Informalisation and Feminisation

of a Formal Sector Industry

A Case Study
State-sponsored incentive schemes have led to a booming of the informal industrial sector.
While concessions have been provided towards concessions on capital investment, the state
has not made it obligatory for industry to provide statutory welfare benefits and good
working conditions for its workers. As this case study of an engineering unit establishes,
there is now an increasing casualisation of labour with recruitment on a contractual basis.
Another noticeable trend has been the increasing feminisation of the workforce, as women
are engaged to operate most production processes.
M VANAMALA

he new industries1 set up in the

T
context of deregulated market
economy aim at generating quick
profits. To maximise profits, new indus-
tries have introduced flexibilisation and
have brought changes in organisational,
managerial, technological and operational
systems. These changes have aggravated
informalisation2 of work relations. With
informalisation, feminisation3 of work is
on the rise. The new opportunities for the
female workers are generated in the ‘in-
formal segments’4 of the organised sector.
These new opportunities are embedded in
perpetual job insecurity, de-unionised, low
wage, low skilled jobs. The workers in the
new industries do not enjoy any formal
social security benefits. The state is indif-
ferent to violations of labour rules and
regulations. This has an adverse impact on
the conditions of workers in general and
female workers in particular. These mani-
festations are evident in the case study
presented in this paper.
The adverse effects on employment and
real wages by the ‘new industries’ in
different countries show that Latin Ameri-
can and African countries experienced
widely fluctuating growth rates resulting
in decline in regular wage employment and
also average real wages [Islam 1996].
Further, the inevitable growth of informal
sector, casual employment and under-
employment have increased substantially
aggravating these conditions. The experi-
ence of sub-Saharan Africa has been bad
enough and the new developments have
further worsened the conditions of work-
ers, with open unemployment and increased
informalisation of the economy and a
drastic decline in real wages [Ghose 1992].
In Bangladesh there has been a reduction
in aggregate demand and economic con-
traction which has led to an overall decline
in growth rate. Private investment could
not grow, domestic savings have remained
at a very low level with the bulk of
employment generation occurring in the
informal sector [Rashid 1993]. In Pakistan
it is reported that privatisation has led to
a loss of jobs through voluntary retirement
schemes [Ahmad and Muzaffar 1993]. In
Nepal a decline in the growth of employ-
ment was experienced in the post-
liberalisation period [Guru Gharana 1996].
The privatisation, stabilisation and
liberalisation policies in developing coun-
tries have brought several changes in the
geographical location of industries. Indus-
tries which are labour-intensive have been
shifted to the developing countries [Baud
1993, James 1993]. As a result of this,
direct foreign investment (DFI) has in-
creased in such countries. The new indus-
tries, which have come up in the context
of deregulated, liberalised market eco-
nomy, female workers are preferred in
certain sectors [Standing 1989; ILO 1996a].
It is also noticed that in the wake of re-
forms low skill jobs are created [Islam
1996]. As a result of all these factors of
course ‘new employment’ opportunities
have been created for female workers
[Indira Hirway 1996].
In India reforms have contributed to the
enlargement of unorganised, informal
sector. In the post-reforms period most of
the employment is generated in the
unorganised sector with informal work
relations [Islam 1994: R Radhakrishna and
others 1998, Deshpande and Deshpande
1996]. Reforms such as abolition of all
industrial licensing policies reduction in
public expenditure, the disinvestment
policy, the ‘Exit’ provisions are all a part
of this process. The ‘Golden Handshake
Policy’ (both in private and public sec-
tors) – is yet another package which prac-
tically allows retrenchment of workers
against payment of various severance
compensations. This is fast catching up in
the corporate world as an important instru-
ment for enforcing changes in employ-
ment size, its mix and total wage bill.
These together contributed to the enlarge-
ment of the informal sector.
The faster growth of the informal sector
in the post-reform period is on account of
a widespread feeling that the public sector
is ‘inefficient’. This inefficiency is attri-
buted to the over protection to the formal
or organised sector. It is argued that it has
led to rigidities in labour markets and this
sector could not cope up with the ongoing
processes of changes due to liberalisation
[Radhakrishna 1998]. In the process of
overcoming these rigidities this sector has
resorted to informalisation of labour
relations giving rise to the growth of an
informal sector.
On the production front under the new
policy environment the compulsions of
cost effectiveness of new policy these
industries have resorted to mechanisms
like increase in hours of work, change in
the production operations to 24-hour
shift, piece work rates instead of fixed pay,

