News from States
North Bengal: 7,000 tea estate workers jobless ahead of Durga Puja, brew belt feels the pinch
According to the Indian Tea Association (ITA), the largest association of tea planters in the country, the tea industry has been going through a period of acute financial crisis over the last few years as the tea prices have not been able to keep pace with the rising cost of production
Bengal: Handloom Weavers of Nadia, Hooghly on Verge of Extinction
Dwindling product demand, online sales and a lack of meaningful government support is pushing weavers to migrate as labour. The weavers of Dhania Khali, Begumpur, Guptipara, Aatpur in Hooghly district and Shantipur and Fulia in Nadia district are on the verge of extinction due to dwindling product demands and a lack of meaningful government support. As more women in the state opt for western clothing over traditional handwoven sarees, both districts, each with a more than 1,000-year-old weaving tradition, are grappling with reduced product demand, say industry watchers.
Mechanisation, Shutting Down of Stone Quarries Push Pakur's Workers to the Brink
Pakur, Jharkhand: These days, Gayna Murmu (28) gets work every second day only. He levels the stones loaded on trucks and tractors to earn Rs 200 to 300. Gayna Murmu and his wife Lukhi Tudu have seven children, and they find it difficult to survive due to the low availability of work in the stone industry. They do not have agricultural lands to cultivate, which adds to the uncertainty. People get work only once in two days, but the mining officer claims scientific mining and the use of automatic stone crushers as the reasons for it.
TN This Week: Two Women’s Scheme Workers’ Unions Stage Statewide Protests
NewsClick brings you a round-up of the important labour developments from Tamil Nadu in the past week.
Farm News
By the farmers
It calls itself “a company of the farmers, by the farmers, for the farmers.” Arguably the country’s biggest integrated fruits and vegetables value chain, Sahyadri Farms in Maharashtra’s Nashik became the first farmer producer company to scale the milestone of achieving a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in a financial year (2022-23).
Women in the Workforce
Share of women in wage work declined to 15.9% in 2022-23, says PLFS
The quality of employment for women continues to deteriorate as their share in wage work fell for the fourth consecutive year during July 2022-June 2023, a Business Standard analysis found. The analysis was from the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). At the national level, the share of women in regular wage work has declined sharply to 15.9 per cent in 2022-23, from 21.9 per cent in the pre-pandemic period of 2018-19. It also showed an increase in self-employment among women to 65.3 per cent from 53.4 per cent during the same pre-pandemic period.
Bihar Govt Hikes Monthly Honorarium of ASHAs, Asks Centre to Follow Suit
Bihar Deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav announced that the government has increased the monthly honorarium of ASHAs from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,500.
Women in Jogulamba Gadwal Learn Self-Help is the Best Help
Padma, an agricultural labourer in Jogulamba Gadwal district of Telangana, is one of the 10 members of Self-Help Group (SHG) Pacharla Gramaikhya Sangam. The group provides a lifeline to the village, offering financial management skills, access to savings and even loans for critical life events. They are so adept at saving money that they normally pay back their bank loans within a span of two years.
Mid-day Meal Workers Protest in Kolkata Demanding pay Hike, Bonus and Social Security
Kolkata: Mid-day meal workers in West Bengal on Monday held a protest, placing a 13-point demand, including a minimum salary of Rs 21,000, various social benefits and leaves. The demonstration took place at Bikash Bhavan, Kolkata, on the call of the Paschimbanga Mid-day Meal Karmi Union (PBMDMKU).
In thy likeness, their unlikeness, darlings: Trials of Kumartuli's women artisans
A chat with the women at work in Calcutta’s idol hub about their art, heart and continuing battles.
Employment News
Of 5 election-bound states, high youth unemployment rate in Rajasthan, Telangana, and Mizoram: PLFS data
The sharp divergence in the youth unemployment rates across the country was visible with only a dozen states/UTs including Gujarat, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Jharkhand and Karnataka having recorded a single-digit growth in the youth unemployment rate during 2022-23.
Unemployment a tricky issue in Rajasthan polls
Answering a Vidhan Sabha query, the state administration informed that the state has 18,40,044 registered unemployed, out of which 14,40,916 are graduates and at least 1,01,956 have studied beyond graduation as on February 21, 2023
Unemployment rate in India is at its lowest level in six years: PM Modi
He also pointed out the unprecedented increase in the participation of women in India's workforce and credited the impact of the schemes that have been launched in the past years
Labour force participation is up, unemployment is down. What about the quality of work?
Express View: While unemployment rates have declined across board, rise in self-employment reinforces concerns that the economy is unable to generate sufficient employment to absorb the millions entering the labour force each year
Big layoffs in IT industry: 23 techies being sacked every hour for past 2 years
According to the latest data from layoff.fyi, a website that tracks tech sector job cuts, 2,120 tech companies have laid off 404,962 employees to date globally. In India, edtech major Byju's has announced to lay off 4,000-5,000 employees in a "business restructuring exercise". The startup has eliminated more than 10,000 positions in the past two years.
Tailpiece
‘Difficulty’ of winning lottery. Kerala sanitation workers shunned by neighbours, denied PDS
Parappanangadi: Everybody smiled at Lakshmi on the street for a few days. The garbage collector in Kerala’s Malappuram had just won the Monsoon Bumper Lottery of Rs 10 crore along with ten of her colleagues in the sanitation department. Simmering jealousy bubbled up dramatically once the cash was deposited into their bank accounts. But they pay no heed. "Baldness & jealousy have no cure," says one of the winners.
Providing Jobs
MNREGS may see ₹40,000 cr top-up
WITH 95% OF the Budget allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS) having already been utilised so far in the current fiscal, the Centre will likely provide an additional ₹30,000-40,000 crore for the flagship scheme soon, sources said.
White Collar Stress
Women who face microaggressions and self-shield as a result are 4.2 times more likely to experience burnout.
An alarming 78 per cent of women who face microaggressions self-shield at work. That means, they alter or adjust their appearance or conduct in order to safeguard themselves. That is rather worrisome when globally people are waking up to the fact that women are finally finding their place in the board rooms.
IT firms grapple with increase in employee costs
Employee wage costs at top Indian software services companies reached a six year high.
Renewable Energy and Employment
400,000 coal staff, mostly in India & China, to lose jobs as world shuns the dirty fuel
A new report from Global Energy Monitor predicts that the transition away from coal in the energy system will result in the loss of 100 mining jobs per day through 2035, mostly in China and India. By 2050, the global coal mining job losses are expected to rise to nearly 1 million, as wind and solar power become more affordable. To mitigate the social impact of layoffs, the report suggests giving ex-miners priority for job opportunities related to mine shutdowns, such as land rehabilitation and environmental mitigation.