JournalEdit

M.O.P. VAISHNAV COLLEGE FOR WOMEN
(AUTONOMOUS)

(COLLEGE AFFILIATED TO UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS. & RE-ACCREDITED
AT "A++" GRADE BY NAAC)

Department of Economics

ECODINGEST

volume 1 (2020-21)

ISSUES OF LABOUR

FOREWORD

In Economics, factors of production, resources, or inputs
are what is used in the production process to produce
output—that is, finished goods and services. The utilized
amounts of the various inputs determine the quantity of
output according to the relationship called the Production
function. There are three basic resources or factors of
production: land, labour and capital. We sometimes add a
fourth - Organisation - that yields profit.
This issue of Econ Digest (formerly known as Arth) focuses
on Labour. Labour gained more prominence during the
lockdown as many migrant workers faced immense
hardship- both due to loss of livelihood and physical
troubles having to make their way homewards on foot.
The articles in focus have adequately captured the travails
and emotions while suggesting doable solutions.
I appreciate the members on the Editorial team and wish
them the very best.

Dr. Lalitha Balakrishnan

EDITORIAL TEAM

Staff Editors Student Chief Editor

Ms. Kiran Varma Krithika R
Ms. Seema Thomas
Student Associate Editor
Ms. Sruthi Kesh
Ms. Bhavana Sarah John Poorni. S

Chief Designer

Disha Chaturvedi

CONTENTS

THE INEVITABLE ROBOT 01
REVOLUTION

ORGANISING LABOUR IN 05
UNCONVENTIONAL JOBS MARKET

DO OLD WORLD JOB PORTALS STILL 09
HOLD THE SAME RELEVANCE? 13
US SLAVERY: HOW WOULD IT FAIR 17
ECONOMICALLY?
OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF
RURAL-URBAN LABOUR MIGRATION

BREAD OR LIFE - WHAT DO YOU 21
TRADE?

“I LOVE GBV” APPAREL BY H&M - 25
DESIGNER GIAMBATTISTA VALLI OR 29
GENDER BASED VIOLENCE?
ANALYSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF
IPEC ON INDIAN CHILD LABOUR

UNIVERSAL BASIC INCOME - 32
LABOUR’S ARMOUR IN FORESIGHT OF
AN AI ERA

DIRTY HANDS TO DIAMOND RING- 36
[MOVIE REVIEW-BLOOD DIAMOND]

CONTENTS

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH OF 40
INFORMAL WORKERS: CASE OF 44
MENTAL HEALTH 48
GENDER EQUALITY IN LABOUR,
STILL A LUXURY? NO! - AN ICELAND
MODEL

LABOUR AND POLLUTION

BATTLE AGAINST INDIA’S BIGGEST 52
ECONOMIC ISSUE- UNEMPLOYMENT

THE PLIGHT OF AN AGE OLD 56
HANDICRAFT INDUSTRY

LABOUR LAWS AND THEIR 59
EFFECTIVENESS

THE DYNAMICS AND 62
COMPLICATIONS INVOLVED IN
GOVERNMENT JOBS

BOOK REVIEW: BOYS WITHOUT 66
NAMES 69
LABOUR ISSUES IN THE GIG
ECONOMY

NOT DOMESTIC ‘HELP’ BUT 73
DOMESTIC ‘WORK’

CONTENTS

MGNREGA - A PANACEA FOR 77
REVERSE MIGRATION

UNVEILING THE CAUSES BEHIND 81
HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT RATES

THE IMPACT OF #METOO 85
MOVEMENT AND CURRENT
WORKPLACE ECOSYSTEMS

NEED FOR A CONDUCIVE 89
WORKSPACE ENVIRONMENT AND
CULTURE

INFORMAL WORKERS - THE VICTIMS

92OF HORNETS' NEST

CASTE DISCRIMINATION IN THE 95
INDIAN LABOUR MARKET

GENDER PAY GAP- NOT JUST A 98
WOMEN’S ISSUE

THE PLIGHT OF MIGRANTS IN A 101
PANDEMIC ECONOMY

INFORMAL SECTOR- THE

104UNDERDOGS OF INDIAN ECONOMY

CONTENTS

PANDEMIC AND THE TANKING 108
TOURISM SECTOR

THE ETHICAL DILEMMA OF 112
SUBCONTRACTED LABOUR: A LENS
INTO NEO-SLAVERY

FUN CORNER

WINNING POSTERS- MIGRATION 117
CRISIS 2020

WORLD LABOUR TRIVIA 119

GRAPHSTIMATE 120

GUESS THE ECONOMISTS 124
THE LABOURS OF HERCULES 128
LABOUR LAWS AND REFORMS 129
WALL OF MEMES 133

CONTENTS

FUN CORNER REFERENCES 139

FUN CORNER: ANSWER KEY 141

CURATORS OF THE FUN CORNER 142

1

Source: Medium

THE INEVITABLE Amid a pandemic, when the world’s largest
ROBOT economies have been crashing and unemployment
rates have skyrocketed, the potential uses of
REVOLUTION Artificial Intelligence have just begun gaining due
recognition. While the development of AI would lead
By Shravya Sukumar to a more sustainably developed technological
environment and economic system, there is also a
I BA Economics flipside to the coin. Being such a large country, India
has the labour as well as the investment potential to
become the world’s AI capital in the near future.
Two of the key problems pertaining to the Indian
economy in its current state include accessibility to
basic services like health and education, and
creating futuristic jobs for the ever-increasing
population. In the RAISE summit 2020, Mr.
Chandrasekaran stressed on the importance of
using AI-based tools and solutions to solve these
problems, making India an example to other
developing countries in the same.

As hard as it has become to 2
perform even the basic productive
activities, the pandemic has forced In the long run, AI can be used to
people to venture into, and provide easy access to skill
discover the real scope of AI. development programs. It will help
Companies are looking to switch to equip future generations to face
more automated modes of the changing demands of the job
production to remain unaffected markets and enable them to adapt
by any future shocks as well as accordingly. AI would ensure easy
support an increase in cost and embedding of learning into daily
time efficiency. Investors and activities. For example, a Canadian
venture capitalists are seeing the start-up Axonify has pioneered the
commercial aspects of investing in concept of microlearning. It
the research and development of comprises employee involvement in
such software. In the short run, learning and performance
the development and adoption of improvement activities that are
AI into the production methods will matched to their individual needs
result in massive job loss. A report by an AI algorithm for three to
from the World Economic Forum five minutes per shift.
predicted that by 2025, machines
will take over and do half of the AI will match workers and labour
work tasks. This would compromise requirements in an extremely
the jobs of over 97 million people, efficient and accurate manner. Start-
most of whom are involved in ups like SkyHive and Kalido have
manual labour such as created AI-driven platforms that
manufacturing, administration, or connect workers to new opportunities
data processing . The within and outside their current
manufacturing and service sectors organizations based on their
in most countries ideally have individual skill sets, career goals, and
massive scope for employment. retraining needs.AI will match
workers and labour requirements in
However, excessive use of AI, or an extremely efficient and accurate
rather 'The Robot Revolution' as manner. Start-ups like SkyHive and
we call it, will reduce employment Kalido have created AI-driven
opportunities and the scope of platforms that connect workers to
the job market to a large extent. new opportunities within and outside
their current organizations based on
It would increase the already their individual skill sets, career
high rates of unemployment goals, and retraining needs
caused by the pandemic and
plunge thousands back into
poverty.

3

Essentially, they are using AI
analysis to approve credit and to try
and predict the type of services the
consumer market will require next.