2378 Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001

less attention to labour conditions, direct
and indirect cut – is yet another factor
which led to the introduction of further
automation in new industries followed by
changes brought in the area of operational,
organisational and managerial and techno-
logical mechanisms and in division of
labour. As a part down on wages by
employing cheaper labour such as child
and casual female labour [Tom 1989].
Some of these employment avenues
which have increased in the informal sector
in the post-reform period are – casual works,
daily wage works, badlee works and con-
tract works so on. Ghosh (1998) observed
the nature of this employment as ‘dis-
tressed employment’.5 The employment
conditions in unorganised sector moved
towards uncertainties, low wages, under-
employment and low income syndrome.
Apart from these insecurities, the workers
are also heterogeneous and dispersed
widely. Hence the unionisation is rendered
difficult. As a result, labour unions of
these workers have not emerged.6 This has
had a significant but a negative impact on
informal workers in general and female
workers in particular as 94 per cent of the
female labour force is working in informal
sector. This labour force is excluded from
the benefits of employment available in
the formal sector [Islam 1996, Deshpande
and Deshpande 1998]. The other factor
which lead to low wages for female workers
is the fact that customarily female worker
is not considered as primary bread-
winner.7 This is followed by the practice
that specific skills and capacities of female
workers are not recognised by the employ-
ers and those skills they possess are con-
sidered as part of ‘feminine’ [Baud 1993].
Because they possess feminine attributes,
they are paid lesser emoluments compared
to the benefits usually given to the male
workers in the male-dominated informal
sectors [Deshpande and Deshpande 1998].
The new policy environment follows the
flexibilisation of employment.8 Piore and
Sable (1984) described the ‘flexible
specialisation’ as a new paradigm for
industrialisation and a path of technologi-
cal development towards a competitive
strategy in developed countries.9 The main
characteristics of the flexible labour mar-
ket include, multi-tasking and multi-
skilling workforce, continuous innovation
with knowledgeable workers [Piore and
Sable 1984]. Pyke and Sengenberger
(1992) argue that there are two principal
approaches in the flexible model for re-
structuring of the industries to face the
Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001
market competition. The first approach is
with the above characteristics and is called
‘high road’ strategy. The second approach
is the ‘low road’ strategy. This approach
seeks the competitiveness through low costs
on labour, in a deregulated labour market.
This approach, the authors maintain, be-
lieves in cutting of costs on labour for
boosting up productivity and profits and
to create new employment. This approach
also believes that the regulatory institu-
tions should play minimum role. The
authors argued that this type of strategy
leads to shortlived results and accentuates
the malaise. They argue that, because of
poor wages and terms of employment, the
firm is hindered from acquiring and keep-
ing the qualified labour required for effi-
ciency and flexibility. In this strategy they
argue that labour rarely induce the firm to
‘invest’ in its labour force to make it more
productive. In the absence of better per-
formance and alternative possibilities, the
authors strongly expressed that, further
cost cutting may become inevitable for
such industries , resulting in a vicious,
downward-spiralling cycle.
In India low road flexible approach has
been adopted [Horstrom 1994]. The low
road strategy of flexible employment model
in a deregulated and labour surplus market
economy effects the labour adversely
specially in the absence of collective
bargaining institutions. Hence the
scholars felt that substantial reforms in the
labour market are required before flexi-
bility is attempted [Radhakrishna 1998,
Ghose 1996].
The overall trends indicate that the re-
forms have contributed to the faster growth
of informal sector resulting in informal
work relations in the formal sectors. The
informalisation and casualisation of work
relations in the industries have opened
some opportunities for women, as some
are forced to work for any level of wages.
This seem to be part of a poor, labour
surplus economy [Parthasarathy 1998]. The
new work opportunities are fraught with
insecurities. The insecurities of work,
employment and wages have hit the female
workers hard. These insecurities are also
generally associated with downgraded
working conditions. An attempt is made
in this paper to enquire into these trends
with the help of a case study of a large-
scale engineering industry.
The main objective of the study is to
examine the impact of reforms on female
workers in the informal segments of a
formal sector industry. It analyses (i) the
impact of the processes like informalis-
