Migration, Vulnerability and Insecurity in New Industrial Labour Markets

Author(s): G. Vijay
Source: Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 40, No. 22/23 (May 28 - Jun. 10, 2005), pp.
2304-2312
Published by: Economic and Political Weekly
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 Migration, Vulnerability and Insecurity
in New Industrial Labour Markets
With a case study of labour in a new industrial setting in Kothur, Andhra Pradesh,
this paper seeks to address a number of questions: (1) From what context is
labour migrating to Kothur? (2) What is the nature of employment opportunities in the
new industrial labour market? (3) Why do the opportunities of employment and the nature of
labour in Kothur represent a paradoxical trend contrary to conventional social
mobility theories? (4) How can we analyse this paradox? (5) What do the new
employment patterns and labour relations mean to the vulnerability of labour?
(6) How does the new labour policy address these issues?

G VIJAY

rural-urban wage differential or other indicators suggesting upward

Introduction
utmigration from rural areas was earlier seen as a positive
and an inevitable phenomenon in the process of deve-
lopment. The theory of dualism had gone to the extent
of considering this not merely an element but a prime indicator
of development. It was seen as indicative of the expansion of
relatively more productive industrialisation and decrease in the
dependence on less productive agriculture. It was therefore
assumed that rural-urban migration would always be voluntary
and lead to generation of a new labour that would be more skilled
and receive higher wages. Thus this new labour would
have experienced upward social mobility [Todaro 1977; World
Bank 1995].
However, given the patterns in the labour market, the deve-
lopment model that has evolved over the past few decades
quite clearly goes against the postulates made in the above
theoretical framework. While several empirical works suggested
that rural-urban migrants were not actually entering the
modern working class but were being absorbed into what
could be called the 'informal-sector' [Breman 1996]. Several
other works established that these migrants were stuck well
below the poverty line [Sharma 1988]. They were characterised
as the 'working poor'. Thus, migration was not always voluntary
and upwardly mobile, but was in fact seen as a compulsion
generated in the interest of capital. Since the migrants served
as a workers' reserve, it exerted downward pressure on wages
and hindered organisation of the working class. Both these
conditions were necessary for higher levels of accumulation
for capital.
These findings triggered-off inquiries into the nature of the
new rural-urban migration and the underlying causes. The re-
search into the patterns of migration suggested that migration
was of several types. These included; permanent migration,
temporary migration, seasonal or circular migration and errati-
cally oscillatory migration. Further, it was also identified that
the nature of the causes of migration were quite varied as well.
It was proposed that migration could have been consequential
to either pull or push factors. The pull factor meant a positive
mobility. It is therefore that only where the pull factors operate
that one could endorse the assumption of upward social mobility
as a consequence of rural-urban migration. However, more often
than not in underdeveloped countries, rural-urban migration was
a result of what is described as push factors. And the inquiry
into these causes revealed the gravity of rural poverty and lack
of employment opportunities as the major push factors forcing
out migration. There were multiple-reasons underlying rural
poverty and lack of opportunities. Although not exhaustive, some
reasons can be identified here. Environmental factors such as
drought, displacement of labour (on account of major dams or
so on), introduction of new labour displacing technology, disas-
ters on account of floods or earthquakes, destitution and social
conflict, education and traditional social hierarchies such as caste,
etc. Each of these reasons structured a pattern of migration that
did not necessarily imply upward social mobility. They were
meant to be survival strategies for the labour [Standing 1985;
Vijay 2002].
Three types of employment patterns were mainly documented,
viz, (a) the casual migration system, which is seasonal and is
suggestive of lack of non-farm employment avenues for the
labourers. Such migrants usually move to urban centres such as
Hyderabad. While some are employed as hotel or shop assistants,
others are employed in menial jobs such as earth moving, sewage
cleaning, etc, (b) contract migration system: This is a tied,
personalised, institutionalised system. The migrants are recruited
by 'maistries' (middle-men or contractors) after paying advances
in the form of loans. They are then transported to a worksite of
a canal, dam, rail or road construction undertaken by a contractor
and are made to work during the period of contracts. This system
provides greater certainty of employment than the casual migra-
tion system [Krishnaiah 1998:135-36]. (c) oscillatory migration
system: This is a system observed in the informal patterns of
employment in the organised manufacturing sector. The indus-
tries in new industrial towns or semi-urban locales are seen to
be preferring migrants to local workers so that they may practise
flexible labour market policies. This system involves both casual
and contractual employment patterns and an assured supply of
labour at very low wages in insecure jobs in a high risk work

