i n d e x [] puts the entire financial burden of wages on the central government. a “working group...

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I N D E X

SL.NO. TITLE PAGE

NO.

GST OF EPW – NOVEMBER- 2017

1 MINIMUM WAGES FOR MGNREGA 3

2 CONSEQUENCES OF DMIC 4

3 EASE OF DOING BUSINESS & WORKERS’ SAFETY 6

4 SIGNIFICANCE OF TRADE UNIONS 7

5 BHOPAL PUBLIC BIKE-SHARING SCHEME 8

6 EXPERIENCE OF WOMEN WITH PWDVA 9

7 RTE & MINORITY INSTITUTIONS 10

8 PRIVATE CORPORATIONS IN DEFENCE PRODUCTION 11

9 DEPENDENCE ON OIL 13

10 ETHNIC ENVIRONMENTALISM 14


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GST OF EPW – NOVEMBER 2017

1. MINIMUM WAGES FOR MGNREGA

What is the issue?

Since 2009, wages under the MGNREGA

have been delinked from the Minimum

Wages Act.

The wages have not changed from their

real value in that 2009.

As a result, MGNREGA workers have been

victims of stagnating real wages.

How are wages paid under MNREGA?

MNREGA was launched in 2006.

MGNREGA act states that the central

government may specify the area-specific

wage rate for MNREGA workers and it

shall not be less than Rs.60/day. [Section

6(1)]

Until such a wage rate is fixed, the

minimum wage fixed by the State

Government under the Minimum Wages

Act (MWA), 1948 for agricultural

labourers, shall be considered applicable

to that area. [Section 6(2)]

In the initial years MGNREGA workers

were paid as per MWA.

On January 2009, the central government

delinked MGNREGA wages from the

MWA.

The justification given to the move was

that since MGNREGA wages are paid

entirely by central government, state

governments may want to increase

minimum wages to unreasonable extents.

What is the legality of Delinking?

In Sanjit Roy v State of Rajasthan , the

Supreme Court has recognised payment of

minimum wages as a fundamental right,

otherwise it is considered as “forced

labour”.

The matter of delinking of MGNREGA

wages from the Minimum Wages Act was

taken to the Andhra Pradesh and

Karnataka high courts.

Both the courts held that the Centre

should pay.

Yet, the central government maintained

that the difference between the state

minimum wage and the MGNREGA wage

should be paid by the state governments.

States have refused to contribute towards

the payment of wages as the MGNREGA

clearly puts the entire financial burden of

wages on the central government.

A “Working Group on Wages” deliberated

in 2010 to look into MGNREGA wage

policy and the steady decline in the value

of its wages.


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The group recommended of indexing

MGNREGA wages to the price level by

using the Consumer Price Index for

Agricultural Labourers (CPIAL)

It also proposed the following three

options –

reverting to payment of minimum wages

as set by state governments

central government to continue fixing

MGNREGA wages in consultation with

state governments and representatives of

workers’ organisations

Central government will pay up to a

national norm based on above two and the

state governments would pay the

difference.

Is delinking fair?

The central government has only indexed

the MGNREGA wage to the price level by

using CPIAL with 1 April 2009 as the base.

It has made no attempts to reconcile

MGNREGA with the Minimum Wages Act.

Hence MGNREGA workers of several

states have been working at less than their

state’s minimum wage at various points in

time.

The mere indexing of MGNREGA wages to

the price level has led to the stagnation of

MGNREGA wages in real terms.

What are the other issues?

In states where MGNREGA workers are

actually paid on the basis of work

measurement (e.g, Gujarat, Himachal

Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil

Nadu and West Bengal), the MGNREGA

wage functions as a maximum wage i.e

paid to the worker only if she completes

the task.

At times, workers are paid for less than the

work done by them due to entry of fake

names and/or errors in measurement of

work.

Long and unpredictable delays in

payments and even non-payment of wages

have further eroded the real value of

MGNREGA wages.

The compensation for delays in wage

payments is seldom paid to them.

2. CONSEQUENCES OF DMIC

What is the issue?

The idea of Delhi–Mumbai Industrial

Corridor (DMIC) is conceived to foster

export-oriented growth.


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But the future social and ecological impact

seems to outweigh the benefits of

economic growth.

What is DMIC?

DMIC is India's most ambitious

infrastructure programme.

The objective is to expand India's

Manufacturing & Services base and

develop DMIC as a "Global Manufacturing

and Trading Hub".

