broken markets: reflections from india’s labour …(labor)+markets.pdftransport ,storage and...

BROKEN MARKETS: REFLECTIONS FROM INDIA’S

LABOUR LANDSCAPE

InfoSphere

A Centre for New Economics Studies Initiative

By Divyansh Singh Parihar, Diya Chadha and Swasti Ray

InfoSphere

Part I

Shram Ko Naman is a collective effort of the Centre for New Economics Studies to interpret and understand the impact of the current crisis on India’s working class.

This two-part InfoSphere Issue for months of June and July shall be looking at the fragmented nature of India’s labour market.

This Issue shall focus on:

1. The nature and form of migrant work in India

2. The state of worker unions in India

3. Concerns of child labour, bonded labour and issues of workplace safety

INTRODUCTION

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0 20,00,000 40,00,000 60,00,000 80,00,000

From rural area within the State

From urban area within the State

From rural area outside the State

From urban area outside the State

Population with 'Work/Employment' as reason for migration

Males Females

Source: Census of India, Data on Migration 2011

MIGRANT WORKERS

The number of migrants by place of last residence in India rose to 453.6 million in 2011, with an addition of 139 million.

It is estimated that on an average of about 14 million people migrate every year to search for employment opportunity.

Traditionally, inter-state migrants have been only a small percentage of the total migrants in India. As per the 2011 Census, inter-state migrants constitute a significant proportion of total migrants.

This floating migrant population is subjected to poor standards of living in their new surroundings while they look for jobs in a labour market and during the tenure of their jobs.

(Read more: https://www.ijser.org/researchpaper/A-study-on-issues-of-inter-state-migrant-labourers-in-India.pdf)

(no. of migrant workers)

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https://www.ijser.org/researchpaper/A-study-on-issues-of-inter-state-migrant-labourers-in-India.pdf

0 10,00,000 20,00,000 30,00,000 40,00,000 50,00,000 60,00,000

Literate but below Matric/Secondary

Matric/Secondary but below graduate

Technical diploma or certificate

Graduate and above

Technical degree or diploma

(i) From rural area within the State (ii) From urban area within the State (iii) From rural area outside the State (iv) From urban area outside the State

Source: Census of India, Data on Immigration 2011

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUD OF MIGRANT WORKERS


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DURATION OF RESIDENCE OF IMMIGRANTS BASED ON NATURE OF JOB (RURAL)


0 1,00,00,000 2,00,00,000 3,00,00,000 4,00,00,000 5,00,00,000 6,00,00,000 7,00,00,000 8,00,00,000 9,00,00,000 10,00,00,000

Main workers

Marginal workers

Marginal workers -Seeking/Available for work

Non workers

Non workers -Seeking/Available for work

Rural: Duration of residence 10 years and above Rural: Duration of residence 5-9 years

Rural: Duration of residence 1-4 years Rural: Duration of residence less than 1 year


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DURATION OF RESIDENCE OF IMMIGRANTS BASED ON NATURE OF JOB (URBAN)


0 50,00,000 1,00,00,000 1,50,00,000 2,00,00,000 2,50,00,000 3,00,00,000 3,50,00,000

Main workers

Marginal workers

Marginal workers -Seeking/Available for work

Non workers

Non workers -Seeking/Available for work

Urban: Duration of residence 10 years and above Urban: Duration of residence 5-9 years

Urban: Duration of residence 1-4 years Urban: Duration of residence less than 1 year


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CONCERNS AROUND CHILD LABOUR ACROSS INDIA

Although the percentage of child workers in India has fallen from 2001 to 2011, the number of children employed for work is still very high. The data considers children between the age 5 and 14.

Moreover, from the labor supply shock seen from COVID-19, the number of child workers is expected to increase.

The closure of schools has affected more than 33 crore students, many of whom were dependent on the mid-day meal programme.

This has forced them to leave school permanently and work in farms.

(Read more about this at: https://vvgnli.gov.in/sites/default/files/State%20of%20Child%20Workers%20in%20India-Mapping%20Trends.pdf)

11.3

1.3

12.6

8.1

2

10.1

Rural Urban Total

Child workers in India (Ages 5-14)- 2001,2011

2001 2011

(chi

ld w

orke

rs-i

n m

illio

ns)

Source: V.V. Giri National Labour Institute InfoSphere

https://vvgnli.gov.in/sites/default/files/State%2520of%2520Child%2520Workers%2520in%2520India-Mapping%2520Trends.pdf

STATE-WISE DISTRIBUTION

Although India has seen a fall in child labour over the last two decades, according to a Campaign Against Child Labour (CAC) study, India has 1,26,66,377 child labourers.