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environment while also ensuring that such manufacturing indus- II
trial labour remains unorganised. This system is usually preferred Source Sites of Labour inflow into Kothur
by rural, agrarian migrants. There are, however, some educated,
semi-skilled migrants or upper caste who do not see agricultural, It needs to be understood that workers working in the new
construction or other informal employment opportunities as industries in Kothur are migrants from different parts of the
avenues where they could work. The chain migration pattern country.1 These workers are predominantly from five states
through social networks is an important element in this system. outside Andhra Pradesh, viz, two in the south, Tamil Nadu and
What is common in all the above patterns of employment is that Kerala, two in the north, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, and one in
all the opportunities available for rural migrants are usually in the east; Orissa. From within Andhra Pradesh there are migrants
the informal sector. from all the regions of Andhra Pradesh: coastal Andhra,
Rayalseema and different parts of Tciangana. It needs to be made
It has been established that the informal economy is especially
characterised by a highly segmented labour market which actuallyclear that according to the classifications made, workers coming
constraints any upward social mobility [Rodgers 1993]. And from states other than Andhra Pradesh have been called the long
distance migrants, those coming from coastal Andhra and
further that this segmentation is based also on non-economic
categories of discrimination in the labour market including caste,Rayaseema have been categorised as short distance migrants,
those coming from different districts of Telangana have been
gender, region and so on [Scoville (ed) 1991; Vijay 1999; 2002].
This paper focuses on the aspect of discrimination in the new classified as very short distance migrants and those coming from
industrial labour markets. villages of adjacent mandals and the from within Kothur mandal
are characterised as local workers. This categorisation is made
The pattern of migration to the new industrial towns suggests
that unlike the conventional understanding, higher levels of not only to suggest physical distance from the town of Kothur,
education and skill which were assumed to be variables but also has relevance for analysing levels of vulnerability of
influencing upward social mobility do not hold these truecategories.
with In the first place, it needs to be clarified that
trends favouring the less educated and less skilled this is neither an attempt to understand the overall pattern of
workers
as well. And these trends are in segments of the migration,
working nor is it a complete statement of the reasons for
population which are unorganised. This paper also aims Rather,
migration. at given that workers are migrating from different
parts of the country and the state, it is an attempt to understand
explaining this paradox. It tries to suggest that an interpretation
of migration of labour to new industrial towns cannot how
bemigration.
offered employment and vulnerability are interlinked and
whybut
only by looking at the rural-urban wage differentials migration
needs could suggest vulnerability as seen in the
a more comprehensive understanding of the links interlinkages
between rather than an indicator of development.
conditions in the rural areas with the quality of employment
opportunities in the new organised, manufacturing industries and
Contextualising the Place of Origin of Labour
the quality of life in the living environment, including those
indicators suggesting quality in terms of some social and cultural
The social identity of the workers is very important for analysing
parameters. social security of labour. Organisation is equally important for
The questions this paper tries to answer are: workers' social security. However, to get organised is not a
(1) From what context (socio-economic background in the place natural but a conscious process. It is this conscious process which
of origin) is labour migrating to Kothur? transforms a class in itself to a class for itself. But for this to
(2) What is the nature of employment opportunities in the new happen, organisations fighting for a secured life for the workers
industrial labour market? must grapple with diverse identities. The most visible identity
(3) Why do the opportunities of employment and the nature of is one of region. Not merely because people from different regions
have different languages and cultures, but also because there is
labour in Kothur represent a paradoxical trend contrary to con-
ventional social mobility theories? a pattern in the way people from different regions are recruited
(4) How can we analyse this paradox? into segmented employment in the new industries. Despite some
exceptions, we may say in Kothur, if you have to find Oriya,
(5) What do the new employment patterns and labour relations
mean to the vulnerability of labour? Bihari, or UP workers go to steel mills and textile mills. If you
(6) How does the new labour policy address these issues? have to find Keralite and Tamilian workers go to industries such
as Kerala tiles and Koya pipes (both are owned by Keralites).
This paper is divided into five sections. The second section
deals briefly with the context of labour in their place of origin. If you want to find short distance migrants, go to Natco industries
The third section gives the employment patterns and levels of (owned by a coastal Andhra industrialist), if you have to find
discrimination and the fourth section enumerates the distribution a very short distance migrant, he or she would be in an industry
of opportunities in terms of the conditions of life and work foremploying large number of daily contract workers like Sangfroid
different sections of people. The fifth section tries to understand industries. It is only the locals who have no such definite patterns.
the relevance of recent policy in addressing new industrial labourWorkers in these industries are employed not only because they
market problems. have labour power and are efficient, but also because they belong
We may note that the trends in the new industrial labour marketto somewhere in terms of their regional identity. Though labour
call for a serious review of conventional understanding of rural-is employed for a wage, it is not handled impersonally as any
urban migration. This paper is based on the study of a repre-other commodity. The socio-economic background therefore has
sentative sample of 550 industrial worker households froma role in determining the openings for labour and, in turn, the
industries selected based on various criteria to represent 70 perquality of employment and life of the workers. Therefore we begin
cent of the industries in Kothur, a new industrial town, in with the socio-economic background of workers coming from
Mahabubnagar district of Andhra Pradesh. different regions. It needs to be observed that 41 per cent of the

