India's Labour Economy
Workers Hurt as Lab Diamond Prices Fall
Nearly four lakh workers in Surat's LGD industry face wage delays and job uncertainties due to falling prices of lab-grown diamonds, impacting revenue of units. Export demand is not as expected, leading to concerns of job losses. Export volume growth has slowed down, and the value of lab-grown diamonds has fallen significantly. Wages are getting delayed by 20 days every month, according to the workers' union.
Som Distilleries & Breweries' child labour incident casts a cloud over India Inc's supply chains
In the first such instance of a listed company found to be engaging in child labour, 58 children with burnt hands were reportedly rescued from a liquor factory of Bhopal-based Som Distilleries & Breweries (SDBL) last week. The company has a market cap of around Rs 2,400 crore.
58 child workers with burnt hands rescued from Som Distilleries liquor factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen
Proceedings under way to lodge an FIR against the factory’s owners and management, says Raisen police officer; excise officer located on same campus as factory; children were hardly paid any wages, says child rights NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan.
India Has 110 Million Informal Sector Workers, Govt Releases Data for the First Time in a Decade
Experts say lack of data on the informal sector for more than a decade has had a 'crippling impact' on the credibility of all economic data. The latest findings are based on NSSO's Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises.
Employment News
Employment in informal sector below pre-Covid level, shows NSO data
After adding 11.7 million workers in the October 2022-September 2023 period from the pandemic lows in April 2021-March 2022, total workers employed in the vast informal sector in India — at 109.6 million — still remains below the pre-pandemic period. This is according to the latest fact sheet titled ‘Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)’ released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday.
‘Too many work sites, lack of trained staff’ — why drone monitoring of MGNREGS work remains limited
Use of drones is among initiatives taken by Centre to push for using tech to bring in transparency & accountability in MGNREGS work. However, only 11 states have been using drones for this.
Migrant Realities
Why do women migrate?
India is the largest sender of international migrants globally and therefore, also the top recipient of international remittances. Operating on a network of trust, most of these women migrate hearing from other relatives and friends who turned their fortunes around by migrating for domestic work. But what doesn’t get factored in is the personal cost that migration entails. Women migrate with the understanding that they are workers, but their employers' attitude is diametrically different.
From Guest Workers to Ghost Workers: The Electoral Exclusion of India’s Migrants
Migrants are often unable to cast their votes due to systemic exclusions and economic constraints. This has made them invisible as a vote-bank and heightened their marginalisation.
News from States
Child labour declining in Tamil Nadu: Stalin
In his message on the occasion of the World Day against Child Labour on June 12, Mr. Stalin said the Tamil Nadu government has a target to eradicate child labour in the State by 2025. “Now, considering the significance of the issue, the public and employers have been avoiding employing children as labourers,” Mr. Stalin said. District Collectors have been taking steps to declare districts free of child labour, he added.
Election Issues
Nothing short of scrapping Agniveers scheme will do: Congress
The Opposition party hardening its stand, incidentally with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls in Haryana and Maharashtra, coincides with reports about deliberations within the government to review and modify the scheme.
Labour Demands
Asha workers demand fair wages and benefits in protest against BMC
Thousands of Asha workers gathered at Azad Maidan on Tuesday to protest the BMC failure to raise their minimum wage to ₹18,000. Currently earning ₹12,000, these workers, crucial to public health, demand an increase in wages, as well as provisions for PF and pension upon retirement
108 ambulance workers stage protest, demanding regulation of work hours
They also urge the State govt. to take control of their employment process and make provision for a fixed parking lot for the ambulances.
Labour Reforms
Capacity Boost for EPFO, ESIC to pave way for labour reforms
The Social Security Code, 2020, passed by Parliament in 2020, entails extending social security to gig and platform workers. Some of the changes envisioned for retirement fund body EPFO in the short, medium, and long term include restructuring of its offices, business process re-engineering, and leveraging IT for automatic settlement of claims and cadre restructuring.
Tailpiece
Saudagar stitches trials of tailors, gets Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar
PUNE: Devidas Saudagar won't ring a bell even in Marathi literary circles, but his novel Usvan (Frayed Stitches) about the trials and tribulations of the tailoring community fetched him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar 2024 award in Marathi on Saturday. "During Covid, there was no work and I started writing full-time. I did a compilation of poems in 2021 and Usvan in 2022 .. “
Working Conditions
At Amazon warehouse, an oath: No toilet, water breaks till targets met
On May 16, after their team’s 30-minute tea break ended, a 24-year-old worker in one of Amazon India’s five warehouses in Haryana’s Manesar was asked to take an “oath” that they would not take toilet or water breaks until their target is achieved. The target: unloading packages from six trucks, measuring 24 feet each. The worker, who earns Rs 10,088 monthly for 10-hour shift over five days, said they are struggling to unload more than four trucks a day.
Amazon India responds to claims of 'no loo, water breaks oath' forced on workers
'We’d never make these kinds of requests,' said a spokesperson.
Amazon India Warehouse Workers Allege No Relief Provided Even for Menstrual Pain
"The pain in our abdomen worsens, and our legs swell, but we have to keep standing and meet our targets."
Laws for Workers
How the law can be kinder to street vendors
There is a continuous tussle between vendors’ right to conduct business on roads and commuters’ right to use such roads freely. How does the law ensure a balance of rights? it becomes important to understand India’s legal framework regarding street vendors’ rights in order to better implement robust safeguards, fostering a business-friendly and rights-based environment for such hawkers, in consonance with principles enshrined under Articles 14, 19(1)(g), 38(2), and 41 of the Constitution of India.
Advent of AI
Interactive AI teachers enhance classroom learning and communication skill
To enhance the classroom learning experience and offer interactive experiences to students, private schools in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, and Punjab have installed AI teacher Iris in their classrooms. These humanoid robots, dressed in saree and adorned with bindis, actively engage with students and promptly answer their questions, even those beyond their standard syllabus. Iris can take attendance, address queries to unburden students.
The Testing Industry
‘NTA incapable of conducting exams’ — cancellation of UGC NET exam leaves aspirants angry, frustrated
Aspirants say after dealing with poor management at centres, late release of admit cards & alleged paper leaks, they now have to take the test again. The exam, which reportedly affected 9 lakh students, is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), at the centre of the ongoing row concerning the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG). Congress demands answers from govt.
‘NEET took my nephew’s life’ — in Tamil Nadu, kin of candidates who died by suicide say exam must go
Chennai: “NEET is difficult for poor and underprivileged students. We neither have money to afford nor the facilities to attend coaching classes. We can climb up the ladders only with what we have got,” 17-year-old S Anitha, a Dalit from Tamil Nadu’s Ariyalur district, had told reporters in 2017 before she took her own life.
Distressed Workers
86% of Indian employees struggling or suffering, only 14% ‘thriving’ at work
This figure stands in stark contrast to the global average, where 34% of employees feel they are thriving, as reported in the Gallup 2024 State of the Global Workplace report.