Workforce Exploitation
By Dhurjati Mukherjee
The death of a young female professional of Ernst & Young has brought to light how overworked, underpaid and poorlyrested workers are in India. It has also revealed that even educated people are prone to exploitation by corporate groups. If this is the case in the organised sector for professionals, it is not difficult to imagine the situation prevailing in the unorganised sector, operating in semi-urban and rural areas.
It may be pointed out that with an average of 48-50 working hours every week, India is seventh on the list of countries that work the most globally, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). Labour exploitation has become fairly obvious with recent trends of privatisation in society and the dignity of labour has been lost. This is borne out by the fact that a joint report by the CII and MediBuddy found that 62 percent of Indian employees experience work-related stress, which is triple the global average of 20 percent.
Earlier the trade unions helped harness the collective power of the workforce and allowed them some leverage for negotiating better terms. With the coming of the knowledge economy, the codes of the workforce have been changing with the threat of ‘hire and fire’ policies being supported by the government. Thus, work has hampered one’s leisure time, making the employed answerable all times and making the individual a cog in the wheel.
Coming to the opposite sex, however the modern our society may be, women have to shoulder extra responsibilities at home. It has been revealed among educated women, apart from putting in around 50 hours of work in their place of work, they have to put in at least 30-35 hours of work at home and, as such, are left with no more than 10 hours a day to relax and attend to their personal necessities.
The controversy generated by the death in a high-profile company needs to be introspected by the authorities. It is not known what the government is thinking on the matter for there has been no response from it. While political leaders are always talking about the country’s achievements, is there no need to ensure strict guidelines are adhered to by corporate groups and, failure to do so, should entail penalties.
Now coming to the question why such pressure is created, the obvious answer is well-known. Why should cost structures be such that employees have to deliver more than what they are paid for? Obviously, there has to be enough recruitment for an organisation’s expansion, modernisation etc.
The other aspect of the problem lies in the fact that jobs for the highly educated or low-paid jobs are very few in number, specially in the organised sector and there is intense competition. This is borne out by the shockingly high unemployment rate in the country as per the ‘State of Working India 2023’ that revealed that over 40 percent of graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed. This is more so in big companies and renowned institutions where highly qualified persons want to grab the opportunity. Moreover, after getting the job, there is pressure to perform, or outperform, which obviously led to the death under question.
According to Prof. Santosh Mehrotra, labour economist, for the past five decades leading to 2004, the absolute number of workers in agriculture grew but their proportion among the workforce fell. But the trend has seen a reversal, possibly because non-farm jobs have become stagnant. Meanwhile, employment generated by the manufacturing sector has fallen. Another important point voiced by Mehrotra and other economists is that micro, small and also medium enterprises sector suffered heavily due to policy shocks and even the government’s production-linked incentive scheme failed to create jobs.
Delving into the issue, the first thing that needs to be mentioned is business houses are allowed to over-work their employees and there is no government monitoring. Due to the obvious nexus between politicians and business leaders, the latter wields immense power and authority and do not have to adhere to rules and regulations. Moreover, there is no intervention by the government of the workforce required, even in factories, and whether the companies are recruiting the personnel needed or over-working their existing staff.
The government cannot raise its voice because lakhs of vacancies, even in hospitals and educational institutions, remain unfilled for years together, not to mention office administration. The Indian Railways, which was once one of the biggest employers, has for the last few years outsourced most of the low-paying jobs to contractors. And the contract workers get meagre payment from the contractors and there is no mechanism to check the salary they receive. Though the government is well aware of the situation, it remains a mute spectator as the contractors have some sort of understanding with the top Railway officials.
The stress factor that leads to various diseases, specially cardiovascular ones, are on the increase among the young due to pressure of work in the private sector. Even in government, there are huge vacancies and the reason for not filling them up is not clear. While the government wants to follow the Western model in trying to privatise, it must take the responsibility to ensure that the contract workers are adequately paid as is the case globally. It is distressing to note that there is no strict enforcement of rules regarding hiring from private contractors and people have to suffer, not just by putting in long hours of work but also receiving poor payment.
Another aspect of the exploitation of the workforce is on Dalits and adivasis, who have to suffer more. It is worth mentioning a very recent order of the Supreme Court which banned as unconstitutional all caste discrimination in Indian prisons where Dalits, Adivasis and OBC inmates are forced into degrading or manual jobs like scavenging or cleaning. The process of exploitation of these marginalised sections needs to end immediately.
In such a situation, it is quite obvious that labour exploitation will increase as long as the government is not serious about implementing rules and taking companies to task for violations. The politician-business nexus may further aggravate in the coming years unless steps are taken by the ruling dispensation to stop exploitation of the workforce. Starting from business houses in the organised sector to micro-level units in semi-urban areas, there is a need for a policy formulation and ensuring its strict implementation. It goes without saying that unless such steps are taken immediately, social harmony and happiness in society will be lost. — INFA