Source: International Federation of Robotics Japan is a global leader in robot
production and industrial use, with
As per the graph, Korea has the the fourth-highest robot density
highest robot density in the world. globally. They have integrated AI
They have begun using AI to improve into just about every field- right from
efficiency and accuracy of their the robot chefs and waiters in
Public Employment service platforms, restaurants to the usage of AI-based
allowing users to find jobs that match algorithms in decision making and
their skill sets. public organisations. Recently, Japan
has been researching the usage of AI
To prepare for a robot-powered in the drug discovery market and to
labour force, Korean universities are try and predict the number of Covid-
inculcating the required soft skills and 19 cases in given areas based on a set
technological abilities in their of variable factors.
students. Singapore and Germany are
considered to be the world’s most Hopefully, the rest of the world will
ready cities to face the AI disruption. catch up to these levels of
AI is expected to double economic advancement a few years down the
growth rates in Singapore by the year lane. AI will generate more jobs than
2035.Singapore is using AI to make it will take. However, said jobs will
online public service interfaces more also be of higher quality, meaning
user-friendly and their armed forces they will require only skilled
are investigating unmanned AI labourers. Unskilled labourers who
systems to go to war, pre-empting its constitute a majority of the
labour deficiency. AI is revolutionising workforce in most underdeveloped
Germany’s financial sector. or developing economies will be at a
disadvantage.

Hence, the development of AI and its 4
complete integration into the growing
economies will ultimately lead to the Bibliography:
formation of a much more efficient 1.Mark Caine. (Oct 2020). “Here's
and futuristic system and a skilled
labour force that will be able to alter How AI Can Train Workers for the
itself according to the ever-changing Jobs of the Future”, World Economic
market requirements. The flip side will Forum
be the loss of jobs for unskilled
labourers in the short run. In the end, 2.Erika P. (Oct 2020).“Robot
it all comes down to survival of the Revolution: Machines to Do 50% Of
fittest. Labourers will need to adapt Work Tasks By 2025”.Science Times
to the functionalities of AI to sustain
in their respective line of profession. 3.International Monetary Fund Blog.
AI is the inevitable end game; it is up (June 2018). “Chart of the Week:
to the labour force to use it to their Japan's Robots”Yoonyoung Choo.
own reward. (February 2020). “How is Korea
preparing for the jobs of the future
and what can we learn from them?”.
World Bank Blogs.

4.Priya Dialani. (October 2020). “Top
10 AI government projects in the
world”. Analytics Insight

DID YOU KNOW?

May Day is one of the most important holidays in
communist countries such as China, North

Korea, Cuba and the former Soviet Union countries.

5

Source: fairtube.info

ORGANISING As the world labour market undergoes perennial
innovation, and as technology creates
unconventional job opportunities, organizing such

LABOUR IN contemporary jobs markets can be challenging. In
this case study, we will examine one such

UNCONVENTIONAL unconventional platform and how the community as
a whole organized themselves in a state of dire
situation. Case in point- YOUTUBE.Firstly, to
JOBS MARKET – understand the whole conflict, we must understand
A CASE ON what YouTube is and its operations. YouTube is a
video sharing service that allows users to watch
videos posted by other users and upload videos of

YOUTUBE their own (Tech Terms, October 7, 2009). YouTube,
unlike a conventional market, provides a platform

for the major components – producers, employees

By R.M. Jaya Preethi and consumers, to communicate and to undertake

business operations. On YouTube, a content creator

II B.A.Economics (or a producer) can create a channel and post video
materials for consumers or viewers to watch (or

page 12 consume)

6

Content creators are

predominantly called YouTubers.

YouTubers earn money from those

videos for as many views they

receive and advertisers are

allowed to promote alongside.

YouTube, as a mediator takes a

commission, and provides the rest

to the youtuber. More than 500

hours of content are now being

uploaded to YouTube every minute

( Tubefilter , May 7, 2019) . There Source: Tubefilter

are more than 31 million YouTube

channels in total. As a platform

provider, YouTube also provides Just like any type of job market,

certain conditions to access their YouTube has also been scrutinized

platform, such as entry for their trade practices and lack

requirements, an algorithmic of transparency. It had

arrangement for the YouTubers to undergone several scandals and

follow and to strictly follow their thus it was important for

terms and conditions. YouTube YouTubers to create a union. To

uses viewer's data and search name a few conflicts on YouTube,

history to suggest videos of their it changed its algorithm in a way

likings. Since YouTube is a platform that YouTubers will get paid

with cut-throat competition, according to their watch time

YouTubers have to vehemently rather than quality. This means

follow the algorithm provided by that the videos were monetized

the platform, to increase views according to their runtime and the

and monetize their videos. quality of the video is not

considered as a tool. Another

conflict arose among the

community when the viewers and

YouTubers noticed the flaws in

YouTube's algorithmic dynamic

flaws. The automated system that

recommended relevant videos to

the viewers were updated without

any notice to the YouTubers.

Source: Joerg Sprave

7

This led to frequent algorithm In March 2019, Jörg Sprave and
changes which affected the small several other YouTubers like Felix
YouTubers. When YouTube Rewind Kjellberg, popularly known as
2018 (the year end review of all PewDiePie joined hands and started
trends that took over the digital the ‘Youtuber's Union’ (YTU). They
platforms) was released on December gathered evidence and data
6, 2018, it was evident that the regarding the Adpocalypse, and
company has poor understanding and came to negotiate with YouTube. But
alliance with its major creators. But before that they sought support from
the major issue that led to the a German trade union IG metall, and
organizing of labour, was the started the ‘Fairtube Campaign’.
phenomenon called ‘Adpocalypse’.
There had been several phases of On their campaign website, they
increasing intensity of this stated six demands which had to be
Adpocalypse. But it originated at a addressed by YouTube, if failed to
point when certain YouTubers were do the same, they manifested to
caught in scandals due to making proceed with a lawsuit and continue
allegedly anti-semantic and disturbing to put public pressure. The
videos. representatives of all three
organizations had several meetings
This led to major companies like to sort out the conflict. The demands
Nestle, Walmart and Starbucks to of YTU-IG metall were not entirely
cancel their advertising deals with met by YouTube but YTU-IG metall
YouTube, resulting in a loss of USD were able to bring the company
750 million for the company. under public scrutiny, thus letting
the YouTubers gain more
institutional power and the freedom
to question the executives.

In an effort to appeal to their audience Although the YTU had a better
and their advertising partners, chance against YouTube, it was also
YouTube imposed strict monetization majorly criticized for being
laws, and took down several videos dominated by northern men. Even
which alludes to disturbing content. after, YTU, YouTube was criticized
This drastic effort by the company for several administrative flaws.
affected small YouTubers, who decided
to negotiate with the company.

8

Still today, YTU has managed to be Bibliography:
an effective union for YouTubers.
On studying the Adpocalypse and 1.“YouTube”.(October 2009).Tech
the subsequent formation of YTU-IG
metall coalition, we could draw Terms
three conclusions. They are :
2.James Hale.(May 2019). “More
The organizing of YouTubers
results in an advantage for the Than 500 Hours Of Content Are
union. Since all the members of
such unions have fan following, Now Being Uploaded To YouTube
they could be able to approach a
wider audience and thus put Every Minute”.Tubefilter
pressure on the company to meet
their needs. 3.“Ever wonder how YouTube
Since the majority of YouTubers
also use other platforms (primarily works?”. YouTube.
for branding) such as Twitch,
TikTok and Twitter, they could 4.Valentin Niebler and Annemarie
convey their message to a wider
audience in an easier way. Kern.(September

Since the workers of the platform 2020).“Organising Youtube - A
are widespread and diverse,
following traditional methods of novel case of platform worker
organizing might not be viable in
the long run. As the job platform organising”.Friedrich - Ebert-
undergoes innovation, the
innovation in organizing labour in Stiftung.
such unconventional platforms has
also become important. 5.Techquickie.“How do YouTubers

make money”.YouTube..

6.Vlogbrothers.“The Adpocalypse:

What it Means”. YouTube.

7.Nigahiga. “Why I haven't been

posting”. YouTube.