The programme will provide a major

impetus to planned urbanization.

The programme also envisages

development of infrastructure linkages

like power plants, assured water supply,

high capacity transportation and logistics

facilities as well as softer interventions like

skill development programme for

employment of the local populace.

The programme has been conceptualized

in partnership with Government of Japan.

In the first phase eight new industrial

cities are being developed.

What are the concerns?

An explicit objective of the DMIC is to

boost formal sector employment in

manufacturing

But DMIC arcs through some of India’s

most industrialised and urbanised states.

Meanwhile, “backward” states figure as

suppliers of natural resources, agricultural

products and labour power.

As a result, the DMIC exacerbates regional

inequality within India.

Also the sectors that are likely to flourish

within DMIC are capital intensive and

unlikely to substantially expand

employment opportunities.

There will be significantly less growth in

informal service sectors within the DMIC.

The projects that constitute the DMIC

require a dramatic increase of material

inputs and resources, whose exploitation

will generate a tremendous amount of

waste.


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Furthermore, there seems to be an

absence of planning across political

jurisdictions to integrate infrastructure

systems.

This will foster conflicts surrounding

access to resources and exposure to waste.

The DMIC is best described as a regime

that encourages investment in a series of

small-scale infrastructure projects, and

there is a notable absence of regional

planning.

The integral role played by the public

sector at every stage of the DMIC, from the

conceptualisation of projects to their

implementation, calls into question the

narrative that India’s economy has been

liberalised.

3. EASE OF DOING BUSINESS &

WORKERS’ SAFETY

Why in news?

Recently 32 workers died and another 100

had grievous injuries in a major public

sector thermal power plant.

What caused the deaths?

The high pressure steam boiler was

supposed to have been shut down to

rectify technical problems.

Yet, it was still running even as workers

were asked to manually remove the ash

that had collected in the boiler as a result

of the malfunction.

The pressure built up in the boiler and

lead to the blast.

There were around 300 workers in the

vicinity.

Surely, this could have been avoided had

the safety of workers been a priority.

Who were affected?

Majority of the workers affected were

migrant contract workers.

This is a ploy used by many large

industrial units.

They maintain smaller number of

permanent workers who are covered

under labour laws.

Much of the works, often the more

hazardous tasks, are farmed out to

contractors who employ casual workers.

These workers have no health insurance in

the event of accidents or exposure to

hazards.

What does the event signify?

It has exposed the callous disregard for

worker safety and the violation of labour

laws in India.

Today, under the excuse of enhancing the

“ease of doing business,” workers’ safety

laws are being deliberately diluted in

many states.


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Since 2014, there have been proposed

amendments to the Contract Labour

(Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, the

Factories Act, 1948, and the Industrial

Disputes Act, 1947.

Even the Indian Boiler Regulations, 1950

that required inspection and certification

by the Central Boilers Board, have been

changed to permit self-certification.

This had led to a very little oversight to

ensure the safety regulations.

Furthermore, there are proposals to dilute

laws governing contract labour.

Under the existing law, the NTPC can be

held liable for all workers, permanent and

contract.

The amendments could change to the

detriment of the rights of contract

workers.

The government has introduced the

Shram Suvidha Portal that permits

employers to “self-certify” compliance to

16 central labour laws.

Such “self-certification” has been proved

to be a fraud in compliance with

environmental laws.

What should be done?

Even in the best-maintained industries,

there can be accidents.

These can be prevented, and their effects

minimised if there is no compromise on

routine maintenance and the workers’

safety laws are water tight.

4. SIGNIFICANCE OF TRADE UNIONS

Why in news?

There was a three-day protest by 10

central trade unions in Delhi.

Why did they protest?

The centre has recently proposed four

labour codes to subsume all labour laws.

There were also attempts to dilute labor

protection laws under the objective of

“easing” business.

What are the challenges before trade

unions?

There is a wide belief that the

manufacturing industry is unable to grow

because of the ironclad labour laws.

Trade unions will also have to face up to

this dominant public discourse.

But it is to be understood that these labour

laws are poorly implemented, violated in

spirit and letter and ineffective.

They do not cover the larger section of

workers in the face of increasing

contractualisation.

Another challenge in organising working

class movement is to pressure the

government to take the joint trade union

platform seriously and hold meaningful

dialogues.

The trade unions also need to deal with

poor implementation of minimum wages

and increasing contractualisation in every

industry.


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This has eroded the power of the trade

unions to bargain.

