Meagre Wages
Since 2014, the poorest communities are earning less
Wage data collected by the Centre for Labour Research and Action reveal a steady decline in real wages of brick-kiln workers in the last 10 years. Brick-kiln work is a fallback occupation for some of India’s poorest groups.
If we extend the time-series to 2022-23, the trend growth rates from 2014-15 onwards are as follows: 0.8 per cent per year for agricultural labour, 0.2 per cent for non-agricultural labour and slightly negative for construction workers (men only). Just-released Labour Bureau data reinforce the point: In 2022-23, the growth rate of real wages was just 0.2 per cent for the first occupation group, and negative for the other two.
Dying at Work
TN saw five manual scavenging deaths in 18 days. All deterrents only on paper?
Since May 1, in a span of 18 days, at least five persons in Tamil Nadu — four Dalit men and a Muslim man — have died from manual scavenging, a caste-based practice that has been banned in India since 1993. In recent years, Tamil Nadu has earned ill repute for consistently failing to prevent manual scavenging deaths.
Kerala fireman dies while dousing massive fire in Thiruvananthapuram godown
A 33-year-old fireman died while dousing a massive fire that broke out in a godown in Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala during the early hours of Tuesday, May 23. JS Renjith, attached to the Chackai Fire Force Station, was part of the force that went to douse the fire at the godown of the Kerala Medical Services Corporation Limited (KMSCL) in Kinfra Park.
Tailpiece
Literacy project brings migrant workers closer to Malayalam
“Malayalam examination was easy. I wrote it well.” Everyone congratulated and clapped, when Sufikul Islam Mandal of West Bengal said this in chaste Malayalam. In all 92 labourers working in and around Kolazhy attended the examination. Classes were arranged at the shelters of workers after their work time.
In the Courts
Karnataka: HC Directs Labour Dept to Pass Ruling on Sacked ITI Workers Within 2 Months
The Karnataka High Court has directed the Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) Ltd. to go into conciliation proceedings with the Karnataka General Labour Union (KGLU) seeking reinstatement of terminated workers. The court also instructed the chief labour commissioner to judge the case within eight weeks. Eighty workers have filed a writ petition in the High Court seeking reinstatement. They have also asked to resume work in their posts until permanent employees are hired or until their claim of regularisation (in the labour department) is successful. The manner of termination is also noteworthy. While the contractor was changed regularly, the employment status of the contract workers remained the same. They were not required to process new documents when there was a contractor change.
News from States
In a first, Kerala will frame Bill for protection of domestic workers’ rights: CM
International Labour Conclave begins. Chief Minister says since formation, Kerala has followed a rights-based strategy to accommodate requirements of workers in formal, informal sectors.
Odisha Govt signs MoU with Infosys, Nasscom for developing employability of students in HEIs
The Higher Education Department of Odisha Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Infosys Limited and Nasscom for undertaking up-skilling and developing the employability of students of Higher Education Institutions in Odisha.
Analysis
View: India is staring at a crisis of jobs that needs tackling ASAP
Bereft of census 2021 (or 2023), I have used data from the United Nations' World Population Prospects 2022. There are some minor differences between these and the census data. What do the facts say? The population rise from 2011 to 2030 in 3 different age groups add up to a monumental 599 million people between the ages of 19 and 49 in the quest for livelihood by 2030. Assuming the current labour force participation rate of 40 per cent.
Layoffs and Hirings
Nearly 60,000 contract workers lost jobs in India's IT sector - recruitment body
Nearly 60,000 outsourced contract workers lost jobs in India's information technology sector in the year ending in March as jobs for flexi workers hired through contractors by companies shrank 7.7% from a year earlier, a recruitment body said on Tuesday. "The drop in new employment generation within the IT flexi staffing sector mirrored the global slowdown in IT hiring," said Lohit Bhatia, president of the Indian Staffing Federation, representing over 120 recruitment agencies across the country.