8.Julia Alexander.(April 2019). “The

Golden Age of YouTube is over”.

The Verge.

9.Kaitlyn Tiffany.(July 2019). “Can

YouTubers really unionize?”. Vox.

10.YTU-IG Metall.(March 2020).

“We’re talking to YouTube

again”. FairTube.

11.Piper Thomson. (June 2019).

“Understanding YouTube

Demonetization and the

Adpocalypse”.Learning Hub.

12.Bijan Stephen.(August 2019).

“YouTube says it won’t negotiate

with the YouTubers Union”.The

Verge.

9

Source: Employment Exchange Statistics 2018

DO OLD WORLD There was a time when corridors of interview rooms
JOB PORTALS were crowded with 75 applicants slogging for 4
STILL HOLD THE available positions and that too for three long hours.
Long stretches of queues at the employment
SAME exchanges was a norm and also the most sought
RELEVANCE? after centres for unemployed youth to get jobs. In
fact since 1945, after the Second World War,
By Dhriti. R. Rathod exchanges have played a significant role in helping
them to get jobs in government and private sectors
III B.A. Economics through the district level offices. Every developed
country has set up a public employment exchange
page 12 as a means to combat unemployment, help people
find work and especially, assist the youth in starting
Self-Employment Ventures through Vocational
Guidance activities. They collect, furnish information
on the prospective employers, current vacancies
and job seekers, henceforth, facilitating them to find
a suitable job and for the industries to find suitable
manpower.

Currently, there are 997 10

exchanges in the country and their Another key factor for the
underperformance is that they
administrative and financial control cater only to government or public
sector jobs, unlike the better
lies with the respective State/U.T. performing states’ exchanges
which cater mostly to private
governments. The statistical sector jobs. Union minister of state
for labour and employment,
reports of the Director-General of Santosh Kumar Gangwar, stated
that states like Arunachal
Employment & Training, New Delhi, Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland
recorded zero placements through
shows that the State of Gujarat the employment exchanges
between 2015 and 2018 May. The
tops the list in providing overall ineffectiveness of
exchanges coupled with the
employment through labour regional imbalances in their
performances is the major reason
exchanges followed by behind this. Needless to say, the
district employment exchanges
Maharashtra. These states have that played a pivotal role in
recruitment to government jobs
adopted more modern techniques are losing their relevance in most
of the states.
such as outreach programmes and
The Ministry of Labor and Employment
job fairs to catalyze employment (GoI) launched a Mission Mode Project
called National Career Service (NCS) in
statistics. But in most of the other July 2015 for establishing quick and
efficient career-related services across
states, there is a declining trend in the country. This project, being India's
largest employment platform for
the number of people being placed bringing people and opportunities
together, envisages setting up of
through exchanges year on year. Model Career Centers (MCCs) in
collaboration with various States/UTs
In some states, there are relevant and Private Institutions.

job opportunities but it is quite

tough to coordinate. They are also

not very proactive and still operate

in an archaic manner. A typical

case could be of Goa’s. To get

placed, people still have to wait for

days and get the paperwork done.

They are basically out of touch

with reality either due to the

administrative delays or due to the

dearth of prompt updates of job

vacancies. In addition to that, only

recently they have migrated online

with the registration and other

related activities.

The role of these MCCs revolves 11
around organizing job fairs,
mobilizing employers, and The roping of IT service providers
providing career counselling. They in labour exchanges is essential in
are provided with a one-time such a scenario, but it has to come
grant-in-aid by the respective along with additional funds as they
state governments. don't really have the capacity to
However, there are almost 1000 hold online job fairs. Furthermore,
employment exchanges in the the staff at the exchanges should
country, but only 170 have been be paid equivalent to the massive
approved as MCCs. Moreover, task of managing requests of
there are multiple challenges 25,000 job seekers (on an
pertaining to the employability of average) across a state. In fact,
job seekers. online platforms are also not
completely seamless. Therefore, to
Typically, 40-45 million job seekers a world already reeling under the
are enrolled into exchanges at any shadow of a global pandemic, the
given point. In the pandemic, the gap, necessarily, has to be
numbers have ballooned to 60 bridged between the traditional
million throughout the country. exchanges and digital platforms.
Hence the employment
opportunities are low. Most also The grants in aid have to be
lack the IT infrastructure to run utilized for deploying the right
operations and the linkage people for the right purpose. In
between these platforms with the fact, a Public-Private Partnership
particular state is hindered. would be beneficial in the MCC
model. The government and the
The rise of online job portals has corporate partner could share
also contributed to the decline of funding.
physical employment exchanges.
In terms of holding many fairs in a Besides that, the latter would also
year, or enabling timely updates of mentor and train the candidates
vacancies or even having a for the near future. To sum up, the
considerable amount of companies MCCs and employment exchanges
participating in the job fairs, online require restructuring to make them
job platforms have performed more IT ready and more prompt
better than the old world job and updated with the vacancies
portals. across the country.

12

Bibliography:

1.Sharad Raghavan. (Dec 2014).

“The curious story of India’s

employment exchanges”.Livemint

2.Rajendra Saxena. (Jun 2020).

“Goa people can apply for govt,

private jobs through the single

portal”.Livemint.

3. Prabin Kalita. (Sept

2020).“Employment exchanges

create few jobs in the northeast”.

Times of India

4.Data source- Employment

Exchange Statistics 2018

DID YOU KNOW?

On May 4, 1886, a strike was held to condemn the long
working hours (almost 15 hours) in Haymarket, Chicago
which they wanted to be reduced to eight hours a day.

When an unidentified person threw
a bomb in the crowd, police started firing which killed 80
people and injured nearly 60. This came to be known as

the Haymarket massacre. Four labour leaders were
executed by hanging consequentially.

It was recognised as an annual event, May Day in 1891
after a meeting held in 1889 in Paris

13

Source: Douglass North 1961

US SLAVERY: The US economy and its development today is a
HOW WOULD IT reflection of the prosperity it attained by building a
slave economy in the 17th and 18th century. The
FAIR occupational transition that every developed
ECONOMICALLY? country undergoes, i.e., movement from an agrarian
to a manufacturing economy to finally engaging in
By Poorni.S the service sector was possible for the US by
enslaving millions of people, especially West
II B.A. Economics Africans and augmenting an agricultural base with
minimal or no labour costs. It is irrefutable that
slavery can never be morally justified. Indubitably,
slavery is one of the biggest sins that the human
race has committed, but when viewed from an
economic perspective, slavery is one of the building
blocks of the economies of the Western World. If
the Confederate Nation or the South (regions where
slavery was practised extensively) was regarded as
a separate country, it would have been the fourth
richest nation in the world.

page 12

This article aims to answer the 14

following hypothesis- if not for the Source: British Library

Civil War which helped in All in all, slavery worked out well
for the economy for around 200
abolishing slavery, would the years. However, there was no
sustainability in the concept of
persistence of slavery had made slavery. Even with the absence of
the Civil war, slavery was self-
the US economy richer than it is destructive. Eventually, any
economy will have to shift towards
now? First, it is important to mechanization to enhance the
production process. The economy
understand the degree at which was reliant on slavery to such an
extent that the invention of
slavery was practised in order to machines furthered the demand
for slaves. For example, the
solve the above hypothesis. invention of the cotton gin, which
was meant to replace the slaves,
Slavery was the most significant ended up increasing the overall
demand for cotton, thereby
investment made by plantation increasing the demand for slaves
as well. Moreover, a great
owners during the Pre-Civil War proportion of the slave owner's
capital was tied up in slave
period. In the 18th century, around employment, with very less left to
spend on physical capital
9.5 million slaves were imported in accumulation.

the Atlantic Slave Trade. As the

quantum of imports kept

increasing, the slave population

also increased as the plantation

owners ensured breeding within

the slaves and also made the

status of slave heritable by birth.