ation, casualisation and flexibilisation on
female labour, (ii) looks at the impact of
managerial, organisational, operational and
technological changes; (iii) it looks into
the nature of work and its promotional
prospects; (iv) the working conditions and
social security measures provided by the
industry and the impact on health condi-
tions of workers. Finally the study probes
into the interlinkages in the production
and wages.
Methodology
This paper is a case study of Engineering
which has generated ‘new employment’
opportunities for female workers under
deregulated markets. It is an expanding
industry both in terms of domestic and
export markets. There are not many studies
on ‘Impact of reforms’ on female workers,
working in informal segments of a formal
sector. This industry is a large scale
multinational company. It forms a good
case study for looking into the impact of
reforms on the female workers in the
informal segments. To find out the impact
of work organisation on female workers
the data on workers, machines and
departmentwise/shopwise activities were
collected through in-depth interviews with
the workers working in different depart-
ments of production. There were altogether
174 operators(workers) on the production
side. Among them 117 were trainees and
57 casual workers. Among 57 casual
workers, seven were male and 50 female,
of the 117 trainee workers, 27 were male
and 90 were female trainee workers. This
workforce is required for each shift to meet
the industry’s set target of production of
20,000 compressors and 30,000 motors
per day. Female workers participate in two
shifts almost in equal numbers. The entire
workforce of single shift is covered for the
study.10 A structured schedule was ad-
ministered to collect information on socio-
economic background of the workers, their
recruitment process, training system, pro-
motions, wages, nature of work and
working conditions and also the organis-
ational mechanisms with reference to the
selected industrial unit. The secondary data
is collected from the concerned govern-
ment organisations like commissioner of
industries, excise department, etc. The study
attempts to explore the following aspects
of female employment:
(i) Reduction in the labour cost through
changes in managerial, organisational and
2379
operational structure of the industry;
(ii) recruitment system and reasons for pref-
erence for female workers; (iii) inform-
alisation through segregation of trainees
from casual workers; (iv) flexibilisation
through changes in production process
and division of labour; (v) wage structure,
(vi) interconnection between the gross pro-
duction and wages; (vii) working condi-
tions and possibilities of formation of trade
unions, and (viii) promotional, educational
and career prospects.
These aspects are discussed in six parts.
Part I of the paper presents the managerial
background of the Engineering industry
and its attempts to reduce the costs on
labour through changes in managerial,
organisational and operational structure.
Part II presents the recruitment system and
traces the reasons for employing more
numbers of female workers in the industry.
Part III probes the nature of changes in
work organisation, production processes
and division of labour and consequent
flexibilisation and informalisation of
working relations. Part IV discusses the
wage structure. Part V covers the working
conditions. The last part presents the
conclusions.
I ments, viz, one machine shop, one motor
Managerial and Operational
Structure
The multinational large scale Engineer-
ing11 industry under study produces com-
pressors and motors for refrigerators and
washing machines. The average produc-
tion is 20,000 compressors and 30,000
motors per day. It has created as stated
earlier new employment opportunities for
female workers in its informal segments.
It is also noticed that this restructured
internal labour market creates dependence
on employer, which in turn increases the
control over and vulnerability12 of the
worker [Hyman and Streek 1988].
The management utilised even the
welfare provisions (as per the Welfare Act
1970) such as the subsidised canteen and
transport facilities to deepen the depen-
dency of the worker. These facilities for
instance have been used to extract longer
hours of work than ensuring welfare of the
workers. The fact that the industry is located
10 km away from the city makes at an
isolated place their mobility difficult. This
place is selected primarily because there
is industrial infrastructure developed by
the State Infrastructure Corporation and an
industry started in this area is eligible for
2380
an additional incentive of 5 per cent of the
total investment expenditure over and
above the eligibility for general incentives
provided by the government for the
development of industries under new policy
system. (see annexure iii). As this area is
away from transport network, transport by
the industry is essential. It is provided only
during fixed intervals. This restricted
mobility of the workers enables the indus-