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workers working in new industries come from an agricultural
background. And 24 per cent of them have been students from
agricultural families.
We may say that everywhere there is a general outward push
operating. However, not everywhere is the pressure the same.
Different states may be grouped into agriculturally relatively
developed regions, which include Kerala and the coastal regions
of Andhra Pradesh, a second category of agriculturally relatively
backward regions which, in turn, can be divided into four in-
creasing levels of backwardness. Uttar Pradesh falls under the
first level of backwardness, Tamil Nadu under the second level
of backwardness, Orissa under the third level of backwardness
and very short distance migrants and migrants from Bihar fall
under the fourth level of backwardness. These distinctions are
suggestive of the relative advantage and disadvantage of the background which matters, but what individuals or groups of
workers. The local workers, as already suggested, should be seen workers belonging to each of these regions have achieved in the
past in terms of terms and conditions of employment in the
as a separate category. The further presentation of the conditions
of these different sections of the workers will be done in this market, which also shapes the expectations and actions of the
order.
Ill
Categories of Employment
In the first place it needs to be mentioned that the category
of local workers needs to be viewed as different in terms of the
advantage they have over other category of workers such as the
long distance, short distance and the very short distance migrants
because the local workers have an agency such as trade unions
to secure certain privileges. Therefore, despite the agrarian context
from which the workers come, we begin by presuming that they
manage to overcome this background by way of being organised.
Given the commonality in the context of the places of origin,
and the lack of agency in the places of destination, workers
coming from other regions may be grouped together and placed
in order of decreasing advantage. Given the context of origin,
it may be inferred from the above analysis that people coming
from parts of Uttar Pradesh, coastal Andhra and Kerala may be
looked at as workers migrating from a relatively advanced agrarian
context in relation to the agrarian context of Telangana where
Kothur is located. In the case of Uttar Pradesh and coastal Andhra,
the advancement is more in terms of the high value of land,
technology, productivity, etc, (Kerala though is not a rich economy)
advancement in Kerala is in terms of organisation of agricultural
labour, high wages, etc. Hence, with reference to the advantage
of workers in terms of aspects such as consciousness of dignity,
expectations of quality life, etc, from among the long distance
migrants, we may say that labour coming from Kerala can be
placed on the top followed by workers from Uttar Pradesh.
However, if all categories are to be ordered, the locals will be
followed by short distance migrants in the order of advantage.
This is so because of the fact that not only a section of the short
distance migrants from certain regions of coastal Andhra like
Guntur, Srikakulam, etc, are preferred by certain industries, for
employment, it is also a fact that in some of the industries, short
distance migrants are members of trade unions. From within the
short distance migrants, workers coming from coastal Andhra
have an advantage. However, since the number of workers from
Rayalseema is negligible, there is no need to sub-divide this
category. Labour coming from Orissa, Bihar, amongst the long
distance and the very short distance migrants from different parts
of Telangana (other than the local area) represent the other
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extreme of the labour force - a section coming from agriculturally
relatively backward areas. This category has a strong environ-
mental dimension to it, in that all these areas are either prone
to frequent droughts or floods. Further, these regions show
tendencies of feudalism in agrarian relations. Workers coming
from Tamil Nadu, represent a middle ranged labour who are
tending more towards the lower extreme. These workers are not
as under-privileged as those coming from Bihar and Orissa,
however, they are neither as advantaged as those coming from
Kerala and UP (from amongst the long distance migrants). We
may note that where a worker is placed in the order of vulnerability
has an impact on the quality of employment a worker would be
able to secure, which, in turn, affects the social security-insecurity
dynamics. It is very important to note that it is not merely the
workers. This is also because the arrival of migrants is often by
way of chain-migration realised through the use of social net-
works. And therefore workers belonging to similar chains are
employed in similar employment patterns and also in specific
industries. Some chains are linked to contractors while others
are linked only to civil society based networks, which make same
villages, schooling, and caste or blood relations or extended
families very important categories in developing networks.
Employment Patterns as Levels of Deprivation
Permanent employment: Legally speaking, there is no such thing
as permanent employment. However, workers often use this term
for employment on long-term contracts, often lasting till the age
of retirement. Employment security, therefore, is at the crux of
the definition of permanent employment. This implies that ending
of such employment would have to be compensated in accordance
with the law. It also means that within the company, this category
of workers enjoys relatively the best social security coverage and
emoluments. A large section of these workers has some form
or other of upward mobility. Permanent workers are often members
of trade unions. However, it needs to be mentioned that this
category of employment is highly segmented, especially in terms
of wages, emoluments and skill.
Regular casual employment: In regular casual employment,
workers have no protected job or their employment is not for
a specified period. However, it is understood that the regular
casuals will be employed as long as there is-work. This assurance
of work is informal and ending such employment is not a ground
for compensation. The regular casuals are employed by the
industry directly without the involvement of any middlemen.
Within a company, the regular casuals have a social security and
emoluments package, which is a degree less than that enjoyed
by the permanent workers. Regular casuals are potential contend-
ers for permanent employment and are often members of trade
unions. Workers employed as trainees and those referred to as
badlis also fall in this category.
Daily casual employment: One of the lowest categories of
employment is that of workers who are employed directly by the
industry on a daily basis. There is no assurance of work. Their
employment is determined by the availability of work and they
can be hired and fired at will. Though their wages are very low,
often below the minimum wage, these workers do have some
minimum social security coverage. Though a few of these workers
are members of trade unions. they enjoy no additional benefits.
They are often employed in low-skill jobs and are contenders
for regular casual employment.
Regular contract employment: Regular contract employees are
assured of work, but have no formal employment security. They
are employed by a middleman called the contractor, who then
hires them out to industry. Therefore, it is the contractor who
is responsible for observance of labour laws. Regular contract
workers have been found to have relatively high levels of income,
though there is also a high degree of segmentation. They do not
have a social security or emoluments package nor are they
members of a trade union. There is some scope for upward
mobility and they are given some facilities.
Daily contract and unregistered employment: Daily contract
employment is the second worst form of employment in the
industrial town, after the category of unregistered workers (the
latter are usually regular contract and daily contract workers who
are employed but not registered). In the case of daily contract
workers, not only is there no assured work, the workers are
employed by middlemen called the contractors and the industry
has no legal liability. In the case of unregistered workers, nobody
has any liability. Both the categories have no social security
coverage or emoluments. They are paid very low wages and are
not members of a trade union. Like daily casuals, they are
employed in low-skill jobs.
This study proposes to provide an understanding of the struc-
ture of deprivation, using these employment categories. It will
consider the dimensions of deprivation proposed by Chambers.
to study levels of deprivation associated with each pattern of:
employment in the working and living environments. The term
'working environment' here means conditions associated with
work and work-related aspects of the employee's experience.
Living environment means the conditions often associated with
the social space outside the factory.
Employment Patterns and Levels of Deprivation
Poverty in Working Environment
Wages: There is lot of segmentation of the permanent workers
in so far as wages are concerned. The wages level of permanent
workers is often influenced by, their skill and experience, scale
of the industry and the profits of the industry, especially in large-
scale units. Permanent workerF drawa fixed monthly salary of
anywhere between Rs 1,200 and Rs 8,00p a.month (though a
miniscule numberof workers get between Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000).
Most permanent workers, however, receive a monthly salary
ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000. Regular contract workers
receive a monthly wage calculated on a daily basis, ranging from
Rs 600 to Rs 3,000. Most regular contract workers receive a wage
of over Rs 2,000. Daily casual and daily contract and unregistered
workers receive a daily wage ranging from Rs 30 to Rs 58.
Interestingly, most of the daily casuals get wages of around Rs 30
while most of the daily contract workers get wages of around
Rs 52. This has to be understood against the backdrop of daily
contract employment being more uncertain than daily casual
employment, implying that in the end the daily casuals earn higher