More than 50% of the US’s exports

to the rest of the globe was

cotton, which is one of the primary

crops produced by the slaves.

Despite being majorly

industrialised, the North, which

had criminalized slavery, made

lesser contributions to the

economy when compared to the

South.

In the words of Adam Smith, the 15
“key elements in the growth
process are the nature, Educated slaves, as perceived by
accumulation, and employment of the owners, would be insolent and
stock”, the lack of which would not cocky. Such harsh discrimination of
have ensured long term economic African slaves also created a state
development. The year-round of inequality, which has always
cultivation and harvest that the proved to be a hindrance to
slaves were engaged in had also development. The ramifications of
led to soil exhaustion. Most slavery are felt by the US economy
importantly, the poor working and to this day. If not post Civil War,
living conditions of the slaves led slavery would have been abolished
to the degradation of the quality eventually as it would not sustain
of labour. As the Schultz theory of in today’s welfare-oriented world.
Human Capital suggests, when
humans are treated as a unit of However, housing segregation,
capital, continuous investment in race-based labour discrimination,
health and education is essential to systemic racial oppression towards
tap into the growth potential of an blacks are still some of the socio-
economy. economic issues that deter the US’s
economic development. From the
However, enslaving people meant 18th century slavery to the Civil
snatching away their privilege to Rights Movement to today’s
live like a human and revolutionary Black Lives Matter
commoditizing them. Slaves were movement, the Africans-
treated maliciously by their Americans have come a long way
owners. in their pursuit of equality in the
society. Yet, the upward economic
They were forced to stay in dingy mobility of the community has been
sheds, lashed when their daily a herculean task till now, thanks to
targets were not met, sexually a history of enslaving them!
abused, shot or sometimes even
hung to death and the bitterest pill
out of all was the fact that it was
legal to treat slaves this way. In
fear of retorting against them, the
idea of literacy was stripped from
the slaves. It was not ‘imperative’
for the slaves to be educated since
they were equated to farm
animals.

16

As established before, the Bibliography:
existence of slavery for the two
centuries that it prevailed had 1.Carina Schauland. (2011). “The
quite a positive impact on the US
economy. However, it is fair to say Effect of the Plantation’s Size and
that its persistence beyond the
Civil War would have been its Capital Utilization on the
economically disastrous. The whole
concept of slavery would have Viability of Slavery as an Economic
been proved unsustainable over
time, not to mention, given rising to System”. Tilburg University.
an inhumane, unproductive
system.. 2.Conrad, A.H. & Meyer, J.R.

(1958).“The Economics of Slavery in

the Ante Bellum South”. The

Journal of Political Economy.

3. Greg Timmons.(2020).“How

Slavery became the Economic

Engine of the South”.History.

4.Adam Smith.(1776). “An Inquiry into

the Nature and Causes of the

Wealth of Nations”. Vol. II.

Penguin Classics.

DID YOU KNOW?

Why is May 1 not a big deal in the United States? For
years, the United States has

intentionally whitewashed May Day from its culture and
consciousness. In 1894, after the

Pullman Strike in Chicago, President Grover Cleveland
declared the first Monday in

September a national holiday to celebrate Labor Day.

17

Source: UNDP 2002

OVERCOMING THE Labour migration from rural to urban areas, in
CHALLENGES OF general, has always been represented either as a
RURAL-URBAN burden on urban governments and native
populations or as an opportunity for the employers
LABOUR to cruelly exploit the migrants with brutally heavy
MIGRATION loads of work by paying them wages which are
abnormally low. Though the depiction is almost true
By Swathi Suresh (especially if we are discussing the Indian labour
migration situation), that is not how it is supposed to
II B.A. Economics be. We can and should definitely do better than our
current performance. In India, the rural-urban
migration rates are low when compared to other
developing countries due to the sub-standard labour
welfare the migrants are provided with. Rural-urban
migration is not always about opportunity-grabbing
and labour exploitation. Making labour migration
good-enough sure has its challenges, but setting the
status quo straight is not like boiling the ocean.

page 12

18

Migration decisions to urban areas Source: Chinese Mini-Census; IFLS; NSS
from rural areas is filled with fear
and doubt due to its unregulated, No matter how menial the migrant
unsafe and informal nature. Every
single step taken by a migrant labourers’ jobs are, regulating
worker since the day he decides to
make the move into a city till the their migration and employment by
day he quits his job to get back to
his village remains unrecorded. A consistent efforts such as (1)
local resort would have better and
detailed entries of the two-day digitalisation and documentation of
recreational stays that the
privileged plan in order to have all hiring, remuneration and
the necessary information handy,
just in case of any complication. resignation processes; (2)
There still isn’t any notable change
in the realm of migrant labour inspections to ensure that no
welfare, notwithstanding reports
of innumerable injustices towards human right (right to work in just
them.
and safe conditions, right against
Source: The Hindu Business Line
exploitation, right to equality, to

name a few) is being violated; (3)

providing the workers with enough

social protection; (4) innovations

like insurance for migrant

labourers to make their lives

secure are basic yet profound

ways to remove the tarnishes over

the country’s internal migration

image.

One of the biggest complaints of 19
rural-urban labour migration is that
migrant labourers take up all the Urban natives complain that the
opportunities available in the influx of migrant labourers results
market, leaving natives of the city in congestion of the cities and
unemployed. The employers find it emergence of slums which in turn
profitable to employ cheap labour give rise to high levels of crime
from rural areas rather than rates and wider social disparity.
employing workers who belong to Improving the infrastructure of
the city itself whose labour is not destination cities to prevent these
as inexpensive. This results in problems is usually looked upon as
violence between the raged a burden on the urban
residents who are unemployed and governments’ budgets. Rather it
the desperate migrant workers should be seen as an opportunity
who readily take up any work for to make these cities better places
less than minimum wages. It is very to live in.
clear that the excess flow of
migrant labour into a city proves to This will not just benefit the
be awful for both sides. migrants, but better infrastructure
for a city means better quality of
Therefore, these cities need just living for every resident. This idea
the right number of migrant of enhanced infrastructure almost
labourers who would fill in the never finds its way to realisation.
places available only after the Although it is true that an
employment of the native workers overwhelming turnout in the
of the city. number of migrants will cause
unmanageable stress on the social
Since we do not have any magic infrastructure, the right number of
incantation in order to find and labour entries with a good amount
work along that grey area, the of planning helps a city develop.
only way to overcome this hurdle is
by regulating wages in such There are a few other issues related
fashion that there is no income to rural-urban labour migration such
inequality across labours from as loss of workers in rural areas,
rural and urban areas. That way, decrease in consumption due to
the employers wouldn’t have to increased amounts of remittances,
fish for cheap rural labour. enmity between migrants and
natives due to cultural differences.

20

Solving these problems requires Bibliography:
consistent documentation and
regulation of inflows into a city. By 1.Kaivan Munshi and Mark
doing so, the cities can make
optimum use of the productive Rosenzweig. (2006), “Networks
agents arriving from rural areas.
Rural-urban migrants help the and Misallocation: Insurance,
destination cities close the urban
skill gaps, promote urbanisation Migration, and the Rural-Urban
and social infrastructure, bring in a
variety of new services, push for Wage Gap”. American
integrated development and
become more culturally diverse. Economic Review.

2.Kunal Keshri & Ram B. Bhagat .

(2013). “Socioeconomic

Determinants of Temporary

Labour migration in India”.

Asian Population Studies.

3.World Economic Forum in

collaboration with

PricewaterhouseCoopers.

(2017). “Migration and its

Impact on Cities”.World

Economic Forum.

4.United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP).(2002).

5.Chinese mini-census.(2006).

6.National Sample Survey (NSS).

(2004).

7.Indonesian Family Life Survey

(IFLS).(2007)

DID YOU KNOW?