try to detain them for longer hours when-
ever additional production is taken up.
The unit works in three shifts. Shift G
and shift GI and a night shift. The office
of the unit works from 8 am to 3 pm in
the shift G. The production staff works in
shift GII in two batches. Batch one works
from 9 am to 5.30 pm while batch two
works from 2 pm to 10 pm. The night shift
runs with male workers up to 2 am. The
rotation of production activity and over
time (OT) work require the above arrange-
ment. This designing of the production
activity for 24 hours is one of the manage-
ment techniques of making ‘quick’ profits.
There is a hierarchical arrangement of
production (annexure 1). The management
of industry includes one deputy director
of production with a mechanical engineer-
ing qualification. He manages five depart-
shop, two assembling units, press shop and
case welding shop. Each department has
one senior engineer and one junior engi-
neer. There are four supervisors in each
of the motor and machine departments and
two supervisors in each of the A and B
assembling units. All the supervisors are
diploma holders in mechanical engineer-
ing. It is very striking to note that on the
management side there are no female
workers up to supervisory level in spite of
availability of qualified persons13 (officer
concerned stated – it was management’s
decision). Under these supervisors, sev-
eral (female) trainee and casual operators
work. The casual workers are placed
below the trainees. Thus there is a gender
biased hierarchy of these workers (see
annexure 1). This hierarchical division of
labour segregates the scientific and tech-
nical knowledge (conception) from me-
chanical operation. The former gets con-
centrated with in the managerial staff while
the latter with the shop-floor workers.14
The nature of work of the former category
is more demanding, responsible, involves
varied roles, is based on more elaborate
education and training hence more respect-
ful. It also entails more wages. While the
latter category held lower grade activities
Economic and Political Weekly
that were routine, simple, monotonous,
segmented and hence degraded, they were
paid lower wages. This type of arrange-
ment not only segregates the workers but
also reduces the expenditure on them.
Lesser number of supervisory staff is
required as this arrangement facilitates for
learning ‘on-the-job’ production processes
from the senior workers who are placed
above junior workers. Thus the hierarchi-
cal arrangement helps the management for
reduction of wage bill at different levels
of production. This division of work also
leads to intensive management control over
shop-floor workers. As per the above facts
the shop-floor workers are female trainees
and casual workers and are subjected to
more control. From the above discussion
it is clear that the decision regarding selec-
tion of the site for the industry, formulation
of production plans, provision of transport
facility only in scheduled fixed times,
setting of the production target, and other
matters vest entirely with the management.
The worker has no participation in the
decision making. These ‘tactful’ policy
decisions increases the dependency and
vulnerability of the worker.
II
Recruitment System
The study revealed that the management
decided to recruit unmarried girls in the
age group of 16 to 17 years with the edu-
cational qualification of secondary school
certificate (SSC) or equivalent qualifica-
tions for the training course of operators.
It was decided by the management to pay
a consolidated stipend of Rs 520 per month
to the selected candidates. The manage-
ment has made it very clear that during the
training period no job protection whatso-
ever would be provided. Further they made
it obligatory on the part of the selected
candidates to enter into a contract with
them committing their bond with the in-
dustry for a period of three years. Thus
the industry has been informalising its re-
cruitment system and appointing the con-
tract workers in the name of ‘training’ as
against the Contract Labour Regulation
and Abolition Act 1970, which prohibits
the appointment of workers on contract
basis.15
It has been reported by the trainees that
the actual learning of production process
requires only a three-month training
period as against the stipulation of three
years period by the management. The letter
of ‘contract for training’ (recruitment order)
June 30, 2001
mentions that the authorities can reduce handling of the machines is rough. They dexterity to work with the delicate ma-
or extend the training period beyond three also feel that female employees are en- chines. This has been perceived as a ‘pre-
years. This flexibility in training period dowed with patience and believe that requisite’. Instead of these prerequisites
explains another act of informalisation. women are less assertive and therefore less forming the base for higher wages, they
This seem to have been created more to prone to unionisation. It is also held that are paid lesser remuneration, compared