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are India's biggest child labour employers.

1 in every 11 children in India works to earn a living, according to statistics by ActionAid India.

National capital Delhi is responsible for a share of 1 million child labour alone.

0 200000 400000 600000 800000 1000000

Andhra Pradesh

Assam

Bihar

Gujarat

Jharkhand

Karnataka

Kerala

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Punjab

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal

STATE-WISE NUMBER OF CHILDREN EMPLOYED (AGES 5-14) (2011)

(no. of child labourers) Source: Ministry of Labour and EmploymentInfoSphere

CHILD WORKERS BY DURATION OF WORK

2.45

0.52

2.962.39

0.42

2.81

1.94

0.72

2.66

1.33

0.36

1.69

Rural Male Urban Male

Tota l Male Rural Female

Urban Female

Tota l Female

Child Workers by Duration of Work(2011)

Main Workers Marginal WorkersAs classified by Census of India, an analysis of child workers by duration of work is understood by the status of child workers as ‘main’ and ‘marginal’ workers.

Main workers are those who work for 6 months or more in the preceding one year and marginal workers are those who work for less than 6 months.

It was found that out of 10.1 million workers in the age group of 5–14 years, 4.4 million were main workers in 2011 while 5.8 million were marginal workers (that included 3.5 million students and 2.3 million others).

It is disturbing to note that the proportion of marginal workers who were students had increased from 2.5 million in 2001 to 3.5 million in 2011.

(% o

f chi

ld w

orke

rs)


MAJOR SECTORS THAT EMPLOY CHILD

LABOUR

0.00% 5.00% 10.00%15.00%20.00%25.00%30.00%35.00%

Cultivators

Agricultural labourers

Plantation, Livestock, Forestry, Fishing, Hunting

Mining and Quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, Gas and Water Supply

Construction

Wholesale and Retail Trade

Hotels and Restaurants

Transport, Storage and Communications

Financial Intermediation, Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities

Child Workers in Major Sectors in India (2001)

In urban areas, a larger proportion of children were found to be employed in wholesale and retail trade (18.1 per cent), manufacturing in non-household industries (16.5 per cent), as well as in household industries (13.5 per cent).

However, the number of children engaged as agricultural labour and cultivators declined in 2011 as compared to 2001, which might be attributed to an increase in school enrolment due to governmental intervention and education policies like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

(% of child workers) Source: V.V. Giri National Labour Institute InfoSphere

EDUCATION LEVELS OF CHILD WORKERS

0.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Not Literate Literate Below Matric Matric or Above

EDUCATION LEVELS OF CHILD WORKERS (AGES 5-14) (2011)

2001 2011

Out of a total of 4.4 million main child workers in the country in 2011, 2.8 million (65.3 per cent) between the age group of 5–14 years were literate. This was an increase from 47.6 per cent literate main child workers in 2001.

This large increase in a decade implied that more and more children were beginning to attend at least some classes in schools.

However, flagship programmes of the Government of India have not contributed enough towards retaining children in school for longer time periods. Despite the higher rates of literacy and school attendance, several children are still forced to work.

(% o

f chi

ld w

orke

rs)


BONDED LABOUR IN INDIA

Bonded labour is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt, or other obligation, where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, and the person who is holding the debt has some control over the labourer.

According to International LabourOrganization there were 1.17 crores bonded labourers in 2014.

Bonded labour is mostly prevalent in agricultural sector, informal sector (cotton textile handlooms, brick kilns, construction work, domestic help etc.)

States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Odisha and Andhra have seen maximum incidence of bonded labor.

(Read more about this at: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081967.pdf)

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000

Andhra Pradesh

Bihar

Karnataka

Madhya Pradesh

Orissa

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

Maharashtra

Uttar Pradesh

Kerala

Haryana

Arunachal Pradesh

Chhatisgarh

STATE-WISE BONDED LABOURERS IDENTIFIED (2004)

(no. of bonded labourers)

Source: International Labour OfficeInfoSphere

https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_081967.pdf

WORKPLACE SAFETY

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

Andhra Pradesh

Assam

Bihar

Chhattisgarh

Goa

Haryana

Jharkhand

Meghalaya

Rajasthan

Telangana

Tripura

NUMBER OF ACCIDENTAL INJURIES IN THE WORK PLACE (2013)

About 48,000 workers die in India due to occupational accidents of which 38 fatal accidents take place every day in the construction sector.

