Right from the colonial dispensation, the labour class of India has been exploited and forced to accept the commands of those in authority submissively. Keeping the significance of this topic in mind, #IMPRI Center for Work and Welfare (CWW), IMPRI Impact and Policy Research Institute, New Delhi, Indian Social Institute (ISI), New Delhi, and Counterview organised a panel discussion.
The theme was ‘Labour Movements in India @75: Challenges and the Way Forward’ as part of ‘The State of Employment and Livelihood- #EmploymentDebate.’ The panel discussion was held on January 12, 2022.
Status Of Movements In India
The discussion was started by Prof. K R Shyam Sundar, Professor, HRM Area at XLRI – Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur and the Visiting Professor at IMPRI by introducing the proficient panellists.
As the moderator, Professor Sundar brought out a few issues to commence the panel discussion. The first concerns the action of labour movement organisations and civil society organisations in ensuring the Right to Life and Livelihood of Humanity, of which workers constitute a significant proportion.
He also highlighted how the neoliberal institutions have been using the COVID-19 pandemic to propagate the neoliberal reform agenda through various government announcements- like privatisation and monetisation of various public assets- since March 2020.
In addition to this, Prof. Sundar talked about the restricted approach of industrial workers and labourers when it comes to demonstrating their struggles and demanding rights, as the option of long protests, like that of the farmers, is not open to them.
He talked about the two-fold crisis persisting in the labour movements in India and discussed how, on the one hand, the old-established labour laws are being breached. But on the other hand, workers working in the informal sector and gig economy lack a recognised identity for their work.
He concluded his opening statement by suggesting that the labour movements should identify a few core elements from a long list and wage a sustainable struggle for them; this will help streamline the overall purpose of the movement and make their actions more efficient.
Coherence And Consistency
Prof. A V Jose, Honorary Visiting Professor, Centre for Development Studies (CDS), Kerala, elaborated upon a basic yet important idea. India is too crowded and dynamic to have a unified system of rules and solutions, which is often ignored.
He shared the example of industrial Europe, where labour unions came forward to answer the social questions of workers and worked along with them to provide solutions to the same. They aimed to transform the existing political reality and gave utmost importance to workers’ entitlements.
Labour unions provided social security to the workers by transforming the labour rules and regulations, legally safeguarding their interests and building on the material establishments of the industrial world. This also resulted in increased participation of the labourers in creating more institutions and reforms, all supported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The organising strength and mobilisation of the workers severely aided their decision-making abilities in the industrial sector and was regarded as a remarkable achievement. However, with the coming of globalisation, the entire structure was disrupted as it did not give importance to the workers’ security and interests.
Prof. Jose recommended refocusing our vision on the labour movements and creating a political space that allows the workers to participate and where their minimum interests are being protected. They indeed form a very integral part of the political constituency. Hence, the state and the centre should reallocate their resources and work towards their development.
The solution lies in reshaping the economic and political spheres and allowing them to prosper so that they are capable enough of extracting opportunities and interest and can never be pushed below a minimum level of lifestyle.
He also emphasised the participation of labour unions in enforcing wages and ensuring income and social security. They have a place in the administration and management frameworks of the recognised institutions, making them self-financed entities. If the existing inequalities are resolved, one can expect sufficient resources to finance and maintain the much-needed social minimum floor.
Perils Of Gig Economy
Mr Shaik Salauddin is the National General Secretary, Indian Federation Of App Based Transport Workers (IFAT), Founder State President, Telangana Gig And Platform Workers Union (TGPWU). Mr Salauddin began by talking about the lack of policymaking and implementation for the gig and platform workers. Then, he brought out the sensitive issue of manipulating the workers by making them serve the customers at the cost of their own lives and giving them no security whatsoever.
He gave the example of food delivery apps that increase their user base by promising fast delivery of food, giving no additional incentives or safety assurance to the delivery person taking the risk. In addition to this, these workers are working under constant fear of ‘bad rating’, depicting poor performance; this leverage given to the customers creates additional pressure for the worker and forces them to do the extra work for which they are never compensated.
Mr Shaik emphasised how the organisations working in the gig economy ensured to employ the unemployed. Still, in today’s time, as we all witness, the extraordinary expectations of the organisation and the customers are leading to more unemployment.
