Labour

Tread a new path, one that prioritises social justice

Context: May 1 is widely known as the Labour Day, a day when we celebrate the contribution of workers worldwide. It is a moment of pride, celebration and hope. Three years after the COVID-19 crisis, followed by inflation, conflict, and food and fuel supply shocks, we badly need this. But the promises of renewal made during the pandemic, of ‘building back better’, have so far not been delivered for the great majority of workers worldwide.

Labour Day & its Concerns

The erosion of hard-won labour rights Reverse the hard reality, mistrust Globally, real wages have fallen, poverty is rising, and inequality seems more entrenched than ever.
Enterprises have been hard hit.
Many could not cope with the cumulative effects of recent unexpected events.
Small and micro-enterprises were particularly affected, and many have ceased operations.
People feel that the sacrifices they made to get through COVID-19 have not been recognised, let alone rewarded.
Their voices are not being heard clearly enough.
This, combined with a perceived lack of opportunities, has created a disturbing level of mistrust.

Way forward

Realise the Declaration of Philadelphia 1944: Our policies and actions must be human-centred, to allow people to pursue both their material well-being and their spiritual development in conditions of freedom and dignity, economic security and equal opportunity.

Focusing on ‘decent work’

To set out guiding principles for our economic and social systems, that they should not be turned exclusively to hitting specific growth rates or other statistical targets, but to address human needs and aspirations. This means focusing on inequality, poverty alleviation and core social protection.
The most effective way to do this is by providing quality jobs so that people can support themselves and build their own futures — ‘Decent Work for All’, as Sustainable Development Goal 8 terms it.
It means realistically addressing the long-term structural transformations of our time;
Ensuring that new technology creates and supports employment;
Pro-actively facing the challenges of climate change and ensuring we offer the jobs,
Skills training and
Transition support necessary for workers and businesses to benefit from the new low-carbon era;
Treating demographic changes as a ‘dividend’ rather than a problem, with supporting action on skills, migration and social protection, to create more cohesive and resilient societies.
We also need to reassess and refashion the architecture of our social and economic systems, so that they support this change of course towards social justice, rather than continuing to channel us into a policy ‘doom loop’ of inequality and instability.
Reinvigorate labour institutions and organisations so that social dialogue is effective and vigorous.
Review laws and regulations affecting the world of work, so that they are relevant and up-to-date and able to protect workers and support sustainable businesses.
Labour rights are in free fall Create a global platform to make all this happen, we need to recommit to international cooperation and solidarity.
We must enhance our efforts and create greater policy coherence, particularly within the multilateral system.

Improve Global Coalition for Social Justice.

This coalition will create a platform to bring together a broad range of international bodies and stakeholders.
It will position social justice as the keystone of the global recovery so that it is prioritised in national, regional and global policies and actions.
It will ensure that our future is human-centred.

Recall and fulfil the promises made under different ILO conventions

Sr. No.	Convention	Convention number	India’s Position
1.	Forced labour convention, 1930	29	Signed& Ratified
2.	Freedom of association and protection of the right to organise convention, 1948	87	Not Signed
3.	Right to Organise and collective bargaining convention, 1949	98	Not Signed
4.	Equal remuneration convention, 1951	100	Signed& Ratified
5.	Abolition of forced labour convention, 1957	105	Signed& Ratified
6.	Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958	111	Signed& Ratified
7.	Minimum age convention, 1973	138	Signed& Ratified
8.	Occupational Safety and health convention, 1981	155	Not Signed
9.	The worst form of child labour convention, 1999	182	Signed& Ratified
10.	Promotional Framework for occupational safety and health convention, 2006	187	Not Signed

Laboured movements

Context: Recently Karnataka and now Tamil Nadu have amended the Factories Act, 1948, to allow the introduction of 12-hour shifts, ostensibly to give large manufacturers greater flexibility to synchronise their production schedules with global supply chains.

Positive aspects of a 12-hour shift

The change would enable factories to work 12-hour shifts four days a week, which means they would continue to conform to the weekly allowable limit of 48 hours stipulated by the Act.
In Karnataka, these changes were reportedly made at the behest of Apple’s Taiwanese vendor Foxconn.
Tamil Nadu, meanwhile, is positioning itself as a hub for investment in new-age industries such as electric vehicles and solar power equipment, though the state has put the implementation of the amended law on hold.
No doubt, both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu hope to become vibrant investment choices for multinationals seeking alternative destinations as part of their “China Plus One” strategies.
These moves may be understandable from an investment perspective, given that India, with its relatively low labour productivity and high transaction costs, has to compete with destinations such as Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand for global investment dollars.

Concerns related to the 12-hour shift

The first concern is whether 12-hour shifts are advisable in industries such as electronics that require intricate assembly work, demanding high levels of concentration and accuracy.
In such cases, the probability of high defect levels could well annul any productivity gains over time.
The second, larger concern is the ethics of such laws, which stretch workers beyond their capacities.
It is possible to argue that this system does not differ greatly from the standard labour practices imposed on workers in the vast and mostly unmonitored unorganised sector, where working hours can be far longer and benefits are all but non-existent.
In the context of India’s huge unemployment problem, workers in the organised sector who get to work 12-hour shifts with some benefits (paid leave, sick leave, and so on) could be considered privileged when compared with those who work those same (or longer) hours without benefits.
This reality, however, also requires recognising a fine line between exploitation and profit maximisation, especially in the context of the weakening of trade unionism in India.
It may be recalled that Uttar Pradesh had to revoke an Ordinance requiring factories to run 12 hours a day for three months to make up for the time lost during the Covid lockdown in 2020.
This was after strong objections from workers’ fronts and labour experts.
In China, too, the government felt the need to remind companies that the famed “996 culture” (in which people work from 9 am to 9 pm six days a week) was illegal.
The legal work week in China is 44 hours with overtime required to be paid for extra hours.
In reality, as China strove to become the factory to the world, most employers and the government turned a blind eye to these rules — Alibaba’s Jack Ma memorably described the 996 cultures as a “blessing”.
-It was only growing worker anger that compelled Zhongnanhai to intervene in 2021.