58% of all children in child labour and 62% of all children in
hazardous work are boys. Boys

appear to face a greater risk of child labour than girls, but
this may also be a reflection of an

under-reporting of girls’ work, particularly in domestic child
labour.

21

Source: bigrentz.com

BREAD OR LIFE - What would you answer if you were asked to
WHAT DO YOU choose between the two - bread and life? Of
course, life. Well, then how would you be able to live
TRADE? or sustain without food. So, isn't food more crucial
then, but the very need for food is non-existent if it
By Krithika R is traded with life. The whole situation sounds
absurd. Doesn't it?This is exactly the question that
III B.A.Economics glooms over the labour in the informal sector. They
deal with making the most bizarre and inhuman
choice almost every day wherein they are forced to
work in a field that they know is hazardous and
might kill them slowly and even worse, painfully.
They are forced to trade life in return for food, for
the gut rules. The workers who do this tough trade
are generally employed in the fields of construction,
mining, weaving, tobacco processing, etc.

page 12

Congested workplaces, restricted 22

work area, poor illumination, high .In a study published by Industrial
Health, around 85% of workers
noise levels (80–90 dB) and (male and female) reported
headaches in power loom weaving,
extreme environmental conditions mainly because of the noisy
environment and cramped space,
of high temperatures and humidity, 63% of workers reported injury
due to unguarded machinery. In
regular exposure to hazardous the handloom industry, around 53%
of the males and 36% of the
substances, risk of fatal accidents females reported respiratory
problems. Similar strikingly high
and injuries, poor physical and figures were found by the study in
other industries too.
mental health, lack of access to
The graph below shows the effects
clean water and sanitation, poor of work conditions, strenuous
hours and the physical
lifestyle choices (chewing tobacco, impediments that become the
cause for major musculoskeletal
smoking, liquor) are a few disorders and it can be observed
that back problems are very much
characteristics of the informal common in the given industries.
Apart from health complications,
sector. Added to this is the social accidents in the chemical industries
is also a problem that cannot be
stigma with a tinge of government ignored..

negligence which worsens the lives Source: Industrial Health

of the workers, pushing their faith

to the brink. Accidents and

carelessness in chemical industries

is another big concern that is most

of the time underestimated and

fatalities become the consequence.

Occupational threats to health

vary from industry to industry. The

most common issues in the

construction sector are

musculoskeletal disorders,

respiratory problems, injuries, skin

diseases. Similar issues prevail in

the tobacco processing, mining,

textile and other industries too.

The Indian Council of Medical
Research reported that the
prevalence rates of silicosis in
Bihar mines are 34.1%, of
pneumoconiosis in coal mines is up
to 45%, and of byssinosis in textile
workers is 8.4%.

23

. The wounds of the Bhopal Gas Source: india.com
Tragedy still remain fresh in the
‘heart’ of the Indian Economy. The India has come a long way from
leakage of Methyl Isocyanate from
the Union Carbide India Ltd. one of the worst industrial
(UCIL) had turned the city into a
graveyard. The gas leak killed disasters but how far is the
more than 15,000 people and
affected over 6,00,000 workers. question to be pondered

The stillbirth rate and the neonatal upon.Lack of legislation is not the
mortality rate increased by up to
300% and 200% respectively. The problem here, it is the
actual impact of the accident could
never be measured accurately by implementation and their
any study as the impact passed
from generation to generation effectiveness that needs focus.
creating never-ending victims.
The Fatal Accidents Act 1855,
The accident not only killed the
labourers but also the residents Personal Injuries (Compensation
near the site. The economic impact
of the same could never be Insurance) Act 1963, Factories Act
completely ascertained. Hence,
the lives of the survivors and their 1948, Employees’ State Insurance
kids are even hard to imagine.
Act 1948 are a few of the laws
It cannot be even surmised the
hardships the survivors and what that are in place to protect the
their successors go through with
health-related disorders, lack of interests of the workers.
health facilities, and a failed
system that delayed justice for Negligence, bureaucracy,
decades. The latest news of a gas
leak was reported in May 2020 in corruption, power politics hamper
Visakhapatnam at LG Polymers
chemical plant. Around 11 deaths their effective functioning.
were reported with more than
1000 exposed to the gas. Also, the redressal of grievance is a
long process in the country which
ultimately discourages the workers
to seek legal support. Exploitation
by the corporates is rampant too.
Hence, justice seems like a luxury.

The existing laws need to be 24
enforced strictly with no
compromise and the workers need Bibliography:
to be educated, about their rights, 1. Shivali, Suri & Das, Ranjan. (2016).
minimum wages, laws that protect “Occupational health profile of
them and the threats relevant. The workers employed in the
workers need to be strictly manufacturing sector of India”.
provided with protective gears, The National medical journal of
equipment to protect them from India. 29.
dust and harmful chemicals at such 2.Nag A, Vyas H, Nag P. 2016.
sites. Labour unions should focus “Occupational health scenario of
more on the workers rather than Indian informal sector”. Industrial
the politics and fight for the rights Health.
of their workers. More than 3.Mandal A. K. (2009). “Strategies
anything, bringing the workers in and policies deteriorate
such sectors under the radar of occupational health situation in
control will help solve the problem India: A review based on social
to a large extent. The only answer determinant framework”. Indian
to the question asked earlier, journal of occupational and
bread or life; would be a life where environmental medicine, 13(3), 113–
occupational health risks are 120.
minimum and protection is a 4.Saha R. K. (2018). “Occupational
priority, where it is a life with Health in India”. Annals of global
bread and not either one. health, 84(3), 330–333.
5.“What was Bhopal Gas Tragedy”.
Business Standard.

DID YOU KNOW?

On an average, 2 out of 3 Indians are below the age
of 35, if it continues then India needs to

create over 1.3 million jobs per month for the next
coming 15 years.

25

Source: MediaPhoto.org

“I LOVE GBV” H&M is a fast-fashion company that requires
APPAREL BY H&M workers from factories to set unrealistic production
targets to meet rapid global consumer demand. The
- DESIGNER major factories that are subcontractors to this
GIAMBATTISTA company are mostly set up in Cambodia,
VALLI OR GENDER Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. In
BASED VIOLENCE? these countries, up to 80 - 95 per cent are women
workers in the production field as line tailors and
By Disha Chaturvedi helpers whereas the majority of males are seen to be
working as supervisors and managers. They hire a
II B.A.Economics bulk of women in this field because they seem to be
submissive and disciplined. We can therefore notice
how women are appointed disproportionately in
these workplaces through patterns of abuse that
suppresses many of their voices and the urge to
reach out and seek justice.

page 12

26

Daily wage contractors employed Source: New York Times
through manpower, migrant women,
single women and women from A woman of 25 years was
marginalized communities are
extremely vulnerable to physical and constantly harassed, was asked to
verbal abuse including sexual
advances from higher authorities. go out with his manager and was
Physical and mental harm for not
meeting production targets in the told that if she refused to listen,
form of throwing bundles of books or
clothing at women, beating, pushing she would have to suffer
and public humiliation is experienced
by multiple women. They are consequences. She refused and
frightened to speak up because the
kind of threats and retaliation that went on to file a police complaint
they might receive at the workplace is
horrifying. The wages of these women but unfortunately, they dismissed
workers are so awfully low that they
aren’t able to meet nutritional her case to be very simple and
requirements for themselves and their
families. The pressure to work pointless to intervene. They
overtime to meet the targets is intense
but they have no choice as their complained to the manager and
wages are already low and are not
allowed to leave the workplace she ended up getting fired from
before completing the target or else
they are threatened with being fired her job through no fault of her
from their jobs. They end up
compromising on their lunch breaks, own. This is the horrible plight of
restroom breaks and drinking water.
women working in these garment
Source: change.org
industries.The terrible

infrastructure also causes poor air

circulation exposing them to high

heat, chemical substances and

causing mass fainting among

workers. Infrastructure in all of the

supplier factories that work for

these fast fashion companies is

poor. In 2013, a factory known as

the ‘Rana Plaza’ in Bangladesh

collapsed and killed around 1000

factory workers.