manoeuvre and exploit the labour. Other- absenteeism is lesser among the female with the male workers. To this issue we
wise there is no reason why the length of workers. The average absenteeism in fe- shall return in part four.
the training period is extended when the male workers, is just 10 to 12 per cent,
actual learning of the production processes while it is much more in the case of male III
requires only three months training. The workers. The officer stated that when the Technology, Production
company’s strategic decision to recruit male workers demanded more salaries, the
trainees in the age group of 16 to 17 years, authorities decided to absorb more female
Process and Division of
is for the reason that the girl workers migrate workers on lower wages.17 It is obvious Labour
to their husband places after getting mar- that the management cleverly employs this The size and nature of production is one
ried within a period of three to four years willingness of the female workers for low of the deciding factors of the nature of
from the year of their appointment. As the wages as an argument to counter the employment. Higher the size of
average marriage age for the girls in India demand for higher wages by male work- organisation, more the possibility of divi-
being 21 years [Das and others 1998], the ers.18 The overall situation suggests that sion of labour and its segregation. It is also
age at recruitment facilitates a continuous the female workers are less prone to observed that higher the level of division
turnover of these workforce,16 making the unionisation, do not demand higher wages, of labour, more the level of informalisation,
employment transitory and flexible. This absenteeism is less and have patience to casualisation and flexibilisation resulting
flexibility looks like a natural offshoot of work with delicate machines. It is on these in low payment and insecure labour seg-
the marriage system. But it is a strategic counts the management prefers female ments [Baud 1996]. An analysis of pro-
decision of the management and new workers. It is obvious that the preference duction processes, the arrangement of
recruitment is made only on casual basis. for female workers is based on their workers on machinery and the line of
This sets the casualisation process on. Thus
the entire production is raised by involving
Table 1: Process Lines: Machine Shop
only the insecure workers whose employ-
ment is temporary and payments are very Line of No of Workers Total Ratio between
Activity No of Male Female Workers Machine Trainees
low . The policy of recruitment for training Machines and Total and Casual
is also strategically planned by the man- Casuals Trainees Casuals Trainees Workers Workers
agement. The workers recruited for train-
Motor case 5 Nil 3 2 3 8 5:8 6:2
ing need not be covered under minimum Cylinder 5 Nil Nil Nil 7 7 5:7 –
wages set by labour law. This recruitment Slider 8 Nil 2 2 3 7 8:7 5:2
system thus provides scope for manage- Piston Scotch 7 1 2 Nil 2 5 7:5 4:1
ment to escape from the obligation of Crankshaft 13 Nil 5 Nil 5 10 13:10 –
Valve plate 5 Nil Nil Nil 3 3 5:3 –
coverage of the Minimum Wages Act. The Total 43 1 12 4 23 40 43:40 35:5
extension of training period beyond the
Source: Collected from the respondents.
stipulated time period by the industry
explains the act of informalisation. For last
five years the industry has been raising its Table 2: Process Lines: Motor Shop (Compressor And Motor Production)
production only with trainee and casual Line of No of Workers (Operators) Total Ratio between
workers. Activity No of Male Female Workers Machines Trainees
Machines (Opera- and Total and Casual
The order of appointment also has Casuals Trainees Casuals Trainees tors) Workers Workers
another striking aspect where it ordains a
strict code of conduct for maintenance of Winding 9 nil 5 5 3 13 9:13 8:5
Lead wire 2 nil nil 3 4 7 2:7 4:3
secrecy regarding data and other opera- Assembly nil nil nil 5 7 12 - 7:5
tions of the company. The insecure em- Total 11 nil 5 13 14 32 11:32 19:13
ployment puts the worker in a perpetual Source: collected from the respondents
fear of losing the job. This insecurity and
the maintenance of strict secrecy dis- Table 3: Process Lines: Assembling Shop; (Compressor)
suade the idea of unionisation among the
workers. Line of No of Workers (Operators) Total Ratio between
Activity No of Male Female Workers Machine Trainees
An inquiry into the factors for prefer- Machines (Opera- and Total and Casual
ence of female workers with the manage- Casuals Trainees Casuals Trainees tors) Workers Workers
ments concerned revealed factors such as Assembly A 5 nil 4 10 36 50 5: 50 40:10
– the fingers of female workers are tender, Assembly B nil nil 2 8 15 25 Nil : 25 17:8
this according to them is helpful in careful Case welding 2 1 nil 11 nil 12 2:12 -:12
handling of the delicate and costly ma- Washing 4 2 nil 4 nil 6 4:6 -:6
Total 11 3 6 33 51 93 11:93 57:36
chines. They held that they cannot afford
to risk appointing male workers whose Source: collected from the respondents

Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001 2381

activity revealed the type of machines used, for products from the first line activities casualisation. The other two shops,
nature of activity, the division of labour for initiating the work. This is true in case namely press shop and case welding shop
and working conditions of the workers. In of each shift. This shows the interdepen- (Tables 4 and 5) require lesser number of
other words it reveals the pacing, fragmen- dent nature of activities. This inter- workers and the nature of work is mostly
tation of tasks and discipline of the work- dependant nature of activity with lesser manual.
ers. The technology used in the industry number of workers than the machines on The total production activity of com-
is fully automatic or semi-automatic. The the lines together compel the worker to pressors and motors is labour-intensive.
learning of operations of machines accord- work at the pace of machine speed for the The scope for employing casual workers
ing to the workers does not involve a entire work hours uniformly. This is highly in this new industry is quite high because
specialised training, but just ‘on-the-job hazardous for those workers who are made the trainees contracted three years back
training’. to work for full eight hours at one stretch. normally quit the industry (with marriage).
In each of the departments, as noted In the motor shop there are only three Several of casual workers have been on
earlier, the activities to be carried out are lines (Table 2). On first two lines there are the work, who are fully trained now. The
arranged in lines. The lines of production machine operations and in the third line production can be managed with mere
activities are arranged in the order of stages there is only assembling. In this shop the casual workers in the future. This gives
of production process. In machine shop number of workers is more than the complete flexibility to the management.
(Table 1) almost all activities are carried number of machines. The overall machine These two types of systems namely –
out with machines. Altogether there are 43 and worker ratio is 11:32. These ratios on informalisation and casualisation involv-
machines in this shop. In each line there first two lines are 9:13 and 2:7, respec- ing insecurity in work and wages is the
are trainees clubbed with casual workers. tively. From this it is inferred that this shop natural offshoot of a production process.
The first line manufactures motor case is more labour-intensive compared to ma- These practices are in vogue for the pur-
where the ratio of trainees and casual chine shop. The ratio between the trainees pose of accumulation needs no emphasis.
workers is 6:2. In the second, fifth and and casual workers in these three lines is
sixth line there are no casual workers. On 8:5, 4:3 and 7:5, respectively. The overall Table 7: Pay Slip Details of a Trainee
the third and fourth lines these ratios are ratio of this 19:13 indicates the labour- (Operator SV)
5:2 and 4:1, respectively. The arrangement intensive nature of work. It is also noted Salary Rupees Deductions Rupees
of the workers in these lines is such that that for these activities the management
Basic 1050 PF + PPF 191.00
the trainees who have put in a service of has to recruit more number of casual DA 540 ESI 29.40
more than one year are placed along with workers. HRA 75 IT -
the casual workers. This arrangement The assembling shop (Table 3) has three CCA 0 PT 16.00
helps as has already been noted, the lines with 5, 2 and 4 machines, respec- Spl Allowances 15 CES -
CA 0 LIC -
casual workers to learn the operations tively (see annexure II for activities). On ARR 0 Transport 40.00
(Annexures IIa and b) from the trainees the first line there are two units of assem- Attendance bonus 0 Canteen 26.00
who work on the machines and hence it bling. The ratio between the trainees and Stipend 0 DED1
Subsidy 0 DED 11
reduces the costs on supervisory staff. The casual workers is 57:36. In the next two Total gross salary 1690 Total 302.40
ratio between machines and the workers lines only casual workers are working on deductions
indicate the number of machines to be case welding and washing machines. The Net salary 1378
operated by each operator. The overall over all ratio of machines to workers is ( for 31 days)
ratio of machine and worker in machine 11:93. This explains assembling activity Source: Collected from a respondent who has
shop is 43:40. This further explains that is more labour-intensive and prone to more completed three years of service.
there are more number of machines than
workers, involving operation of more than Table 4: Process Lines: Press Shop
one machine by a single operator. It also Line of No of No of Workers Ratio Between
shows that except on the first two lines, Activity Machines Male Female Machines Trainees and
on all other lines the number of machines Casual Trainees Casual Trainees and Workers Casual
is more than the workers (Table 1). How- Pressing heat treatment NIL 3 3 nil 2 nil: 8 5:3
ever the workers are frequently changed
across the production activities. This
facilitates flexibility in the operation of Table 5: Process Lines: Case Welding Shop
multiple machines by an operator and Line of No of No of Workers Total Workers
ensures continuity in the work in the event Activity Machines Male Female
Casual Trainees Casual Trainees
of even the absence of any operator.
As noted earlier, production is carried Projections welding 1 nil 1 nil nil 1
out in three shifts. Almost equal number
of female workers are employed in the first Table 6: Wages Paid To Different Types of Workers
two shifts. The work in the night shift is
Category Year I Year II Year III (in 97-98) Wages Per Worker
carried out by a small group of male
of Worker (in Rs per month) Per Day (Rs)in 97-98
workers. In the first shift more number of
workers are employed on the first line Trainees 520 650 1380 45
Casual workers Nil Nil 1145 37
to produce more products so that the
workers in the second shift need not wait Source: Collected from the respondents.