All these issues call for a strict system of rules and framework, clearly stating the role of the state and central governments, the mandate under which the workers should work, the extent of services provided to the users, the role of auxiliary departments, labour and trade unions and the like. He also brought to light the delayed implementation and response from the stakeholders concerning the matter. Finally, he concluded on a hopeful note of potential discussion of a policy addressing this issue.
Identity Crisis
Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmmed, Specialist on Workers’ Activities, Decent Work Technical Team – South Asia, International Labour Organization (ILO), explained how the ‘identity crisis among the workers has risen from the depreciation of the scope of workers. In categorising the workers as frontline workers, domestic workers, security workers, gig workers, etc., they have lost their identity.
He mentioned how the workers’ lack of education and awareness makes them accept their oppression as it is; they are not ‘woke’ enough to address their grievances. Therefore, as a participant in the labour movement, it becomes our responsibility to bring all the workers together under one umbrella, give them the freedom to identify themselves as workers and empower them to organise themselves, voice their concerns, and demand their rights.
Even after 100 years of the ILO and 100+ years of Trade Union Movement, Mr Ahmmed mentioned, we have still not attained occupational health and safety as a fundamental right. To succeed in the labour movement, we need to mobilise our resources and give a sense of identity to all the workers in the formal setting.
Besides this, we need to equip ourselves with the upcoming technology and innovations and use different tools to deal with different stakeholders and resolve the different issues crowding the labour movements.
Issues today are not dealt with by one ministry/organisation alone; there are a lot of intersections, followed by contrasting opinions making it necessary for any concerned individual/group to have a flexible and comprehensive approach while looking for the remedy.
To acknowledge the demands of women labourers in rural India, the labour unions need to work with the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of Rural Development to understand the issue better and draw strategies. But, in the end, Mr Ahmmed focussed on the lack of solidarity and volunteerism.
Earlier, different industries responded and expressed solidarity toward each other’s work and developments, but this culture has been dissolved in recent times. As an extension, every work can be facilitated via monetary incentives, and hence volunteerism is discouraged.
The Lack of Structure
Dr Sonia George, Secretary, Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), Kerala, presented her arguments by acknowledging the formal framework of the entire labour population of a country like India. She extended how one can challenge this existing structure made for formal labour to protect the needs and interests of informal labour, constituting a large part of our workforce.
Elaborating on the consequences of globalisation, she mentioned the unequal relationship between the owner of a garment brand in a developed country and the supply chain worker working in a dingy garment factory in a rural town of a developing/under-developed country.
This has generated a temporary work atmosphere, where the production and other manufacturing activities are shifted from place to place to cut production costs. The lack of an employer-based in labour relationships and the withdrawal of the state from matters of labour and workers demand a new platform to discuss these issues and deliberate upon them.
She exclaimed how in the last decade, the participation of women in the workforce has been decreasing despite the incorporation of measures to increase it. According to Dr George, the formalisation of informal workers is a complex process for a country like India. Not only is the composition of informal workers rising day by day, but also the high unemployment rates and the existing hardships proposed by the pandemic have resulted in the loss of jobs for many.
This leaves no space for such a transition and leaves us blank on how India shall support its informal workforce. The existing norms and policies yield a lot of structural challenges, restricting the mobility and sustainability of informal workers- be it in terms of health, wage, or other social factors.
She pointed out another reason for the lack of structure for informal workers by highlighting that most of the trade unions in India are run by and work for the organised sector of labour, thus excluding the informal workers from the collective bargain.
According to the 1926 Trade Union Act, a self-employed group of individuals, domestic workers, can not be registered as a trade union because they will not be considered eligible for the same. She concluded by suggesting the destructuring of the existing framework instead of looking for new forms of collective bargaining that are inclusive, sustainable, and allow the majority of the workforce to fight for their rights.
The moderator encapsulated the entire debate by revisiting the different arguments by our different panellists and how all of them covered pertinent issues among the Labour Movements in India. After addressing a few questions, one of the panellists, Prof. Jose, expressed how the panel discussion led to more questions than answers and expressed the need to have more dialogues and deliberations on such issues.
Acknowledgement: Diya Goswami is a Research Intern at IMPRI. Written by Mahima Kapoor.