monthly incomes than the daily contract workers.
Mode of payment: Permanent employees and regular casuals,
receive a fixed monthly wage. Regular contract workers receive
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a monthly wage calculated on a daily basis. This means that a
worker is paid only for the days he works. Permanent and regular
casual workers are allowed some casual and sick leave, and
absence for a day does not necessarily mean loss of pay. Daily
casual and daily contract and unregistered workers are paid at
the end of each day.
Protection and benefits: There is segmentation in the nature of
protection and benefits enjoyed by workers in different employ-
ment patterns. Permanent workers receive employees' social
insurance (ESI), provident fund (PF), travel and house rent
allowances, and additional benefits such as free education for
children, gifts, vehicle allowance, etc. Some large-scale indus-
tries also provide free accommodation in special workers' colo-
nies. Regular casual workers in large and medium-scale firms
receive ESI. PF, access to a subsidised canteen and free living
quarters. Those working in small firms receive ESI, PF and low-
interest credit. Daily casual employees of large and medium-scale
industries receive ESI and PF. while those in small industries
have only ESI or no protections or benefits at all. Regular contract
workers have no ESI or PF, but many are given free accommo-
dation on the factory premises. Those working as daily contract
workers in large-scale industries have ESI and PF. while those
in small-scale industries have only ESI or no protections or
benefits at all. While the proportion of those having no protection
or benefits are relatively small in the case of daily casual workers,
it is large in case of daily contract workers.
Physical Weakness in Working Environment
Working hours: Working hours make a lot of difference in the
way each employment pattern is perceived. For permanent and
regular casual workers, a day consists of eight hours of work.
Beyond that, they are paid over time, at double the normal wage
rate per hour. This also applies to many daily casual workers.
For regular contract and daily contract workers, a working day
is 12 hours. Unregistered workers may sometimes work for as
long as 16 hours without any overtime payment. Given the low
levels of nutrition, the long working hours add to physical
weakness.
Isolation in Working Environment
Education and skill: We can broadly classify skills into four levels
by the time taken to learn them; very low (about a week to learn),
low (from a month to three months), medium (about six months
to a year) and high (at least three years). Permanent workers
usually have medium and high level skills, though some do have
low level skills. Regular casuals have medium and low level
skills. Daily casuals have low and very low level skills. Medium-
level skills are found among workers employed on a regular
contract basis, though a few of them have low and very low level
skills. Workers employed on a daily contract basis usually have
very low level skills; in very rare cases they have low level skills.
Thus, there is a correlation between skill level and the pattern
of employment. As the nature of employment worsens, the level
of skill decreases.
We further find that it is only in the large-scale, high and
medium skill new industries that workers with technical educa-
tion have the best chance of obtaining permanentjobs. In medium-
scale companies, permanent jobs also go to those that have no
formal education, although education does make a difference.
Education seems to have no impact on opportunities for regular The average size of a house for six people, usually consisting
contract workers. In one enterprise, a commerce graduate was of a single room, is 15 ft by 8 ft.
employed as a regular contract worker doing a low-skill job. In
small-scale industries with low-skilled daily contract employ- Isolation, Vulnerability and Powerlessness
ment too, contractors prefer literate workers. However, in these
industries, those with primary education get the same opportu- Access to sanitation facilities: Access to bathroom and latrine
nities as those with secondary education. Many without any facilities is yet another indicator of the quality of life. In the Indian
formal education are daily casual workers. Interestingly, there social context, the lack of access to these facilities is much more
is a growing tendency towards considering education irrelevant distressing for female workers than for male workers. On the
in determining access to skill, and thus to better conditions, in whole, there is a lack of such facilities, a situation that is specific
industries requiring medium- and lower-level skills. to new industrial labour, reflecting 'ruralising' of modern indus-
trial labour. The fact that most of the workers in these manu-
facturing industries have to use open fields to empty their bladders
Vulnerability (in a limited sense)2 in Working Environment
and bowels, and to bathe, is characteristic of the new industrial
Safety conditions: Permanent workers generally work in safe labour market.
conditions, with sufficient precautionary measures and protective Health: It is very important in the new industries for workers
gear being provided to them. Regular casuals in small-scale to remain healthy. Sickness implicitly means loss of income and
industries are exposed to minor accidents. Both permanent and extra costs. For permanent workers with families, this is not a
regular casuals may be classified as low-risk categories. For daily problem. It is also not a serious problem for those who have ESI
casuals, minor accidents are common, an average of one a day. coverage. However, for daily casual and contract workers
They are thus a medium-risk category. Regular contract workers without any insurance, and especially for those who live alone,
face high risks: two fatal accidents per year are routine for them, sickness can be disastrous, often prompting people to go back
which is why their wages are high. Daily contract workers are to their villages. Safe drinking water is an important factor in
a medium-risk category. determining the living environment of the workers. During the
early 1980s, Kothur 'cheruvu' (a rain-water reservoir) was the
Powerlessness in Working Environment major source of drinking water. There was also a well in the
middle of the village. However, in the late 1980s and early 1990s
Membership oftrade unions: As has already been explained, only the well dried up. With industrialisation, especially the textile
short-distance migrants and locals are in general members of trade and chemical industries, the reservoir water has become polluted
unions. It may be added that only permanent workers and some by effluents. A common tap was installed in the village recently,
regularcasuals and very few daily casualsjoin trade unions. Those with the water coming from an overhead tank. The water in the
who do not join have less bargaining power. Not being a member tank and the drinking water were tested for this study. The results
of a trade union may thus be considered a source of powerless- suggest that the polluted reservoir water has percolated into the
ness. groundwater, making it unfit for consumption. All the
residents of the township, of whom 62.5 per cent are dependent
Poverty in Living Environment on industry, drink unsafe water. The consumption of polluted
water leads to various diseases. The disease pattern shows a high
Type and size of the home: The majority of permanent workersother helminths, parasitic skin infections,
incidence of dysentery,
stay in houses with tiled roofs. Even though adiarrhoea
privilegedand enteritis,
group,diseases of the teeth, and bone diseases.
It should be noted
most permanent workers cannot afford a concrete-roofed that all these are water-borne or water-related
house.3
The average size of a house for four people diseases.
is 18 ft by 13 ft,
with a varying number of rooms. Social life of workers: The workers have different living arrange-
ments.
The field study data shows that the majority of They live alone, or with families, relatives, or friends.
the regularcasual
workers live in houses with tiled and asbestosSince families,
roofs. Onlyfriends
7 perand relatives play a crucial role during
cent have concrete- roofed homes. The average timessize of a this
of illness, houseis a significant indicator. Many permanent
for six people is 18 ft by 9 ft, with a varyingworkers,
number especially locals, live with their families, which pro-
of rooms.
vides the highest
Interestingly, 7 per cent of the daily casual workers, one oflevel
theof security because of the strong social
most deprived groups, have concrete-roofedobligation
homes. to look after
These are member of the family who has fallen
ill. Migrant
formerly well-to-do families, usually with a business regular casual workers and regular contract workers
background.
The average size of a house for four people, drawing
usuallya consisting
monthly wage of over Rs 3,000 can be expected to
of a single room, is 11 ft by 6 ft. live with their families. Of course, the conditions in the place
Most regular contract workers live in rooms provided for
of origin also them
play an important role in this decision. A few regular
on company premises. Most of these rooms have casualasbestos
workers stay with relatives and friends. Given the social
roofs.
The summer temperature in Kothur can touchcontext 45 degrees
in India, Celsius
staying with relatives is the next-best alternative
and asbestos roofs make the rooms stiflingly to hot. Some
living of theMany regular contract workers stay with
with family.
employees work on all-night shifts and have to sleepmost
friends, during
of whomtheare co-workers and have no social obligation
day in spite of the smothering heat. The average to look after
size ofana individual
room during sickness. However, there is
shared by four people is 10 ft by 7 ft. The majority an incentive
of daily to look after each other because a worker who helps
contract
workers live in houses constructed with tiled roofs and asbestos a colleague today might need that colleague's help tomorrow.
sheets. This is the only category of industrial workers of whomMigrant daily casuals usually stay with friends and relatives: some
some live in huts. Further, a few live in homes without electricity.live alone. While some migrant regular contract workers also live