2382 Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001

 The segmentation of activities between
male and female is found in the case of
very few activities. These include melting
of cilicon in the boiler, welding and pres-
sing, etc. In the case of other activities this
division is not very sharp.
IV
Wage Structure
The total number of male and female
trainees and casual workers are presented
in Table 8. The overall number of female
workers is more than the male workers and
especially the female casual workers are
more than that of male casual workers.
This trend of casualisation seem to have
been increasing when the contract period
of the trainees is over and some of them
would have left the industry. Therefore the
casualisation has just started to fill these
vacancies. The forms of exploitation differ
in the case of these two types of workers.
The trainees are paid their salary with pay
slips to create an impression among them
that they are permanent workers. These
workers are given pay scales and were paid
a net income of Rs 520 per month in the
first year (Table 6). In the second year they
are paid Rs 650 per month. In the third
year it is raised to Rs 1,380 per month. The
average wages of these three years works
out to Rs 850 per month and Rs 27.41 per
day. It is significant to note that the average
wages paid to trainees are lesser than the
prescribed minimum wages19 and wages
paid to casual workers. The minimum
wages in this region is Rs 60 per worker
per day (eight hours work). The actual
wages paid during the first two years of
training period work out almost to one
fourth of the minimum wages. In the third
year it works out to three-fourths of the
minimum wages.20 Thus the new institu-
tion called ‘Contract for Training’ avoids
of service the increments is Rs 730. The
female operators held that this discrimi-
nation is almost institutionalised purely to
generate a type of ‘competitive spirit’
among the workers which would in turn
ensure ‘loyalty’ of workers to the manage-
ment.21 For this purpose the industry has
also introduced an evaluation system. In
this system the candidates have to obtain
evaluation certificate from the supervi-
sors. The supervisors(male) are respon-
sible for recommending for any one of the
above increments. This period is very
crucial for workers as they look for higher
increments. The trainee has to not only
exhibit production efficiency but exhibit
her loyalty to the management to complete
the subsequent probation period. There is
a provision of ‘attendance bonus’ in the
pay slip. This is a monetary incentive given
to the workers who do not avail any leave
in the entire month. All these attempts
indicate that the industry extracts more
work with low payments. The trainees are
given non-wage benefit in the form of
provident fund. The workers are required
to contribute towards provident fund from
their meagre earnings. But the employers
contribution is not made in time. The
workers complain that the waiting period
for getting the money back some times
extends to more than two years.
There is another practice in the industry
wherein the bonus amount worth Rs 2,000
per annum is used for expansion of its own
Table 8: Wage Structure of the Workers
Category Total Number of Workers Present Wages Minimum Wages Shortfall Percentage
Workers
Male Female Total
(1) (2) (3) (4)
Trainees 27 90 117
Casual workers 7 50 57
Total 34 140 174
market. Instead of paying this amount to
workers in cash, the worker is made to
purchase the industry’s products. If they
do not conform to this condition they have
to forego the amount.
The forms of exploitation of casual
workers are different. They are paid Rs
1,145 per month as a consolidated amount
without pay slips. They do not have eli-
gibility for annual increments. No bonus
is paid to them. They are not given any
‘contract’ letters, identity cards, punch
cards, etc. An attendance register is main-
tained, in which they sign. For every six
months they are put out of work for a few
days. The respondents reported that since
1997 the management has been managing
the production with very few trainee
workers and more number of casual
workers. Over this time period many of the
casual workers acquire sufficient skills
and enough of experience to do the same
work as that of trainees. But these expe-
rienced casual workers are treated just like
the casual workers and are paid lower
wages. The exploitation through casualis-
ation can be clearly noticed in the pattern
of non-wage benefits. They do not get the
benefits of leave and of provident fund.
Thus within the informal sector the divi-
sion of workers as trainees and casual
workers retains the hopes of trainees to get
absorbed on a regular basis in the industry.
The systems of wage payment, its com-
position and difference in payment of
Per Worker Per Worker from Minimum Shortfall
Per Day Per Day Wages
(5) (6) (7)=6-5
Rs Rs Rs
45 60 15 25.00
37 60 23 38.33
- - - - -