They should reach out to progressive

political and social movements to meet

these challenges.

It is high time come for trade unions to

rethink their strategy.

5. BHOPAL PUBLIC BIKE-SHARING

SCHEME

Why in news?

Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC)

recently decided to acquire 500 state-of-

the-art bicycles.

What are the problems in the project?

The project was intended to make the city

commute environment-friendly and

healthy.

Any public initiative needs sufficient

demand, optimal infrastructure, and the

right intent for implementation to

succeed.

Demand - Commuters in the 20–40 age

groups would be most likely to drive the

demand for bicycles.

But they presently use motorbikes, low-

floor buses, minibuses, or seven-seater

passenger vehicles to travel to their

workplace or college.

The cities of western countries, from

which these ideas have been borrowed,

have concrete roads running to the

doorstep, less fumes and dust, and orderly

traffic.

On the other hand, even if commuters

opted for the bike-sharing, they would

need to cycle on crowded roads enveloped

in carcinogenic emissions and allergy-

inducing dust.

In addition, the scorching heat in Bhopal

for several months in a year is a major

deterrent for cyclists.

e.g In a recent survey in Bengaluru, the

majority rejected cycling and preferred

motorised vehicles.

Factors that made motorised vehicles

preferable to cycles included age-related

disabilities, concerns about safety, and

absence of infrastructure such as parking

space and cycling lanes.

Infrastructure - Delhi’s bicycle rental

scheme was launched in 2008.

According to a 2010 study, the demand for

the scheme was mostly driven by low-wage

earners who could not afford motorised

modes of transport.

Only 120 shared bikes were available in

Delhi until 2014.

Belgium, a country with a population 100

times smaller than India’s, had 5,690

shared bikes, and China had 8,58,000.

Thus, even though there is huge potential

for shared bikes, there are few takers for

the scheme in India.


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Just 500 cycles in a city with population of

around 18 lakh cannot be sufficient to

bring the impact on health and

environment.

Safety - In a report on cyclists’ safety,

Delhi ranked poorly and it was noted that

cycling is not a lifestyle choice for the

middle class.

Other than safety and infrastructure, air

quality is a big concern.

There is an enormous risk of cardio-

respiratory diseases.

e.g New York, where cycling is popular,

has dedicated lanes for cyclists, and long-

distance commuters are even permitted to

carry bicycles on buses or trains.

Besides, it would be difficult to monitor

pilferage and tampering of these smart

bicycles costing Rs. 2,500 each.

It is likely that within a few months these

smart bicycles would be broken and

poorly-maintained.

To use it, a person has to pay security

deposit of Rs. 500 and will have to

maintain minimum balance of Rs. 500

from which rentals will get deducted.

Thus minimum initial expense of more

than Rs. 1,000 may prevent its usage

among weaker section, while some might

find purchasing more profitable.

Intention - Bike-sharing would scarcely

result in a substantial reduction in the

number of carbon-emitting vehicles.

The decision to procure bicycles from

Germany, especially at a time of

widespread “Make in India” campaign

raises doubt about the intention of the

scheme.

6. EXPERIENCE OF WOMEN WITH

PWDVA

Why in news?

A study was conducted recently by the

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) to

describe the experiences of women

seeking justice under the Protection of

Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2006

(PWDVA).

What are the findings of the study?

Who uses the act and when - 71% of

women who filed cases under the PWDVA

were between the ages of 18 and 35 years.

Although the PWDVA has broadened the

definition of domestic relationship, 93%

cases were filed by married women.

Most were filed against husbands and/or

in-laws.

Only around 7% of the women were not

married at the time of filing.

The majority of women identified as

homemakers.


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After married women, widowed women

are the most prominent users of the act.

Most women do not approach the court

initially, but they attempt family or

community-based interventions.

Stakeholder responses - The

Government of Haryana has

institutionalised a network of protection-

cum-prohibition officers in each of its

districts.

Most women said they were aware of the

presence of the protection officer (PO),

and 59% of them reported that the PO had

helped them file the domestic incident

report (DIR).

The availability of full-time dedicated POs

in police stations could be an important

factor for the unusually large number of

cases filed in Haryana.

Only 29% women who had filed cases

under the PWDVA were aware of their

right to legal aid.

Court response - Interim relief was

hailed as one of the most important

provisions of the act, as it recognises that

women need immediate legal relief from

the violence.

But this provision has been underutilised.

It was granted in only 28% of the cases in

which it was sought.