2308 Economic and Political Weekly May 28-June 4, 2005

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 Figure 1: Local Workers - Nature of Figure 2: Short Distance Migrants - Figure 3: Very Short Distance Migrants -
Employment Nature of Employment Nature of Employment

A6 -0 per cent A6 -0 per cent A 6 -O per cent A

,,cent V , A 1-8 per cent
A 5 -16 A 5-18 -25 pert A 2-1 per cent A per cent
per-25 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~per cent

--r A4 per A 5'-61 per percent

A 3-38 per cent

:I Al = Permanent ~E A2 = Regularly Employed Casual

l A3 = Daily Casual I A4 = Regularly Employed Contract
.3[ A5 = Daily Contract * A6 = Unregistered

alone, the category with the highest proportion of such loners Let us look at how the long-distance migrants from each state
is that of migrant daily contract workers. Those living alone sufferfare in terms of opportunities. Kerala tops the list of better-off
most in emergencies such as sickness. Living alone may be long-distance migrants, being the only state in this category with
viewed as one form of isolation. a good proportion of permanent workers. In contrast, Bihar is
Voting rights: Long-distance do not vote in local and regional
clearly worst-off, with a marginal proportion of permanent workers
and 91 per cent unregistered workers. Second to Kerala is Tamil
elections because they do not understand the specific regional
political dynamics of Andhra Pradesh and Kothur. They can Nadu,
be with all of its workers employed on a regular casual basis.
considered powerless to varying degrees. Since regular casuals fare better than regular contract workers,
These employment categories thus represent a hierarchyUttarof Pradesh comes after Tamil Nadu.4 It is interesting to
observe that there is a general pattern of worsening living conditions
deprivation. Each employment pattern in this sense also represents
although accompanied by slightly higher wages in the case
a level of security. The deprivation and thus insecurity, increase
of long-distance migrants working in hazardous conditions.
as we move from permanent employment to daily contract employ-
ment. The question that needs to be answered is: If we considerThe International Labour Organisation has done considerable
region, caste. class and gender structures, do we see a processresearch
of on discrimination against international migrants.
monopolisation on one hand and vulnerability on the other? The There is similar discrimination in the cases of internal migrants
next section, considers for analysis the distribution of typesvis-a-vis
of locals and migrants from backward regions vis-a-vis
employment opportunities across different socio-economic those from developed regions. The fact that most very short-
structures (of workers) in the new industrial labour market.distance migrants end up in the worst forms of employment
despite having higher levels of literacy than local workers es-
IV tablishes this. Within this category of migrants, those from a
Deprivation and Structures in Kothur poorer background, those that belong to scheduled castes, and
women have been discriminated against.
Regional Vulnerability and Deprivation
Gender Vulnerability and Deprivation
Figures 1 to 3 show the type of opportunities that have been
secured by workers from various regional backgrounds. The Of the 3,943 permanent and regular casual workers with
category of long-distance migrants has been disaggregated into employment security, only 789 workers (20 per cent) are women.
state-level data to enable the derivation of more meaningful This implies that 82 per cent of the total women workers are
inferences. It needs to be made clear that all regions cannot be employed in precarious jobs and suffer certain gender-specific
compared with one another. The local and short-distance mi- insecurity. The following case clarifies the point.
grants are special and comparable as they have access to trade Shahbanu Begum is a Muslim woman, aged 20. She is illiterate
unions and other formal institutions. The other categories of and had been working as a casual labourer in the garden section
migrants are comparable as they do not have access to trade of NCL for one year when interviewed. She is paid Rs 40 per
unions. day. Shahbanu lost her mother in childhood and her father married
Comparing local workers with short-distance migrants, we find again. Shahbanu's step-mother married her off to a blind man
that the local workers have the highest proportion of permanent who is considerably older than her. After her marriage, Shahbanu
workers, followed by the short-distance migrants. Further, short- started living with her husband in the house he owns in Nandigaon.
distance migrants have a higher proportion of daily contract She has three children who are now in school. From the beginning
workers (the employment pattern with the worst conditions) than of her married life, Shahbanu faced physical and mental harass-
local workers do. Local workers also have a higher proportion ment from her husband. Their income from renting out part of
of regularly employed casual workers than short-distance mi- the house was not enough to meet their growing needs and
grants do. Thus, locals have relatively better opportunities than Shahbanu had to take up the work at NCL. Due to some financial
short-distance migrants. problems, she applied for a loan of Rs 500 from the factory