Reliance Industries’ JioMart lays off over 1,000 employees in its B2B unit: Report
Mukesh Ambani-helmed Reliance Industries’ online wholesale format JioMart has reportedly laid off over a thousand employees. This comes after the company aims to align its operations with Metro Cash and Carry that it acquired recently. According to a report in The Economic Times that cited sources, this round of layoffs is part of a larger round that would reduce its 15,000-strong workforce in the wholesale division by two-thirds.
Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs over 3 years; here's why
British multinational telecommunications company, Vodafone is planning to cut a whopping 11,000 jobs while seeking a leaner and simpler organisation. The layoff is part of the telco's strategic plan and will be executed over the course of the next 3 years. Vodafone's new chief executive Margherita Della Valle announced key strategic plans for the Group as the FY23 performance has not been good enough.
HM Amit Shah to disburse appointment letters to 44,703 candidates in Assam on May 25
Home Minister Amit Shah will handover appointment letters to 44,703 candidates in Assam on Thursday as part of the BJP government's pre-poll promise to provide one lakh government jobs. Shah was supposed to hand over the appointment letters on May 10, but the programme was postponed due to the violence in Manipur.
Well on target to deliver jobs, says Bihar's Dy CM Tejashwi Yadav
"We became part of the government after two and a half years. Still, the resolve of our chief minister Nitish Kumar is to provide 10 lakh government jobs as well as create 10 lakh employment opportunities apart from that," Tejashwi Yadav told ET in an exclusive interaction.
Telangana: Joining letters given to 1,061 asst. professors recruited for medical colleges
Minister for Health T.Harish Rao assures newly-recruited assistant professors of complete govt. support in research activities; says 22,263 posts filled in Health department alone in past nine years.
Recruitment Anxiety
Haryana’s Shweta Dull is the voice of aspirants in a scam-ridden govt recruitment system
Having failed to enter the civil services, the outspoken mother of two who has a Master’s in Biotechnology has taken up cudgels on behalf of lakhs of government job aspirants across the state. From fighting for the rights of yoga teachers in schools to highlighting errors in question papers and lapses by state agencies like the Haryana Public Service Commission, Dhull has emerged as Haryana’s very own firebrand ‘recruitment activist’. Dhull's goal is to inform aspirants about lapses in the recruitment process. Her campaign, ‘CET quality nahi to vote nahi’ has become a rallying cry among students.
Haryana: Fauji Appeal Gone, Chandeni Youth Look at Other Careers to Secure Future
For a long time, joining the Indian Army has been every child's dream here. By the age of eight, most of them would have a set routine of going to the panchayat-operated village stadium and gymnasium to run and exercise. Retired Army personnel also train them by introducing a tough exercise regime. As years passed, girls also began to use the stadium. However, of late, defence jobs are losing their sheen. From study abroad to private jobs and even mine labour, boys in this Haryana village explore new avenues following the introduction of Agnipath Scheme, which puts a four-year restriction on Army service.
Despair over Jobs
New G7 Sanctions at Hiroshima on Russian Diamonds Threaten One Million Indian Jobs
Jobs of more than one million diamond workers in India, particularly in Surat in Gujarat, stand threatened after the fresh sanctions imposed by G7 countries at Hiroshima on diamonds mined in Russia, reports The Economic Times. The business daily quotes Vipul Shah, chairman of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), as saying, “If the sanctions continue, then there will be a lot of uncertainty in the employment of one million workers.” Indian diamond trade cuts and polishes nine out of 10 diamonds available in the world and imports Russian diamonds from Alrosa, which accounts for 30% of global rough diamond output, the newspaper reported.
Ground Report: Amid Failed Welfare Schemes, Bonded Labourers a Grim Reality in UP's Bundelkhand
Banda: The sight of cracked heels of men and women climbing up on tempos amid dust and grime, to undertake a journey that will ensure food in their stomachs is common in central Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand. Burdened by debt and loss of livelihood in parched Banda, several families are being forced to work as bonded labour in exploitative brick kilns.
Despite end of pandemic, struggle to find employment still persists for many
According to the private think tank, Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), the unemployment rate in India has risen steadily from 7.14 per cent in January this year to 7.45, 7.8 and 8.11 per cent in February, March and April, respectively