There were cracks in the building 27
and even after an engineer
advised them that the state of the By the time they come back, they
building is dangerous, the line are reinstated and are provided
managers still went against his completely renewed contracts
advice and forced the workers to therefore stealing them of their
finish their targets. Similarly, a seniority. Talking about seniority,
textile factory in Karachi, Pakistan the majority of the female workers
also suffered from a fire in 2012 are fired so that they do not have
that took the lives of around 260 to be given any benefits related to
people. They are overloaded with the same. This apparently will save
work and given fewer wages. This them labour costs. The Global
causes a calorie deficit that leads labour structure means that there
to low energy and passing out. may be workers from different
Many who faint also die because backgrounds. In Cambodia, the
of heart attacks and other manager may only speak Chinese
breathing diseases. and on the other hand, the textile
workers may speak a different
The Cambodian National Social language.
Security Fund found that there
were 1,603 cases of mass fainting These language barriers create
that included H&M suppliers with tension and frustration further
98% of them being women.The aggravating the situation into
female workers on a contract basis verbal harassment towards female
receive more threats of not workers.Some of the solutions that
renewing their contracts if they were suggested included setting
take sick leave or do not meet realistic production targets,
targets. concrete data on the deaths and
the abuse the workers suffer from
They are fired from their jobs if the factories and its managers,
they don’t meet certain awareness regarding the violence
requirements and are not able to that women have to go through,
find jobs elsewhere as they ensure proper payment of stable
become blacklisted. In Cambodia, wages and increase job openings
when women are pregnant, they at the managerial and supervisory
are asked to take maternity leave level for women.
but it is not paid for.
The worst part is that the fashion
brand is pretty much helpless as
they hire Tier 1 companies and these
companies outsource the work to
the subcontractors where these
women work.

28

H&M, therefore, is not legally obliged Bibliography:
to offer a better workplace. But at the
same time just because they escape 1. Global Labour Justice.(May 2018).
these legal loopholes doesn’t mean
they become complacent and ignorant “Gender-Based Violence in the
towards their moral and social
responsibility. The business, the H&M Garment Supply
economy is built upon its people and
to exploit them would be the same as Chain”.Workers voices from the
pretending as if ethics in a firm never
existed. Therefore, any right-minded Global Supply Chain: A report to
company would try to bring out
policies that work for the betterment the ILO.
of its people.
2.Mehreen Tariq Ghani. (July 2020).

“Inside the Ugliness of the Fast

Fashion Industry - Maverick Youth

Medium”. Medium.

DID YOU KNOW?

On May 1, 1886, more than 300,000 workers in 13,000
businesses across the United States

walked off their jobs in the first May Day celebration
in history. Tens of thousands more,

both skilled and unskilled, joined them on May 3 and
4.

29

Source: UNICEF

ANALYSING THE Ever since its establishment in 1919, the International
EFFECTIVENESS Labour Organisation(ILO) has been an important
agent that ensures labour protection and welfare
OF IPEC ON across the globe. Through its tripartite structure, it
INDIAN CHILD guarantees“accessible, productive, and sustainable
work”. In 1992, the International Program for the
LABOUR Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) was created by
ILO and has been in effect till this day. It is under
By T.S.Pavithra operation in 88 countries as of today and India is
one among them. The main goal of IPEC is to
II B.A.Economics promote a worldwide movement against child
labour, to build enough productive capacity in a
nation’s economy through its legally permissible
workforce and for theoverall annihilation of
worldwide child labour.

page 12

30

Data Source: Census

According to Census 2011, 4% of What has IPEC’s role been in order
the child population in India is under to improve the status of child
main or marginal employment. The labourers in India? IPEC launched
working child population is the INDUS Child Labour Project in
concentrated in a number of states, 2004 which was jointly funded by
especially in Uttar Pradesh, the GOI and US Department of
Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, etc, with Labour. The INDUS Project
55% of child employment activities identified target beneficiaries from
occurring here. The demand for 5 states, namely, Madhya Pradesh,
child workers is higher in urban Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar
areas and has grown by more than Pradesh, and Delhi. Its strategy
50% since 2001. It is still practised was to withdraw children from
heavily in industries such as hazardous work and provide them
diamond mining, cosmetics, with transitional schooling, pre-
fireworks, sericulture, etc. The vocational education, and social
Government of India (GOI) has support to prevent relapse. The
made efforts concerning the project has grown successful in
prohibition of child labour practice attaining its goals to a large
and alleviation of the state of child extent. It was considered ‘timely’
labourers. Right to Education, 2009 and ‘well-conceived’ as it was a
and the Child Labour Prohibition holistic and integrated approach
and Regulation Act (amended), towards eliminating Child Labour.
2016 in line with ILO conventions It used the concept of
and UN Sustainable Development convergence between multiple
Goals’ are some of the legislation levels of administration to address
against it. However, child labour is underlying and root causes of child
still a persisting issue in India. labour.

31

The social mobilisation was the most In the first decade of the 21st
successful outcome of the project as century, the incidence of child
it was able to mobilise parents and labour reduced which was due to
other project stakeholders at the the joint efforts of several
community level. Finally, the development policies of our
programme ensured constant government as well the ILO’s
response to stakeholder concerns and involvement. This reduction was
new opportunities. Was the INDUS probably possible due to the
project successful in accomplishing its tripartite structure of ILO which
objectives? The impact study effectively involves the employers,
conducted by ILO found government, and trade unions. ILO
discrepancies in some areas and still has a long journey to fare to
suggested the following in order to fulfil its aim of worldwide annihilation
rectify the deviations in the project- of child labour, yet, it is fair to say
initiating immediate strategies to that it has been impactful with all of
improve the comprehensiveness and its actions.
credibility of the monitoring data,
strengthening the pre-vocational Bibliography:
education and providing free school 1. GOI. Ministry of Labour and
uniforms to children under existing Employment. (2015) (last
government schemes. updated).IPEC.
2.Dr. Lakshmidhar Mishra.
Apart from the INDUS project, several (2009). “Impact of INDUS
Indian states have developed Child Labour Project Program
collaborative projects with international on on Policy and Programmes
governments. Andhra Pradesh for Elimination of Child Labour
collaborated with UK’s Department of in India”.GOI
International Development using 3.ILO. (2004). “Independent
innovative models to address child Evaluation of the InFocus
labour. Programme on the Elimination
of Child Labour (IPEC)”.
The Karnataka government 4.ILO.“Mission and Impact”
collaborated with the Italian 5. ILO.(2018). “MAP16 Project
government where importance was activities in India”
given to raising awareness and skill and
vocational education induction to raise
their levels of income and standard of
living.