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management. Her application had to be approved by her section become less regulated. Markets seem to have no in-built mecha-
supervisor before being sent higher up, and he asked her to meet nism to resolve the problem of vulnerability.
him in the store-room to discuss it. Being a new employee and
the only female worker in the gardening section, she was not Recent Trends in the Labour Market
accompanied by anyone when she met him. She later told female
employees in another section that the supervisor closed the door, Vulnerabilisation hypothesis: The earlier sub-sections suggest
assaulted her, threatened her and raped her, and then warned her that the new industries have opened up the formal sector to
to keep quiet about it if she did not want to lose her job and pressures from below. No longer are formal sector workers
ruin her reputation. Shahbanu's female confidantes seem to have insulated from the general deprivation and vulnerability to
told others what happened and it has now become a public issue. deprivation that exists, especially in the informal sector. In a way,
The section leader was a leader of the Indian National Trade this is a positive sign, as the poorest of the poor also have
Union Congress (INTUC), affiliated to the Congress Party.opportunities
INTUC to improve their conditions. However, the improve-
leaders felt that the opposition union, Bharat Majdoorment Sangh in conditions of the poorest of the poor is perhaps is not
as much as the deterioration in the conditions of the formerly
(BMS), affiliated to the BJP party, was trying to squeeze political
mileage out of the issue. Some activist groups, such as the Stree
privileged workers. In fact, an ultra-poor segment seems to be
Chaitanya Sravanthi, took up the issue as a struggle for female
emerging among industrial workers. It should also be noted that
workers' right to 'dignity' and they wanted Shahbanu tothe more vulnerable the workers are in terms of their charac-
lodge
a formal complaint with the factory management so that the the worse are their living and working environments.
teristics,
supervisor will be punished. Initially, Shahbanu wanted to of deprivation reflect levels of insecurity, the levels of
If levels
do so, but, because of pressure and harassment at home, insecurity
and in the new industrial labour markets are directly
fear of the social consequences, she was reluctant to determined
come by the levels of vulnerability of the workers.6 Workers
forward openly. She said that she was beaten black and blue
fromby states with higher social sector investments, such as Kerala,
her husband, who became suspicious because of the rumours.
have better skills and higher aspirations, and they are employed
Shahbanu sustained serious injuries to the face, forcinginher to
relatively better positions. Workers from economically rela-
take some days off, which had financial consequences. Now
tively better-off states, such as Uttar Pradesh, and short-distance
Shahbanu's husband has stopped eating food cooked by her
migrants, also have better employment. Workers from states with
and treats her as an untouchable. Even her children are keptlevels of poverty, such as Bihar and Orissa, and very short-
higher
away from her. It is important to note that several destitutedistance
women migrants, are employed in the relatively worse patterns
have taken refuge in these industries. Several marriages between
of employment. For such categories of workers, there is no hope
migrant couples are breaking down with no social institutions
that industrial employment would provide the social means to
in place to prevent or handle domestic crises. Such instances are deprivation and vulnerability to deprivation; their con-
prevent
also a result of the insecurity characteristic of genderdition
basedof deprivation itself is perhaps being seen as a means to
discrimination,
inequality and informal employment and reflects the failure of marginalisation, and even exclusion [Rodgers
institutions such as trade unions to protect female informal
1993]. The evidence, therefore, suggests that social security is
workers. in many ways lacking, even when it is broadly defined as the
use of "social means to prevent deprivation and vulnerability to
Caste and Class Vulnerability and Deprivation deprivation" [Dreze and Sen 1991:5]. This definition fails to
overtly incorporate the complexity of causation of social inse-
Of the scheduled caste workers in the new industries, curity.
81 per When we talk about deprivation and vulnerability to
cent are in precarious employment. Thus, only 19 per deprivation
cent of we have to see the larger picture where firstly we
them have employment security. Untouchability is not overtlyacknowledge that deprivation can take many forms and levels
and
visible but several forms of practices of untouchability have need not be limited only to income measures (Dreze and
been
narrated by workers. Even in terms of caste composition ofSen's
tradedefinition is quite broad in this respect); and secondly,
union leadership, it is often the locally powerful middle deprivation
castes and vulnerability to deprivation are caused by multiple
that also hold important positions in the trade unions. structures, not necessarily only by class. Given this understand-
If we define class in simple terms according to economic ing, we may define social security as a protection against multiple
criteria, we find that 91 per cent of the landless workersstructures
are in of dominance and contingencies causing different
precarious employment. Thus, only 9 per cent have employmentforms and levels of deprivation and vulnerability to deprivation
security. The very poor cannot sustain themselves and(this often
aspect is completely missing in Dreze and Sen's definition).
borrow money from their families back in the villagesInorthis aresense, laws against caste and gender discrimination and
sustained by social networks in the place of destination. Cases of reservation for women and oppressed castes all are
a policy
to be seen as part of social security mechanisms. Social move-
of destitutes suffering starvation due to long spells of unemploy-
ment have also been recorded. ments and social conflicts that contribute to weakening of struc-
tures of dominance also can be seen as part of the process of
It is clear that structures such as caste, class, gender and region
lead to vulnerability and systematic deprivation. Access to
increasing social security.
capabilities, and therefore to functioning itself, is determined Left
by to itself, the market mechanism, far from addressing the
these structures, representing the nature of social relations.5problem, seems to be complicating it. In fact, the recent trends
Vulnerable groups of workers from backward regions, scheduled (see the Table) suggest that there is an increase in the intake of
castes, the poor, and women end up in insecure employment the relatively more vulnerable sections, such as the very short-
patterns while the secure employment opportunities are distance migrants and the long-distance migrants (among whom
monopolised by others. This is especially of concern as marketsthere is data to suggest a decrease in the workers from Kerala

