home state and district details are critical for the contractor's obligation to pay return journey fare under Section 15.

The date of recruitment and commencement of employment at the establishment must be recorded. The contractor who brought the worker must be identified by name. The nature of work or designation — for example, mason, carpenter, unskilled labourer, welder, or electrician — determines the applicable minimum wages under the Minimum Wages Act 1948 for the category.

The wages column must record the daily wage rate in Indian Rupees, the basis of wages (daily, weekly, or monthly), and the actual wages paid for each pay period. Wages must not be less than the minimum wages notified by the appropriate government for the relevant category of work and the state of employment.

The displacement allowance column must record the amount of displacement allowance paid to each worker under Section 14 of the ISMW Act — calculated as 50% of the monthly wages or ₹75, whichever is higher — and the date of payment.

The passbook details column records the passbook (Form VI) number issued to each worker. Every migrant worker must be issued a passbook at the time of recruitment that records their name, father's name, home address, establishment name, nature of work, wage rate, and displacement allowance paid.

The date of termination of employment and the reasons for cessation must be entered when a worker leaves or is terminated. The contractor's obligation to pay return journey fare to the worker's home state on termination must be documented in the register.

The Inspector's visit records — date of inspection by the Inspector appointed under Section 22 of the ISMW Act, observations noted, and corrective actions taken — should be maintained in the register or in a separate inspection register. Inspectors have powers to enter, inspect, and require production of all registers and records at any time.

All entries must be in ink, and corrections must be made by crossing out with a single line (not by erasing) and initialling the correction. The register must be preserved for at least 3 years after the last entry.

Additional compliance elements for a Inter-State Migrant Workmen Register used in India include: Under Indian law, the Indian Contract Act 1872 governs contractual obligations, with Section 10 setting essential requirements for valid agreements. The Companies Act 2013 regulates corporate entities through the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). The Industrial Disputes Act 1947 and state labour commissioners govern employment disputes. The Information Technology Act 2000 and IT (Reasonable Security Practices) Rules 2011 protect personal data. The Income Tax Act 1961 and Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 govern tax obligations through the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and GST Council. Forms-legal.com provides this template as a starting point for India-compliant documentation.