The monetary relief sought was also

disproportionate to the monetary relief

granted.

Like interim relief, ex parte orders are also

an important feature of the act. However,

ex parte relief was granted in only few

cases.

Delayed proceedings and women’s

experiences - The PWDVA stipulates a

60-day deadline for the disposal of cases.

However, from the available court records,

it appears that in only 1% cases, the final

orders were passed within 60 days.

Only 4% of women were satisfied with the

orders they received.

Around 49% of women stated that they

faced financial difficulties due to the court

cases, which is also linked to the large

number of withdrawn and dismissed

cases.

Overwhelmingly, stakeholders and women

reported that the severe judicial delays

were the most challenging part of the

quest for justice.

7. RTE & MINORITY INSTITUTIONS

Why in news?

Supreme Court issued notice to the centre

in Independent School Federation of India

v State of Uttar Pradesh, to file its

response on the application of the

reservation clause under the RTE Act on

minority aided and unaided schools.


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What was the earlier judgment?

The Supreme Court in Pramati

Educational and Cultural Trust v Union

of India (2014), exempted minority

schools from the application of the Right

of Children to Free and Compulsory

Education Act, 2009 (RTE Act).

It has led to the sabotaging of claims of

social justice amongst children belonging

to economically weaker sections (EWS)

and disadvantaged group (DG) categories.

In 2016 Mumbai, witnessed the misuse of

minority status to hoodwink the obligation

of providing 25% reservation for children

belonging to EWS and DG categories.

Similar instances were noticed in

Karnataka, Goa, Pune, Uttar Pradesh and

other parts.

Why should minority institutions be

brought under the act?

It must be borne in mind that primary

education is the biggest equaliser.

It provides formative grounding in

educative values necessary to exercise

choices consistent with the ideas of

equality of opportunity and social justice.

So it must be treated differently from

secondary or tertiary education.

Minority institutions, aided or unaided,

must partake in ensuring these educative

values.

This constitutional obligation could be

located in the Fundamental Duties, which

provide for promoting “brotherhood

amongst all the people of India

transcending religious, linguistic and

regional or sectional diversities” and to

“strive towards excellence in all spheres of

individual and collective activity.”

How should the reservation be carried

out?

While laying down law for providing

reservations in minority schools, aided or

unaided, it must be ensured that the

identity of minority rights under Article

30(1) is not mutilated.

The percentage of reservation, minority

character of school, level of education, and

obligation of minority schools to partake

in promoting social justice must be

considered.

It is the interplay of the preceding factors

that must determine the degree of

regulation in any school, private or

minority.

It is the right time for the Supreme Court

to revisit its view on the application of the

reservation clause on minority aided and

unaided schools.

8. PRIVATE CORPORATIONS IN

DEFENCE PRODUCTION

Why in news?

The union cabinet also approved a new

mechanism to speed up “strategic


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disinvestment” in public assets, including

Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML).

Why privatisation is bad?

US–India Business Council (USIBC)

represents 400 firms in the U.S.

It wrote to the Ministry of Defence seeking

guarantees that US firms would be allowed

to retain control over sensitive technology

while providing advanced technologies to

an India-owned “strategic partner”

company.

They also opposed a clause in new rules

that held foreign firms jointly responsible

for the quality of platforms provided to the

Indian military.

They also expressed concerns over

partnering with an Indian private

enterprise as they had limited experience.

The lessons of successful public ventures

were studiously ignored by successive

governments.

Instead they dogmatically kept promoting

the entry of private corporations into the

military sector.

The Committee of Experts for

Amendments to Defence Procurement

Procedure (DPP) 2013 held that the

Indian private entities, because they are

new in this sector, need “handholding” by

the collaborator as well as the Ministry of

Defence.

So the scenario is that the government is

pushing ahead with a policy which

requires the public sector to “hand-hold”

the private entities entering the military

sector while foreign OEMs exhibit a

reluctance to let go of their control over

proprietary technology.

Hence there are doubts about whether

such policies enhance the country’s

strategic autonomy.


Publicly held military sector should be

brought in line with successful public

ventures such as the Space Commission.

The government should enable the type of

indigenisation the Indian Navy was able to

effect when it successfully designed and

built Godavari Class guided missile

frigates.

The fact that successful ventures like

BEML is on the chopping block only

highlights the fact that the process of

diminution of the public defence sector

has picked up further steam.

It is in the very nature of the military that

marks it out from other economic activity.

This is one sector where the private sector

should play second fiddle to the public

sector.