2310 Economic and Political Weekly May 28-June 4, 2005

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and an increase in the proportion of workers from Bihar and Orissa) adjustments, including the
and women. The data suggest that these groups are in the relatively to continue in business... th
worse, perhaps even the worst, patterns of employment, estab- can be best decided by the
lishing beyond doubt that there is a trend of what may be termed in view various attendant ci
vulnerabilisation of the labour markets. It is a pattern of recruit- an activity afresh has the r
ment into the labour market wherein the relatively vulnerable he/she will employ in vari
sections of the labour force are consciously chosen because they reason why this option cann
will accept great deprivation and will present less resistance to in respect of his continui
worsening conditions because of informalisation and sion Report; 369). Thus, by
flexibilisation. Not only does it show a pattern of discrimination the employers, the comm
and social closure to the vulnerable, but also how the vulnerable employment legitimate.
are used to pull down the relatively better-off workers who have sections of workers are un
secure employment, thus taking away from the working class their On the issue of wage rev
elite who might articulate interests in a more forceful manner. "there is no reason why rela
should not use the method
V wages fixed from time to t
Present Labour Market Policy Framework that successive wage boar
fact, the commission is of
A recent policy statement is that of the Second Labour Com- any wage board, statutory
mission Report which does not note that 'vulnerabilisation' is for workers in any indu
not only a condition leading to increased informalisation, it is Report; 369).
also a means of rendering workers disorganised and informalised. With reference to Contra
The crucial focus should be on reducing vulnerability. In the Act (1970) while the need is
context of disorganisation of the working class (as seen in the aspect of the Act, the co
decline of the trade union movement and withdrawal of the state) conscious of the fact that
and growing employment of pre-capitalist structures of domi- and changes in technology
nance (which are not necessarily related to production) to re- in meeting current challen
inforce insecurity, what is crucial in any substantive policy of posts in any organisation
intervention is to look at the rural and urban labour markets as must have the flexibility to
a continuum and not to take a fragmented view of the industrial based on economic effic
informal labour. Although the Second Labour Commission mended that contract labo
emphasises the growing significance of informal labour and the duction/services activitie
need to address them, this cannot be done unless the rural-urban mand, the employer may
continuum is acknowledged with the fundamental focus being production/service activi
the rural rather than the urban labour markets where causation port, 2002; 364). All these
of insecurities and vulnerabilities lie. To merely ask for blanket an overwhelming conside
social security policies does not help without recognising the background rather than c
multiple social groups and levels of vulnerability in the urban What is expected of the
informal labour markets. The need to strengthen trade unions reducing vulnerability gi
irrespective of the distribution of membership and to help thelabour in industrial informal labour markets and not a mere
rural migrants mobilise into trade unions is necessary. Far fromformal, nominal legal protections. The new government may have
doing this, it is argued by the commission that the Industrialto take this perspective with a large number of Congress-led
Disputes Act (1947), section 9A, items 10 and 11 are contentious. governments in different states claiming that their focus is the
It is stated that "it is being strongly urged on behalf of thelarge sections of rural communities. One may stop eulogising
employers, and not without justification, that this effectively migration as social mobility and recognise the substantive com-
prevents the employer from adjusting the strength of his labourpulsions for migration and initiate effective measures of employ-
force from time to time to meet exigencies caused by genuine ment generation in rural areas to put an end to a fast deteriorating
economic reasons and in the best interests of the undertaking. quality of work and life in industrial labour markets especially
It is no doubt true that consequent on the current situation of in the newly industrialising towns. [1i
globalisation and increasing competitiveness and up-gradation
of technology, all economic activities become subject toEmail: gudavarthyvijay@yahoo.co.uk
market pressures, compelling employers to do different levels of

Table: Regional and Gender Composition of Labour Market Notes

1985-90 and 1997-2000
[This paper is based on the work done for a doctoral thesis at the Institute
Period Regional Composition (Per Cent) Gender Composition of Social Studies, The Hague and I wish to thank my supervisors Jan Breman,
(Per Cent) Henk Thomas and D Narasimha Reddy for their support. I wish to thank
Local Short Very Short Long Male Female G Haragopal, M Vanamala, Ank V D Berg, Ranga Rajan, Malliga Rani,
Workers Distance Distance Distance
Manoranjan Mohanty, R Radha Krishna, HolmStrom, Mahendra Dev, K
Migrants Migrants Migrants Balagopal, R S Rao, S R Sankaran, Alakh Sharma, I S A Baud, Peter
1985-90 81 1 4 14 74 26 Knorringa, Mansood Murshed, N C Narayan, Ajay, Sangha Mitra Misra,
1997-2000 49 4 28 19 45 55 Apoorba Barua, Manorama, Udoyon Misra, Tillotama Misra. Achyutaiah,
Venkanna. Srinivas, Rajesh, Sailaja. Pushpa. Archana, Harshawardhan,