Only 20 percent of India’s workforce is covered under the existing health and safety legal framework.

According to the British Safety Council, there is massive under-reporting of accidents at workplaces in India as there is no requirement to report accidents and ill health in many industry sectors.

InfoSphere Source: International Labour Office

100

115 115 115

137

160 160

176 176 178 178

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

India National Floor Level Minimum Wage (per day)

MINIMUM WAGE IN INDIA

Although minimum wage in India fluctuates between different states, and even between types of work, the National floor level minimum wage has officially been Rs. 178/day for the last two years.

Source: Ministry of Labour and EmploymentInfoSphere

UNIONS IN INDIA

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

35000

40000

45000

50000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Worker's UnionsIndia has the largest number of trade unions, but they have developed very slowly.

Currently, only about 28% of the workers in India are unionized.

The unions are getting smaller in size. Their finances are generally in bad shape.

The unions often cannot make a constructive approach because of intensive inter-union rivalries and multiplicity of unions. Then, there is the heterogeneity of membership with workers from different areas, classes, castes and regions. Because of such peculiarities, Indian unions are yet weak, unstable, amorphous, fragmented and uncoordinated.

(To read more about this: Journal of Accounting and Marketing)

Source: Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment

(num

ber

of r

egis

tere

d un

ions

)

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(num

ber

of r

egis

tere

d un

ions

)

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0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Employers' Unions

0 100000 200000 300000 400000 500000 600000 700000 800000

Agriculture, forestry and fishing

Mining and quarrying

Manufacturing

Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply

Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation …

Construction

Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles

Transportation and storage

Accommodation and Food service activities

Information and communication

NUMBER OF REGISTERED UNION MEMBERS –INDUSTRY WISE (2013)


(number of union members)

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0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000

Financial and insurance activities

Real estate activities

Professional, scientific and technical activities

Administrative and support service activities

Public administration and defence; compulsory social security

Education

Human health and social work activities

Arts, entertainment and recreation

Activities of households as employers

NUMBER OF REGISTERED UNION MEMBERS –INDUSTRY WISE (2013)


(number of union members)

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WORKER STRIKES

0 20000 40000 60000 80000 100000 120000 140000 160000

Bihar

Gujarat

Haryana

Karnataka

Madhya Pradesh

Maharashtra

Rajasthan

Tamil Nadu

Uttarakhand

Uttar Pradesh

West Bengal

STATE-WISE NUMBER OF WORK DAYS LOST DUE TO STRIKES (2014)

Source: Indian Labour Journal (2014)InfoSphere

Workers are not treated fairly, resulting in several strikes. The unions allow the workers to unite and fight for their rights.

PROBLEMS THAT UNIONS TRY AND SOLVE

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180

Poor wagesTargets too high

Poor working conditionsPoor relationship with management

Poor benefitsLong hours

Irregular paymentVerbal abuse

Illness/stress due to workHigh cost of living

Irregular workNot enough work hours

Overtime without payNon-availability of amenities

PROBLEMS FACED BY WORKERS

Source: International Labour Organization (Garment Industry)InfoSphere

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Verbal abuse and threats Will be sacked Extra work will be imposed

Will be treated badly in the future

Physical abuse and beatings

PENALTIES FOR NOT MEETING TARGETS

Source: International Labour Organization (Garment Industry)InfoSphere

CONCLUSION

Through this Ist Part Of Our Special Issue On Broken Markets weobserve how:

- Migrant workers are subjected to poor living conditions anddespite this migrant work has increased significantly. Internalmigration has seen a significant rise since 2001.

- Despite stringent laws, child labour is expected to increase inthe future. This is expected as most children may join the(child) workforce due to closure of schools and halt indistributive effect of welfare schemes such as mid-day meals(offered in schools).

- There seems to be a decrease in unionization in India. Thisnegatively affects workers’ bargaining power and agency tosecure better (and more sustainable) working conditions.

Watch Out For the IInd Part in Our Shram Ko Naman Series (In July)….

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