Migrant Realities
How a bonded labourer blew the whistle on his employer
VIDEO: Wage theft and Violence in UP. India’s brick kiln industry largely employs migrant labourers, many of whom are caught in a debt trap by their employers and struggle for dignity even after their release.
Under the neon lights, the hidden risks for workers
The Goa nightclub tragedy followed a script that is only too familiar. As the year-end party frenzy sees increased footfalls in nightclubs, pubs and cafes across cities, the occupational risks for the bearers, kitchen staff, cleaners and front-desk personnel who keep them running remain high.
Employment News
Govt: 8% families got 100 days of work under NREGA in last 3 FYs
NEW DELHI: Less than 8% of families, which received employment under MGNREGA, could get the guaranteed 100 days of work in last three financial years, a govt presentation at a parliamentary committee meeting stated, with average days of employment per household pegged at around 50 in last three fiscals. Participation of SC/STs and women workers in the rural employment scheme was decidedly higher than their share in population, it said.
MGNREGA vs VB-G RAM G: What changes for states and workers | Interview
VIDEO: The Modi government has introduced legislation to overhaul the MGNREGA; will unskilled workers benefit from the new scheme?
Dying at Work
BLO deaths in Bengal: Between the digital divide and the deep blue SIR
VIDEO: Families of the two booth-level officers who died by suicide cite ‘inhuman’ work pressure, poll officials across the state share obstacles they face to register voters.
Bengal BLO Who 'Died by Suicide' Was an 'Extremely Popular Headmaster,' Say Villagers
Located about 230 kilometres from Kolkata, Rajakata is surrounded by forests, at the southern edge of the Jangalmahal region. Haradhan had been serving as a teacher at the Majherpara Primary school for years. “He was extremely popular as a teacher. Beyond his professional work, he was also actively involved in social work in the village. People respected him deeply,” said Lab Mandal, a local and former Sabhapati of the Ranibandh Panchayat Samity, the block-level elected authority.
Working Conditions
Telangana factory tragedy: Sigachi Industries CEO arrested for blast that killed 54 in June; sent to 14-day judicial remand
The June 30 blast – considered the deadliest disaster in India's pharma sector history – had left 54 Sigachi workers dead and over 30 injured. The company's managing director and chief executive officer was arrested on charges of negligence. Investigations found that the explosion that ripped through the dryer unit of the factory was caused due to massive build-up of temperature and pressure inside it owing to poor maintenance and inadequate cleaning. It exposed the absence of safety protocols and qualified staff.
AI and Jobs
AI Job Loss Fears vs Reality: What 2025 Actually Showed | Firstpost Tech & Trade
In 2025, artificial intelligence reshaped global labour markets but did not trigger mass job losses. While thousands of roles were cut at major firms, including Amazon, Microsoft and Salesforce, data shows that overall employment in AI-exposed jobs continued to grow. US employment in highly automated roles increased by 1.7 per cent, accompanied by a rise in wages. Studies found that many companies used AI to restructure work rather than replace workers.
Tech layoffs in 2025: From TCS to Amazon — these IT firms laid off over 1,00,000 employees amid AI reshaping market
Tech layoffs continued in 2025, with over 1,00,000 jobs lost, primarily from giants like Amazon and Microsoft. The trend comes at a time when companies are opting for AI solutions to manage rising operational costs.
Exporting Workers
From India, with love: Welders to carpenters flock to Russia
Tailors, welders, steel fixers, carpenters and tin smiths are queuing up to head to Russia as demand for a skilled workforce rises. Overseas recruitment firms, have noted more than 60% increase in demand for workers from India to Russia and estimate further growth.
Workers left out of Israel jobs flight take legal route: ‘Mortgaged land, jewellery’
By 2024-end, around 5,000 workers had been sent via the Government-to-Government (G2G) route and an equal number via the Business-to-Business (B2B) route. With Israel opening up other sectors for these workers, the numbers are likely to have gone up this year.
Labour Reforms
The state is withdrawing from protecting unorganised workers
The informal worker is still producing most of India’s wealth, yet the new rules replace their real rights with thin schemes and longer, riskier work. The new Labour Codes on industrial relations, wages, occupational health and safety, and social security actively invisibilise workers in the unorganised sector even as they claim to “universalise” social security and minimum wages. These workers constitute an estimated 93 per cent of the workforce and produce about 65 per cent of the country’s GDP. While the new codes impact all workers, the structurally marginalised unorganised sector faces particularly heightened dangers that are perhaps not being discussed adequately in the media right now. Photo: At a salt pan in Andhra Pradesh’s Prakasam district on April 30, 2023. Salt workers face chronic eye, skin, and kidney issues, but the new Labour Codes ignore occupational health hazards of informal labour.
Dictatorship of the employer?
The new labour codes grant employers greater freedom while curtailing the most basic rights of workers, especially the most marginalised.
The four Labour Codes, presented as anti-colonial “labour reform”, essentially constitute a reorientation of the state’s role in mediating class relations in the country. That Corporate India has largely hailed the Labour Codes indicates whose interests they serve.
The OSH Code, which replaces the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, prohibits the employment of contract labour in “core activities”. Sanitation work is excluded from “core activities”.
Farm News
Falling yields, rising oil imports crush Anantapur’s groundnut farmers
Groundnut farmers in Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh, are in deep distress. Yields have declined, market prices have plummeted, and cheaper imported edible oils have severely undercut local groundnut oil, wiping out profits.
Skilling
Is India’s workforce job-ready? Chief secys flag ‘talent shortage’, 73% workers have only basic education
India’s workforce is at a crossroads. Data shared at the recently concluded 5th National Conference of Chief Secretaries (NCS) says that around 73% of employed Indians have only basic education, and the employability rate among youngsters remains stuck at 54.8%. At the same time, IT and engineering companies are reporting a staggering 63% talent shortage, raising concerns about whether the workforce is ready for the jobs of the future. The conference brought out the need to shift labour from agriculture to formal-sector jobs through skill training and policies that boost female workforce participation, currently at just 31%.
India to launch first nationwide adult skills survey in 2026
India is preparing to take a comprehensive stocktake of its adult workforce for the first time in more than a decade, with the government planning to launch an Adult Skills Survey in 2026 to assess competencies among citizens aged 18 and above, officials told Moneycontrol. The survey will be one element of a wider data-driven push scheduled for 2026. The government is also planning fresh surveys on health, tourism and travel, alongside exercises focused on household income, investment and debt, and a situational assessment of agricultural households.
Policy Changes
Not just BSF, MHA working on rules to reserve 50% of all CAPF constable posts for Agniveers
The MHA is deliberating on new recruitment rules for all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs), including the CRPF, ITBP, and SSB. It wants to incorporate a 50% quota for Agniveers across the CAPFs. This comes after the MHA last week amended the BSF constable recruitment rules through a gazette notification, mandating a 50 percent quota for Agniveers—a significant upgrade from the earlier 10 percent quota.
Disability Issues
New year of hope for disabled military cadets: A new health cover that cuts costs
Last month, Shubham Gupta got a “temporary slip” confirming his entry into the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS), which offers treatment free of cost at military facilities or empanelled hospitals. For Kartik Sharma, the slip has already meant Rs 10,000 less in monthly medical bills. In August 2025, the Supreme Court took suo motu cognizance of their struggle following a series of reports published in The Indian Express on how these cadets were battling severe disability with shattered dreams and poor benefits. Days later, the Ministry of Defence issued an order extending ECHS facilities to them. Cadets say they will also push for ex-serviceman status, and disability pension.