Economic and Political Weekly May 28-June 4, 2005 2311

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Sujan, Venugopal Goud, Venkateshwara Rao, Krishna Murthy, Rama Murthy, Dreze, Jean and Amartya Sen (1991) 'Introduction' in Ahmad Ehtisham,
Venkateshwarlu Reddy and E Narasimha Reddy for reading and commenting Jean Dr6ze, John Hills and Amartya Sen (eds), Social Security in
on the earlier versions and being supportive during the project.] Developing Countries, Clarendon Press, Oxford.
1 The districts from where workers predominantly migrate to Kothur from
Dreze, Jean and Harriss Gazdar (1997): 'Uttar Pradesh: The Burden of Inertia'
Kerala are Thrissur, Pathanmthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram, in Amartya Sen and Dreze (eds), Indian Development: Selected Regional
areas such as Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Madurai and Thiruvarur from Perspectives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Tamil Nadu, Ganjam, Jagjitsinghpur, Cuttak, Bhadrak and Baleshwar Kapadia, Karin, Jan Breman and Jonathan P Parry (1999): Worlds of
districts of Orissa, Districts Aurangabad, Rohtas, Jahanabad, Begusarai, Industrial Labour, Sage Publication, New Delhi.
Purnia. Gopalgunj, Darbhanga and Madhubani of Bihar, Gazipur and Krishniah, M (1998): 'Regular Farm Labour System in Semi Arid Areas:
Ballia in Uttar Pradesh, Coastal districts of Andhra Pradesh and from Emerging Patterns in Andhra Pradesh', Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol 33, Issue 13.
parts of Telangana including Mahaboobnagar district. The proportions
of the local workers, short-distance migrants, very short-distance migrants, Mearns Robin and Saurabh Sinha (1999): 'Social Exclusion and Land
and long-distance migrants are as follows 49 per cent, 4 per cent, 28 Administration in Orissa, India', World Bank Policy Research Working
per cent and 19 per cent respectively. Paper 2124, May.
2 Here, vulnerability is used in a limited sense to mean the immediate Rodgers, Gerry (1993): 'The Creation of Employment in Segmented Labour
Markets: A General Problem and Its Implications in India', Indian
conditions that make the workers less capable of adjusting to contingencies.
3 That is to say, RCC roofs. where RCC stands for 'ready-made cement Journal of Labour Economics, Vol 36, No 1.
concrete'. Scoville, James G (ed) (1991): Status Influences in Third World Labour
Markets; Caste. Gender and Custom, Walter de Gruyter, New York.
4 It needs to be clarified that most of the migrants are from Eastern Uttar
Pradesh, which has not been influenced by the green revolution. Sen, Amartya and Jean Dreze ( 1997): Indian Development: Selected Regional
5 It needs to be noted that in terms of education levels, for example, thePerspectives, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Sharma, Alakh N (1988): 'Migration and Urban Labour Market', Indian
very short-distance migrants are better placed than local workers. And
despite this, they are employed in the worst form of employment patterns, Journal of Labour Economics, Vol 31, Issues I and 2.
clearly suggesting the prevalence of discrimination. Standing, Guy (1985): Labour Circulation and Labour Process, ILO,
6 Further, it may be noted that unlike in the Industrial Districts model, Geneva.
Todaro, Michael P ( 1977): Economicfor Developing World: An Introduction
there is very less social mobility of workers, thus making this Imidel
irrelevant in many ways. to Principles, Problems andPoliciesforDevelopment, Longman, London.
Vijay, G (1999): 'Social Security for Labour in New Industrial Towns',
References Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 34, No 39, September 25-October 1.
- (2002): 'New Industrial Labour: Insecure Employment, Social Conflict
Breman, Jan (1996): Footloose Labour: Working in India's Informal Econoiny,and Labour Rights' in G Saibaba and Srinivas Rao (eds), Structural
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Adjustment and its Implications for Human Rights, Serial Publication,
Consortium for Strategic Management and Organisation Development New Delhi.
(COSMODE) (2001): Tobacco Industry in Andhra Pradesh, Tobacco World Bank (1995): Workers in an Integrating World, World Development
Institute of India, Bangalore. Report, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Institute of Social Sciences

8, Nelson Mandela Road, New Delhi - 110 070
Ph.: + 91-11-26121902, Fax: 26137027, E-mail: issnd@vsnl.com www.issin.org

Call for Papers

International Conference on

A Decade of Decentralisation in Kerala: Issues, Options and Lessons

7-9 October 2005
Venue: Mascot Hotel and Cooperative Bank Towers, Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala)

Kerala held the first elections to its panchayats after the 73rd Constitution Amendment in September 1995. The d
journey of the new generation of panchayats in Kerala has demonstrated to the world the tremendous potential
democratic decentralisation and local governance. No wonder it has attracted the attention of scholars and pol
makers in India and abroad. The conference aims to critique the Kerala experience to highlight its successes, strate
strengths and weaknesses, and to draw lessons for the future. It will bring together national and international ex
as well as elected panchayat representatives from the state.
Papers on the following themes are invited: (i) Election-related issues, (ii) Inclusion of excluded commun
(iii) Women in governance, (iv) Corruption and accountability mechanisms, (v) Kerala in a comparative perspec
(vi) Capacity building, (vii) Issues related to intergovernmental transfers, (viii) Networking and association build
and (ix) Case studies on innovations in local governance.
Abstracts of papers in about 300 words must reach us latest by 1 September 2005. For further details write t
Prof. M. A. Oommen (Chairperson, Organising Committee Kerala Conference 2005)
Institute of Social Sciences Regional Office,
TC 2/2678 Surya Nagar, KRA-98, Pattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala 695 004.
Tel: 91-471-2534763, E-mail: maoommen@asianetindia.com

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