So, the introduction of the 12-hour shift in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu reflects the realities of globalised business where competition for low cost and maximising productivity results in a race to the bottom as far as labour rights and welfare are concerned.

Female labour force participation

Studies shows that Female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) exhibits a U-shape during the process of economic development. The downward trend in ‘U’ was due to rise in Household incomes because of expansion of markets and shift from farm activities to factory work.

However, when educational level rises and as value of women’s time in the market increases further, they move back into the paid labour force.

However, despite experiencing structural changes such as decline in fertility rates and expansion of women’s education, Indian FLFPR has been stagnated. While NSSO found that 25.9% of all women worked in 1999-2000, female labour force participation rate in 2020-21, according to PLFS report, is only 25.1%.

The female labour force participation rate of Muslim women in the country is 15%, as compared to 26.1% for Hindu women. Over the past three years, Muslim women have had the lowest LFP rate amongst all religious groups in the country.

Reasons for low female labour force participation

Rising Household Incomes: Rising incomes allow women to escape harsh labour on farms and construction sites and focus on their families.
Agrarian crisis: Declining farm sizes, rising mechanisation and agrarian crisis are pushing women out of agricultural workforce.
Lack of Rural connectivity: Lack of transport network to villages may prevent women from taking non-agricultural work in Neighbouring towns. Lack of transport services effect women more than men.
Increased Education levels of women: Growing enrolment of women in Higher education and lack of adequate well paid formal jobs in the market.
Nuclear families: Growing trend of nuclear families keeping childcare left to women with no support from elders of the family.
MSME crisis: MSME sector offers significant employment opportunities to women. But rigid labour laws and other protective policies of govt hindered the growth of MSMEs.
Patriarchal norms: Patriarchal norms of society determines Domestic division of labour. Women are expected to take care of domestic chores while men go out for work.
Childcare: Most education drop out of labour force due to childbirth and care.
Other factors: Glass ceiling at workplace which limits work opportunities for females at senior levels, sexual harassment at workplaces inducing fear among females. Lack of access to marketable skills in an economy which is driven by service class.

Measures to be taken

Promote gender-responsive employment policies particularly through macroeconomic, sectoral and labour market policies that address effectively the gender-specific effects of the COVID- 19 crisis and support the creation of full and productive employment for women.
Promote appropriate public and private investment in the care sector, which has the strong potential not only to expand decent work opportunities – especially for women – but also strengthen the resilience of economies and societies and enable workers with family responsibilities to engage in employment.
Closing the gender skills gap by gender-responsive upskilling and reskilling policies that enable women to take full advantage of the decent job opportunities on offer.

Women Not In Job Market? It’s A Myth

Context: The 30 years of employment data in India collected by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is analyzed to discuss a prevalent misconception about the Indian economy: the low participation rate of women in the labor force (FLFPR), especially compared to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Status of Women Employment in India

Agriculture census 2015-16: share of female operational holders has increased from 12.79 per cent in 2010-11 to 13.87 per cent in 2015-16 and 40.67% Agri labourers are women.
Periodic Labour Force Survey (2019-20): Women workers 28.8% of total workforce in India.
Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) 2022: Female Labour Force Participation dips to 9.2% from 15%.
International Labour Organization (ILO): 95% of working women are in informal sector.

Reasons for less FLFPR

Societal norms and cultural expectations: In India, traditional gender roles dictate that women should focus on household duties and raising children, while men are the primary breadwinners.
Lack of access to education: Girls are often denied access to education, or they drop out of school early due to poverty or familial responsibilities. This lack of education and skill development limits their employment opportunities and earning potential.
Limited job opportunities: Women often face discrimination in the job market, and there are fewer job opportunities available to them compared to men. For example, technology and finance sector.
Safety concerns: Women in India often face safety concerns and harassment in the workplace and while commuting to and from work. It discourage them from seeking employment outside of the home.
Unpaid care work: Women in India often have to bear the burden of unpaid care work, such as taking care of children, elderly family members, and household chores. It is often undervalued and not recognized as work, which limits women's ability to participate in paid employment.
Lack of supportive policies: India lacks supportive policies, such as parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and affordable childcare, which can enable women to balance work and family responsibilities.

Initiatives taken to improve FLFPR in India

Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme: Empowers rural women through community participation.
Rashtriya Mahila Kosh: Provides micro-credit at concessional terms to poor women for various livelihood and income generating activities.
Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): Under the scheme, women entrepreneurs are provided 25 per cent and 35 per cent subsidies for the project set up in urban and rural areas respectively.
Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM): seeks to reach out to 8-9 crore rural poor households and organize one woman member from each household into affinity-based women SHGs and federations at village and at higher levels.
Female Entrepreneurship: To promote female entrepreneurship, the Government has initiated schemes like MUDRA, Stand Up India and Mahila e-Haat.

Increasing women's participation in the labor force market in India is a crucial step towards achieving gender equality and promoting economic growth. Efforts to increase women's participation in the labor force should focus on providing access to education and training, affordable childcare services, flexible working hours, and addressing gender-based discrimination and promoting equal opportunities for women in all sectors of the economy.