32

Source: Futurism

UNIVERSAL BASIC At the wake of a transformed economy, which sees
a future where around 400-800 million jobs could be
lost due to automation (by the year 2030), it is an
INCOME - irrefutable fact that the changing world’s labour

LABOUR’S needs a sense of security to be productive
participants of a dynamic economy. This has been

ARMOUR IN the major reason for Universal Basic Income’s
popularity in recent times, being one of the ideas

propagated by tech moguls like Mark Zuckerberg

FORESIGHT OF AN and Elon Musk. The idea had first been mentioned in
the sixteenth century by Sir Thomas More’s in his

AI ERA work “Utopia”. It had been a topic of discussion ever
since, as it continued being mentioned by several

By Anuradha Jaishankar, economic and political philosophers throughout the
18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Its relevance amidst

the rise of AI has earned UBI several supporters,

I B.A.Economics with multiple business moguls, a democratic
candidate for presidency in the US and Pope Francis

being vocal advocates.

page 12

33

Source: Harvard University

Universal Basic Income is The program has seen substantial
theoretically a program by the
government that would provide success, making Telengana a
each citizen, above the age of 18,
a guaranteed pay delivered model for other states in India to
periodically without a working
requirement. UBI would guarantee follow. It has been able to help
every citizen a standard sum
regardless of their income, gender farmers buy inputs for production
or social position in order to
maintain a democratic element, as without hindrances and has
all taxpayers deserve to receive its
benefits. The program’s objective therefore helped improve farmer’s
is to remove excessive government
influence and bureaucratic productive capacity. UBI’s impact
inefficiencies in the usage of
welfare funds given to people. The on labour performance has been
program is yet to be fully
implemented as of now, but some widely criticized by several
countries have implemented it on a
small scale. Brazil, Finland, South assailants, who claim that a
Korea and Canada are a few
countries that have tried it on a guaranteed sum from the
small scale. In India, Telangana
has implemented a scheme for government would make workers
farmers , called the Rythu Bandhu
scheme , which provides Rs 8000 lazy. Although this might be true
per year for each farmer for two
crops, regardless of their earnings. for some workers, the experiments

conducted reveal the opposite for

a majority of workers. Students

and young people from poor

backgrounds usually are

financially pressured to terminate

their education in order to support

their families. In such cases, a

guaranteed sum from the

government would help students

complete their education and even

develop skills, leading to a

specialized workforce.

Even students from middle-income 34

backgrounds get to access several When the basic needs of workers
are met, the workers can focus on
opportunities educationally, needs that were previously
ignored. When a worker does so,
equipping themselves for a he or she would be focusing on
specialisation. This would prove to
competitive job market. It is improve the workforce available,
especially at the face of a
important to note that UBI receives changing economy which would let
machines take over jobs that were
support mainly from countries that previously occupied by humans.
UBI has also proven to be an
have high unemployment rates and effective stimulus in the light of the
Covid-19 pandemic. The economic
slow development.In most cases, effects of the pandemic have been
devastating in most countries
welfare schemes focus on the across the globe, especially in
countries with a large proportion
family unit and provide a sum for a of the population under poverty.

family to collectively use. UBI This guaranteed sum would uplift
families and improve consumption
however, has a focus on expenditure, which is essential for
an economic recovery. It has
individuality, hence allowing for always been true that when
machines take over jobs, it would
the individual development of each provide humans the scope to pay
more attention to tasks that
economically active citizen. require human skills and in turn
improve labour specialisation.
Experiments in the village of
Omitara in Namibia had actually This trend has been integral to the
found that with UBI, households economic boom that the global
had resources to set up a small economy has witnessed since the
business, and even increased the wake of the industrial revolution.
purchasing power of households,
which in turn led to the growth of
these small businesses.UBI has also
been seen as a source of
empowerment to women as it
would reduce their dependence on
the males of the household.

Excessive pressure on labour
would force workers to forego
leisure due to their financial
position. It has been found that
UBI would promote a considerably
higher level of leisure among
workers, which in turn would
positively affect their performance
at work.

35

The juncture, in which unskilled 2. Tim Vlandas. (June 2019). "The
workers find themselves in today
while competing with AI, could Politics of the Basic Income
lead to a path that could make
further labour specialisation a Guarantee: Analysing Individual
necessity to move forward. This
trajectory would also see a growth Support in Europe". Basic Income
in the economy as workers would
utilise a higher production Studies, vol. 14, no. 1 DOI
capacity. An assured sum like the
one UBI provides is crucial to make 3.Sodha, Sonia. (February 2017).
this transition an effective and
smooth path towards the future. “Is Finland’s basic universal

Bibliography: income a solution to automation,
1.Veronika Hudáková. (February
2015). “The Impact of a Basic fewer jobs and lower wages?”.
Income on Labour Supply and
Work Performance”.Wageningen The Guardian.
University of Life Sciences and
Research Centre 4.Anonymous. (March

2018).“Telangana proposes Rs 5L

insurance cover, Rs 12,000 crore

support scheme for farmers”. The

Economic Times.

5. Michael D Tanner. (May 2015).

"The Pros and Cons of a

Guaranteed National Income".

Cato Institute.

DID YOU KNOW?

Labor Day began as a demonstration for workers
rights but is modernly seen as an

opportunity to celebrate the last day of summer.

DIRTY HANDS TO 36
DIAMOND RING
[MOVIE REVIEW- Source: MoviesAnywhere.com
BLOOD DIAMOND]

By S.V.Shruthi Shri

I B.A.Economics

The 2006 movie which made a box office of $ 171.7million starring
Leonardo Di Caprio is made in the backdrop of an African
country Sierra Leone which used to be peaceful at one time but
is now filled with a turmoil of bonded labour and war over
diamonds. It is common knowledge that black people are
tormented by the white but this film opens up a new world in
which the Africans themselves pitted against each other for the
greed of money. The movie portrays how capitalism in the rest of
the world has affected the underdeveloped countries. The
audience is filled with guilt as they look into the plight of the
black laborers who are thrashed and put into concentration
camps for the sake of the princess cut diamond that sits on their
finger. It addresses a global issue and is nerve-wracking as we
wait for events to unfold.

page 12

37

Source:Hands for Africa

Solomon Vandy played by Honsou, is Although a decade old and despite
a Mende fisherman who discovers a not being filmed in Sierra Leone
pink diamond which is extremely itself the director has done a great
valuable and hides it. He is soon job in bringing out the realities. The
abducted and made to work in mines ending is natural- on a
of Africa. His family is torn during mountainside and you will
these tumultuous times. Women are understand it once you see the
raped and children are taken away. movie. It ends with a note of
As a Civil War breaks out, children saving lives and putting an end to
are made to hold guns and the entire the parallel economy which is the
scenic landscape is a sore sight. The main block of human development
rarity of the diamond and the with its shadow side. It is a must-
demand for it adds to the thriller.Mr watch movie indeed, for now, you
Di Caprio plays Danny Archer who is will begin to wonder as a consumer
a Rhodesian born seasoned and as a businesswoman/man if
smuggler and a mastermind in you are one if everything we buy
running the ‘’black economy’’. He is ethically sourced or are
promises to help Vandy in return for labourers spilling their blood for
the diamond and gets redemption in our blip of materialistic joy.
the end with the help of an American
journalist Maddy Bowen played by
Jennifer Connelly who tries to throw
light into the horrors of Sierra Leone
with its dying labour, women and
children on the streets sitting on the
garbage and the brutal firings.

Sierra Leone, a tropical West 38
African country with its hills and
white sand beaches gained “Children aged between 5 and 16
independence from the United were used in hard labour, for ten
Kingdom in 1961, saw unchecked hours a day, " According to the
corruption and economic collapse, paper posted by the Danish Trade
with gasoline being extremely Union Agency, after many years,
scarce, the Government being the outdated monthly minimum
unable to pay its teachers and the wage was finally increased in 2015
education system hitting rock from Le21,000 (US$3.7) to
bottom. By the 1980s there was an Le500,000 (US$63). This is without
entire generation of youth who inflation adjustment. The catch is
had no jobs leading to poor human that the application of formal
resources and increasing poverty. wages, including minimum wage,
are not applied in the informal
Despite having abundance in natural economy that shadows close to
resources both in terms of food, nine out of ten workers. The
minerals and precious metal employment distribution is such
including diamond and gold, it came that men are over-represented in
to nothing but a call of a curse that trade and restaurants.
ransacked the entire country.
Private investors took over the Employment in the manufacturing
control of these resources and sector covers just 2.8% and is
diamonds were illicitly traded and dominated by informal small and
smuggled with revenue going medium-sized enterprises using
directly into their pockets at the simple technologies. Employment in
expense of the civilians. Sierra Leone has experienced
some structural changes during
In 2003, BBC News reported that the last two decades.
during the 10-year civil war in
Sierra Leone, children were used Employment in the agricultural
as combatants and child labourers sector dropped from 71% to 58%. The
in the diamond mines of Koidu in industry basically did not change
the north-eastern district of Kono. staying at 6% while the service
sector increased: from 23% to 36%.
It has 42% of its population below
the age of 14 years, a youthful
nation. In 2010, more than half a
million children were out of school
working in the mines and the
numbers have only increased today.

