6.2. WORKERS AND EMPLOYMENT

What is employment? Who is a worker? When a farmer works on fields, he or she produces food grains and raw materials for industries. Cotton becomes cloth in textile mills and in powerlooms. Lorries transport goods from one place to another. We know that the total money value of all such final goods and services produced in a country in a year is called its gross domestic product for that year. When we also consider what we pay for our imports and get from our exports we find that there is a net earning for the country which may be positive (if we have exported more in value terms than imported) or negative (if imports exceeded exports in value terms) or zero (if exports and imports were of the same value). When we add this earning (plus or minus) from foreign transactions, what we get is called the country’s gross national product for that year.

This chunk introduces the concepts of employment and work. Employment refers to the activities where individuals engage to produce goods or services, such as farming, transporting, and manufacturing. A 'worker' is anyone involved in these economic activities, regardless of their formal job status. The gross domestic product (GDP) represents the overall economic performance of a country, calculated based on the value of all produced goods and services over a year. The concept of gross national product (GNP) extends this by including earnings from international trade, either adding to or reducing the GDP depending on whether exports exceed imports.

Imagine a small village where farmers grow rice, which is sold to make various rice products like noodles. The total income generated from selling all these rice products in a year contributes to the village's GDP. If the village also sells some rice to neighboring countries, this brings in extra income, reflecting their GNP. Thus, just as the village benefits from selling its produce, a country earns from its overall economic activities.

Those activities which contribute to the gross national product are called economic activities. All those who are engaged in economic activities, in whatever capacity — high or low, are workers. Even if some of them temporarily abstain from work due to illness, injury or other physical disability, bad weather, festivals, social or religious functions, they are also workers. Workers also include all those who help the main workers in these activities. We generally think of only those who are paid by an employer for their work as workers.

Economic activities are actions that generate value or income, which can be anything from farming to factory work. Everyone involved in these activities counts as a worker, even if they don't work consistently or are paid differently. This includes not just employers or sole proprietors but also those who assist them, such as family members or temporary helpers. It broadens the definition of who can be considered a worker, emphasizing that the contribution to economic activity is what truly matters rather than the nature of the compensation.

Think of a family-run farm where the father is the main farmer. His partner, the mother, helps with planting and harvesting, and their children sometimes assist—everyone contributes to the farm's productivity. If someone in the family gets sick, that person is still part of the workforce because they are part of the economic machine that keeps the farm running, showing how workers can have varied roles.

The nature of employment in India is multifaceted. Some get employment throughout the year; some others get employed for only a few months in a year. Many workers do not get fair wages for their work. While estimating the number of workers, all those who are engaged in economic activities are included as employed.

In India, employment is not uniform; it varies by sector and time of year. Some jobs, like in agriculture, are seasonal, while other positions may provide year-round work. Additionally, there are significant disparities in wages, with many workers not receiving fair compensation for their roles. The statistics that define employment include anyone working in economic activities, which presents an incomplete picture of job quality since many are underpaid or work sporadically.

Picture a farmer who plants and harvests crops according to the seasons. He may work hard for several months during the planting and harvesting periods but has no job during the off-season. In contrast, a factory worker has a stable job year-round but may earn less than their farming counterpart during busy weeks. This difference illustrates the varied nature of employment and income stability across different sectors in India.

Men form the majority of workforce in India. About 77 per cent of the workers are men and the rest are women. Women carry out works like cooking, fetching water and fuelwood and participate in farm labour. They are not paid wages in cash or in the form of grains; at times they are not paid at all. For this reason, these women are not categorised as workers. Economists argue that these women should also be called workers. What do you think?

There's a significant gender disparity in the Indian workforce, with a substantial majority of workers being men. Women often engage in essential yet unpaid labor such as household chores and some types of agricultural labor. Even though their contributions are vital to the economy and families, they frequently go unrecognized in economic statistics. This oversight leads to a misunderstanding of the real workforce dynamics and the need for a broader definition of what constitutes 'work.'

Imagine a woman in a rural village who spends her days cooking for her family, collecting water, and helping her husband on the farm. While her efforts are crucial for the family's survival, she doesn't earn recognized wages. If her husband earns an income as a farmer, it can overshadow her contributions. This scenario showcases the need to acknowledge unpaid work in the economic narrative, pushing for recognition that women's work is integral to family and community economies.

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