Contract Workers
Contract labour share at 27-year high in India’s organised manufacturing sector: Report
The share of contract workers in India’s organised manufacturing sector has surged to its highest level in nearly three decades, at 42 per cent in 2023-24, Business Standard reported, citing the latest Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). This is more than double the 20 per cent share seen in 1999-2000. Economists attribute the steady rise in contract jobs to the gradual easing of labour laws at both the central and state levels.
India's contract labour surge carries risks for jobs and the economy
The latest Annual Survey of Industries 2023-24 points to a worrying trend — the rise of contractualisation. Contract workers now account for 42 per cent of the workforce engaged in the organised manufacturing sector. This is the highest since 1997-98, when their share was only 16 per cent. In fact, contractualisation has risen by nearly 8 percentage points in the last 10 years, while the share of workers directly employed by factories has displayed a consistent declining trend. For a country like India, which must rely on labour-intensive manufacturing, rising contractualisation signals deterioration in the quality of employment being generated.
Labour Demands
14,000 NHM Contractual Workers in Chhattisgarh Resign After BJP Govt Sacks 25 Employees For Leading Protest
New Delhi: After 25 employees of the National Health Mission (NHM) in Chhattisgarh were sacked for leading a protest for a 10-point charter of demands, over 14,000 others, all contractual staffers, of the NHM in the state have en masse resigned. According to a report in The Hindu, the strike, which is now in its 19th day (as of September 6), has disrupted essential health services, including nutrition rehabilitation centres and school health check-ups, posing a challenge for the BJP-led government.
Rise in working hours: Hind Mazdoor Sabha threatens stir if decision not revoked
Hind Mazdoor Sabha threatens statewide agitation in Maharashtra if the government doesn't revoke the decision to increase working hours in factories and shops. Sanjay Wadhavkar argues the move, made under Union government pressure, exploits workers due to inadequate monitoring and dilutes existing safeguards.
Endangered Workers
6 murders and counting – the heavy price of being a temporary teacher in Chhattisgarh
Maoists are increasingly targeting shikshadoots, meant to be the state’s way to reach children in remote parts, on suspicion of being police informers…Gambir Telam is caught in a dilemma. A leader of Chhattisgarh’s shikshadoot (temporary teachers) union, he believes he has a very difficult choice ahead: either continue with his job and risk being killed by Maoists or quit and face poverty. Photo: Shikshadoots gather to protest.
News from States
बिहार में चुनाव से पहले नौकरियों की बहार, नीतीश कैबिनेट से 3000 से ज्यादा नई पोस्ट मंजूर
बिहार विधानसभा का चुनाव कुछ ही महीने में होने वाला है। ऐसे में सरकार युवाओं को लुभाने के लिए लगातार युवाओं को नौकरी पर नौकरी देने के लिए नीतीश सरकार ने भी अपना खजाना खोल दिया है। आज कैबिनेट की बैठक में सैकड़ों पदों पर बहाली को लेकर मंजूरी प्रदान कर दी गई है।
Nitish Kumar launches financial incentive scheme for women ahead of Bihar polls
The Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana– seen as a potentially game-changing move ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in the state—will assist one woman from each interested family - to start an enterprise of their choice this month itself and after that ₹2-lakh more would be given after assessment of their business model.
Bihar CM hikes stipend for anganwadi workers and helpers
According to sources in the State government, there are more than 1.20 lakh anganwadi workers and helpers in Bihar who stand to benefit from the hike in stipends
Ranchi police initiates verification of gig workers amid rising theft incidents
Amid growing theft incidents involving gig workers across Ranchi DIG and SSP Chandan Kumar Sinha directed all police station heads in the district on Thursday to initiate verification of thousands of gig company workers. There has been a surge in threat incidents where criminals pose as delivery personnel.
Uttar Pradesh govt plans to groom over 500K women micro entrepreneurs
The enterprises will take shape in the hinterland with the Yogi Adityanath government offering training, credit and marketing support across 75 districts
Employment News
Infosys to Revive Campus Hiring after Two Years, Ramps Up Interview Panels
Infosys has invited its senior employees to be on panels to visit colleges and interview students for jobs at the software giant, signalling a revival of campus hiring after two years. Their remit would be to visit colleges across the country to evaluate freshers on coding and problem-solving skills for DSE roles, people in the know told ET.
Caught in the HIRE Act, Indian IT may lose its cost advantage
A United States senator introduced a Bill that may tax IT outsourcing. This could negatively impact Indian tech firms. The proposed tax is 25% on American companies outsourcing jobs. Indian IT stocks already showed decline. Experts warn of reduced cost advantages and pricing pressures. Companies may need to diversify to other markets.
India’s unemployment rate is 2%, says Mandaviya citing WEF report
India’s unemployment rate is 2%, which is the lowest among the G20 nations, labour and employment minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Monday, citing the World Economic Forum’s ‘The Future of Jobs Report 2025’.
AI and Jobs
‘Reduced staff from 9,000 to 5,000’: Salesforce CEO defends layoffs due to AI, calls it ‘most exciting months’ of his career
Artificial Intelligence is shaking up the tech world yet again, this time at Salesforce. The American cloud software giant has cut 4,000 customer support jobs, leaning more heavily on AI to handle tasks that were once managed by people.
AI won’t eliminate jobs, but it will eliminate the unskilled
The defining challenge AI will bring about is the replacement of traditional jobs. Workers in roles as cashier, ticket clerks, cleaners, housekeepers, forklift operators, fitters, quality inspectors and maintenance engineers will need opportunities to shift into higher-value activities. The urgency to skill and reskill has never been more important now, than in the age of easily available machines which can do human work.
Layoffs and Hirings
Oracle Lays Off 3,000+ Employees Globally | Jobs Hit In US, India, Europe
Oracle has launched another sweeping round of global layoffs, cutting more than 3,000 jobs across regions including the U.S., India, the Philippines, Canada, and Europe. Roles impacted go beyond Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, hitting Oracle Health, architecture, and corporate functions. While Oracle Health in the U.S. and support teams in India faced significant cuts, the company has yet to release an official statement.
Layoffs, losses tear through key garment export hub
Around a third of exports from Tiruppur, a garment-making cluster, accounting for 53% of India’s knitwear exports, is shipped to the US. Shortly after the US confirmed a total of 50% duties on Indian goods August 27, exporter RK Sivasubramaniam received an email from his buyer in New York that they can pay only 10% of the levy. He ships half a million pieces to this buyer every month.
Livelihoods
In Uttar Pradesh, the Musahar community can neither sow nor reap
VIDEO: Machines are replacing people in our villages. We do not own land. In these circumstances, if the machines do all the work, then what lies in our future? How do we feed our children, provide them an education, and fulfil our household needs? Now that most of the daily wage work in the village is being done by machines, many people like us face a threat to our livelihoods in the absence of alternatives.
Tailpiece
Delhi labourer is marathon champ
DEHRADUN: At a construction site in Delhi, Rohit Kumar can sometimes be spotted running with bricks on his back. A resident of Bihar's Khagaria, he may look like another labourer battling at a work site. But Kumar is also a marathon runner.