Precariat Migrant Daily Labourers in Indian Cities
摘要
Precariat is the class of people who are poor and do not have secure jobs, the ones that are likely to continue in that status for a long time. In most cities in India, one finds daily labour markets, also known as Naka or labour chowk, at crossroads, squares, or junctions, where workers gather in the morning and wait for prospective buyers to hire their labour. Contractors, direct employers, or householders pick up labourers of their choice at a negotiated wage. A daily labour market is like a commodity market akin to a haat in the Indian context. This chapter covers a study of 3600 workers from 15 different daily labour markets in the cities of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Surat, predominantly construction-related workers, most of whom were temporary or seasonal migrants from tribal and marginal communities. It covers various aspects of these workers, such as their socioeconomic composition, migration status, nature of seasonal movement, and connectivity to their native place, housing and living arrangements, their work and wages, safety and security at the work sites, indebtedness, and their social and economic life at the place of destination. During COVID-19, when the lockdown was declared on 24 March 2020, these workers were found walking down the road to their natal places. This scene shook the nation’s conscience, and their conditions came to the limelight, heightening the denial of human and citizenship rights to these people. India’s labour market is characterised by colossal informality. More than 90 per cent of the workforce is in the informal sector, the majority belonging to daily wage workers. Many move from one state to another, and others move within the state. They are not covered under labour laws and cannot benefit from state support due to the lack of portability of the social security arrangements.