If this sector is privatised, the government,

as monopoly purchaser, will have to assure

continued orders for the private sector so

that it can profit from its investment and

ensure a “reasonable” rate of return for its

investors.


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9. DEPENDENCE ON OIL

What is the issue?

India is the third largest consumer of

crude oil in the world.

This makes economic as well

environmental sense.

What is the present scenario?

India already imports over 80% of its

crude oil requirement and its demand is

growing fast.

With domestic production declining, it

could become even more vulnerable to the

vagaries of international crude oil markets

in the future.

The last three years since mid-2014 have

been favourable for India by way of lower

import prices.

High oil prices between 2011 and 2014 led

to increased investment and output of

United States (US) shale oil.

This resulted in falling prices.

Eventually, the lower prices took a toll on

OPEC members themselves, some of

whose budgets depended heavily on oil

revenues.

The resultant OPEC agreement of late-

2016 imposed production limits on its

members to address global excess supply

and to shore up prices.

Since then, prices have steadily risen.

What has India been doing to deal with

this?

India has been trying to diversify its

source countries.

e.g India recently started to import oil

from the US.

A greater diversity of sources for crude oil

will put India in a better position to

negotiate with large OPEC member

suppliers.

These developments are significant

because global oil markets have been

concerned about whether better efficiency

and alternative sources of energy would

permanently depress global oil

requirements.

The shift away from oil is slower than

expected in developing countries,

especially in sectors like road transport.

The move to alternative, less oil-

dependent, transport systems is an

important aim that India has adopted

partially.

A co-benefit of increased investment in

non-polluting public transport or limits on

personal transportation, for instance,

would be a reduction in the pollution load

in our cities, already some of the most

polluted in the world.

Given India’s growing demand for oil, and

its dependence on imports, there is a need

for a more immediate strategy to

drastically reduce fossil fuel dependence.


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10. ETHNIC ENVIRONMENTALISM

What is the issue?

The Sikkim–Darjeeling Himalaya is

undergoing serious environmental

changes as a result of the rampant

construction of hydroelectric projects and

climate-induced changes.

But there is very little in the way of large-

scale movements around the environment.

Instead there is a predominance of

ethnicity as the key variable in

negotiations with the state over

environmental issues.

What is ethnic environmentalism?

In 2004, the Affected Citizens of Teesta

(ACT) led a very powerful and successful

movement against the construction of

hydropower dams in North Sikkim.

The success of this movement can be

attributed to the largely “ethnic approach”

used by the activists to secure concessions

from the government.

According to them, hydropower

development was projected as a threat to

the culture, history and sacred landscape

of the indigenous Lepcha community of

Sikkim.

Prior to this, the Rathong Chu project had

been cancelled after large-scale protests by

Buddhist religious leaders and monks in

Sikkim.

This kind of reliance on ethnic identity for

the articulation of environmental justice is

called Ethnic Environmentalism.

Why is it detrimental?

Environmental concerns, whether related

to HEPs or climate change, are reduced to

“non-issues” unless presented within an

ethnic framework.

It narrows the channels of collective

mobilisation and contestation with the

state and other non-state actors, thereby

inhibiting popular movements around the

environment.

It also raises problematic questions over

the value of the environment to a

community, society and culture.

It sidelines the concerns of communities

who cannot demonstrate the deterioration

of sacred landscapes or cultural risks

associated with large-scale environmental

degradation.

It also limits the scopes of problems that

can be brought to centre stage.

e.g Despite the different forms of

environmental degradation like

deforestation, increased landslides, glacial

retreat, pollution, habitat loss, etc, HEPs

are the only environmental issue that has

been successful in rallying support.


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It limits the grievance-sharing

mechanisms that are available to the

people and this lack of agency leads to an

inequitable distribution of environmental

injustice


Environmental activism is also affected by

the complex relationship between the

people and the environment.

Despite strong religious, cultural and

historical connections with the

environment, it is the everyday needs of

subsistence and livelihood that take

precedence over environmental activism.

The importance of this relationship has to

be reinforced.

There is very little engagement with

environmental issues on a serious and a

regular basis in the public sphere.

This is exacerbated by the ethnic and

political overtones that have come to be

associated with the environment.

This is accentuated further by the weak

governmental responses to these severe

environmental concerns.

Such voids have to be filled to prevent the

declining importance to collective

environmentalism.

i n d e x [] puts the entire financial burden of wages on the central government. a “working group...

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