Contract labour share at over 25-yr high

On the rise

- SACHIN P MAMPATTA

Persons on contract now account for 42 per cent of India's organised manufacturing sector workers, the highest it has been in at least 27 years in data going back to 1997-98.

It has risen nearly 8 percentage points in the last 10 years, shows an analysis of data from the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). The last time it had degrown was in 2013-14 when it declined by around 0.6 percentage point. Contractualisation has risen every year since then, and in 2023-24, it was more than twice the 20 per cent share seen in 1999-2000.

A contract worker is often paid lower remuneration and has fewer social security benefits such as a provident fund and insurance. The ASI report enumerates employment in the formal manufacturing sector. The data for 2023-24 was released on August 27.