OVEREMPHASIS ON INFORMAL LABOUR

INSIGHTS ON THE CHALLENGES THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY MIGHT BE FACING IN COMING MONTHS.

- RAVINDRA OJHA

THE MAKE IN INDIA DRIVE IN 2013 AND Atmanirbhar Bharat of 2020 initiated by the government are critical steps forward in improving the manufacturing growth. Success in both would hugely depend on the real leap in ‘ease-of-doing-business’ in India. One of the biggest challenges to the enhancement of ‘easeof-doing-business’ today is the increasing growing emphasis on informal labour hiring. Trade unions don't represent the informal labour force, which has neither the employment security nor the social security. They are neither covered under the national labour legislation & social protection nor entitled for employment benefits like paid annual or sick leave, health insurance, contribution to the provident fund, bonus & other benefits. It was witnessed in the recent migration labour movement to their hometowns. It means, the quality of employment of the informal labour is relatively poor. In India, the labour-mix (formal:informal) employed in the manufacturing plays a significant role.

As per the estimates, 92% of approx. 500mn workers in India are informal. Proportion of informal employment in the organised sector has increased from 41% in 1999-2000 to 58% in 2011-12, indicating deterioration in the quality of employment created. This means India has too many working poor people who make enough money to live but not enough money to pull out of poverty. Also, as per the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), only 18% of the youths passing out of the vocational schools have regular jobs & 60% of these are employed as informal workers. The archaic labour laws in India regulate the industrial labour environment. As per it, informal worker employed for more than 240 days can claim a regular or permanent (formal) employment in the industry.