The Government has tried to 39
improve the image of it from war-
torn to that of a country of a Although it looks like the worst is
potential investment. The Ebola overlooking back on the nightmarish
outbreak in 2014-2016, combined Civil War. The country has a long way
with falling global commodities to go in terms of achieving human
prices, caused a significant development, it being in the lowest
contraction of economic activity in category with a rank of 184 out of 189
all areas in Sierra Leone, followed and giving its labour a sense of
by the current COVID crisis whose security and a feeling of dignity.
effects on the economy still
remains unknown. The labour laws Bibliography:
there date back to the 1860s and
hence are obsolete. A total of 35 1. Rahul Sharma. (March 2018).
of the International Labour
Organisation’s (ILO) conventions “Child labour in the diamond
are ratified. The conventions cover
principles and rights at work. industry”. Alchetron.

The movie portrays the 2.Labour Market Profile Sierra
repercussions of the crimes
committed by Europe and US in the Leone. (2020). “Ulandssekretariatet
name of revolution and
development leaving behind an -Danish Trade Union Development
entire generation with slavery and
apartheid making the lands of Agency”. Analytical Unit
Africa a place of constant tumult.
It shows how there was no choice 3.Central Intelligence. “Government
but to either be the oppressor or a
victim. Fact Book, Africa:: Sierra Leone”.

The World Factbook

4.United Nations Development

Programme.(2019). “Human

Development Report 2019”

DID YOU KNOW?

Labor Day began in Toronto, Canada in 1872 but quickly
made its way to the United States.

40

sourcee: Urban Update

OCCUPATIONAL According to the Economic Survey 2018-2019,
HEALTH OF almost 93% of India’s workforce is employed in
INFORMAL the informal sector. The flower vendor on your
street corner, the vegetable vendor who pushes
WORKERS: CASE his cart, the construction worker you see on your
OF MENTAL way to college and many other such labourers fall
HEALTH into the unorganised sector. We all have read and
talked of the physical hardships they face, the
By Keerthana Shankar lack of protective equipment provided, the measly
wage system and the fact that they cannot
I B.A. Economics afford to change their job and earn a livelihood
someplace else. But what we have not considered
is their mental health and well-being. After all, if
the statistics provided by the National Statistical
Commission is anything to go by, the informal
economy contributes to about 50% of the GDP
and if we are to progress as a country, the needs
of these workers should also be taken care of.

Mental health has been a topic more 41
people have started taking notice of
and talking about. From the strain of source: change.org
long work hours to the strain of
finishing your homework, the anxiety Seema is pessimistic about life and
experienced by the public during the suppresses her fears in order to earn
pandemic has made people realise the a living. Construction workers have
importance of mental well-being and poor working conditions and poorer
the need to be positive and in a good amenities. Despite the two historic
mental space. Now, if paying a visit to legislations, The Building and Other
the psychiatrist is still considered Construction Workers Act 1996 and
something of a taboo amongst the the Building and Other Construction
educated folk, imagine how problems Workers Cess Act 1996, which tried
such as depression, anxiety, panic to transform the lives of construction
attacks, PTSD etc., are treated by the workers, there is no significant
illiterate. Are they even aware such improvement to their lives.
problems exist? Even if they do, can
they afford to treat it? Most “My name is Ramu. I am a manual
importantly, is the Government doing scavenger. I live in the city of Delhi
anything to assist them? and clean sewages for a living. I
Let me present the stories of hate my job. I hate the way the
construction workers, manual people on the streets look at me. I
scavengers and migrant workers want to wipe the repugnance off
during Covid-19. their faces when they throw their
money at me when I finish my job. I
“My name is Seema and I am a want to scream that I am also a
construction worker. I live in a human being, just like them. The only
makeshift tent near the construction reason I do it is because tomorrow,
site with no latrine or kitchen facilities. my children should not end up with
I have a long and tiring day ahead. But the same job. I indulge in alcohol and
I really hope I am not asked to work on marijuana to reduce my sufferings.
the top most floors. I witnessed an
accident a couple of years back and
ever since I am acrophobic and
experience vertigo. But that is how life
is in these places.”

42

I have a counterpart in the village. The issue of migrant workers has
Her name is Rani. She has been plagued the Government ever
cleaning human excreta for 15 since the Partition. Data from the
years. She was forced into the job National Sample Survey in 2007–
because of her caste. The stench of 2008 revealed that about 28.3%
the latrines suffocates her. Her of the workforces in India were
wage includes one paltry roti a migrants. If not registered, they
day. She is revolted by herself and are particularly vulnerable and
her way of life. She trudges on only excluded from welfare schemes.
for her kids.” It is a pretty complicated issue
but there has not much done
from the Government’s side.

The physical hardships of Ramu’s and The above mentioned stories
Rani’s jobs are obvious. But the might involve fictional characters
continuous degradation and stigma of but their struggles are extremely
untouchability take a toll on their real. When one comes to know
mental health. While there are about the ugly truth, one’s
Government provisions which help conscience is stirred and an
them set up shops, nobody is willing obvious question comes to mind.
to buy from them because of their What is the Government doing?
previous jobs. Despite the The Government passes bills but
Employment of Manual Scavengers does not execute them. In fact,
and Construction of Dry Latrines the source of the data quoted in
(Prohibition) Act, 1993 and the this very article, which has been
Prohibition of Employment as Manual collected by Government
Scavengers and their Rehabilitation organisations, is not known. When
Act, 2013, manual scavenging they cannot be entrusted to
continues to be a foul, inhuman and collect data in a reliable manner,
deeply casteist practice prevalent in expecting them to reform the
several Indian states. The Socio- sector is delusional.
Economic Caste Census of 2011
counted over 1.82 lakh families that
had at least one member employed in
manual scavenging.

43

Mental health is a real problem. Bibliography:
According to the National Crime
Records Bureau, 2018, the suicide 1. Tata Steel Aashiyana. (2018). “A
rate amongst daily wage workers is Day in the life of a Construction
22.4%. But in a society where people Worker”
think madness is the only mental
illness, it is very difficult for the 2. Rakhi Bose.(n.d). “Who cleans
problems of these labourers to be your shit?”. News 18
addressed. The psychology of
employers, which is to undermine 3. Prasanna Mohanty. (2019).
physical labour, discriminate against “Labour reforms: No one knows the
them, behave rudely and rashly size of India's informal workforce,
when they ask for better pay is not a not even the govt”. Business
new issue. This mindset has been Today.
prevalent for ages. Education is
indeed important. But just because 4. The Wire. (2018). “A Day In The
someone did not have access to it Life Of Manual Scavenger Ajay
does not mean they are dirt. Pal”

The issues of caste, race, gender 5. Singh O P. (2020). “Mental
and religion still cast their evil eye
upon society. To realise that all health of migrant labourers in
humans are made of the same
blood, bone and flesh, to treat them COVID-19 pandemic and
as equals no matter what and to
realise that mental health requires lockdown: Challenges ahead”.
care and attention is the little things
we can do to make society a better Indian J Psychiatry
place.
6. Livemint. . (2012). “A day in the
life of a manual scavenger”

DID YOU KNOW?

A slave market is noted as operating in Calcutta,
between 1772 and 1833,as noted in Hansard and the
Company Court House permitted slave ownership to be
registered, for a fee of Rs. 4.25 or Rs.4 and 4 annas