Migrant workers come mainly from drought-prone and less productive regions. They travel to work on farms in Punjab and Haryana, brick kilns in U.P., or construction sites in cities like New Delhi and Bangalore.

Workers migrate due to increasing inequalities in rural areas since the mid-1990s. As traditional bonds of patronage between labourers and landlords broke down, and seasonal demand for agricultural labour increased in prosperous Green Revolution regions, a pattern of seasonal migration emerged. Many households are forced to combine multiple occupations to sustain themselves.

As a livelihood strategy, men migrate out periodically in search of work and better wages, while women and children are often left behind in villages with elderly grandparents. These migrant workers have been termed 'footloose labour' by Jan Breman.

However, this does not imply freedom. Landless workers usually do not have many rights and are often not paid the minimum wage. Wealthy farmers prefer migrant workers over local labourers because migrants are more easily exploited and can be paid lower wages.

This has created a peculiar pattern in some areas where local landless labourers move out during peak agricultural seasons, while migrant workers are brought in from other areas to work on local farms, especially in sugarcane growing areas.