This article tries to look at some of the recently observed phenomena in the labor markets, like increased casualization by corporates and affirmative action by the Central and State Governments. It also tries to look at some of the relevant areas in a study conducted by Confederation of Indian Industry, India. Finally and most importantly, the article tries to fuse together the arguments for and against the labor law reforms in India.
The
recent workers' strike at the Honda factory in Gurgaon and the series of skirmishes
between migrant labor and the French police are not isolated law and order problems,
but point to some of the not so desirable spill-offs of privatization and globalization.
For example, in the case of the Honda factory they had 1,600 workers on regular
rolls, while they had more than 2,000 casual laborers. `Casualization' of labor
and thorough overhaul of the labor laws has been a persistent theme at corporate
meetings in India. This casualization was earlier visible in seasonal industries,
like sugar but has now become the norm in automobile, paper, and cement industries
also.
Neither
the Central nor the State Government, leave alone the trade unions, have any idea
of the number of casual workers involved and the corporates are tight-lipped about
the fact. The size of the regular workforce of 400 million has shrunk from 8%
to 7% between 1983 and 2003. There is a negative growth in the public sector employment
and marginal growth in the organized private sector. The Labor Commissioner at
Gurgaon quotes the percentage of casual workers at 50%, but this could be an understatement.
The
labor laws as they existed permitted casual labor only in peripheral work like
gardening, transportation, security and canteen services. However, there is an
increasing trend to use casual work even in core work. These casual workers cost
much less. A regular worker in Honda factory costs the company Rs. 25,000-30,000
per month while a contract worker costs only approximately Rs. 6,500. |