payment of minimum wages not only during Source: calculated based on the above data.
the training period but even after comple-
tion of the training. As has been already Table 9: Production Particulars of the Industry
noted it has been reported by the respon-
S Year of Goods Qty Produced Qty Cleared Value of Clearance Share of Wages in
dents that even the operators who have
No Production Produced in Number in Number in (Rs) Gross Output
completed fourth year of service are also (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) = wage bill/ col 6 X100
continuing their service in the same status. Casual Workers Trainees
This shows that the skills imparted by the 1996-97
industry to the workers are not recognised 1 Compressors 105068 104047 124553170.00 0.34 0.85
for the purpose of fixing higher salaries. 2 Ele Motors 206779 210397 105689585.00
The strategic employment policy differ- Total 311847 314444 230242800
entiates among trainees themselves in 1997-98
payment of annual increment. The respon- 1 Compressors 117842 119369 130239537.00 0.30 0.75
dents stated that for some operators the 2 Ele Motors 250089 251319 128691187.00
Total 367931 370688 258930700
increase in yearly payment is Rs 450 and
for a few others with the same quantum Source: Collected from Central Excise and Customs Office, Kukatpally, Hyderabad.

Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001 2383

 Advt Page

2384 Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001

non-wage benefits reflect the multiple
levels of exploitation (Table 6).
The salary particulars of trainees are
presented in Table 7 with the help of salary
slip of a respondent. This gives a clear idea
about the components of wage and non-
wage benefits.
The salary slip shows the particulars
regarding deduction towards provident
fund (PF), employees social insurance
(ESI), professional tax (PT), transport and
canteen, etc. From this the discrimination
between these two types of workers is
quite obvious. It is maintained to exploit
workers in different forms. The manage-
ment could do this as there is sufficient
supply of surplus female workers in the
market. This type of segmentation of
workers deters them from forming unions.
The process of casualisation can be
further substantiated by the institutionalised
system of linking of over time (OT), with
the newly introduced system of ‘casual
off’ (C-off). In this system, every eight
hours of OT work of the trainees is con-
verted into one casual leave. Till 1996, OT
was paid double the regular salary per
hour. With this change the worker gets one
CL for every eight hours of OT work. This
system helps the management in two ways,
it saves the cost on OT wages which was
double payment for trainees, and facili-
tates to accumulate the work hours of
trainees to use for raising additional pro-
duction whenever it is to be taken up. This
accumulated work hours of the trainees are
used by the management to make small
batches of trainees who can be clubbed
with large number of casual workers to
carry out the additional work with effi-
ciency. This is possible under two strategic
conditions prescribed by the industry: the
first condition is that the OT is treated as
compulsory obligation of the worker and
the second is that the sanction of C-off is
at the sole discretion of management. While
the first condition forces the worker to take
up OT, the second condition decides the
time for it. This is a newly institutionalised
flexibilisation of trainee workers. This
practice entails longer working hours to
trainees without any substantial additional
financial benefits. The trainees therefore
are disinclined to opt for OT work. Still
management can make them do OT work
if it is required by not sanctioning the CL
which is at the sole discretion of the
management. The casual workers are of
course in a much more insecure position.
They cannot say no to OT work as OT work
is made a compulsory obligation of the
Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001
workers. This in turn leads to expansion
of female casual sector and exploitation
of the female casual workers.
The difference of wages paid to the casual
workers and trainees and the short fall over
the minimum wages in a month is pre-
sented in Table 8.
The difference of wages per worker per
day between trainee and casual worker is
Rs 8. It is also seen that the percentage of
shortfall of wages actually paid from
minimum wages of the casual workers is
higher constituting 38.33 per cent. While
this percentage for trainees is lesser and
constitutes about 25 per cent. This differ-
ence in payment leads to more and more
assignment of OT to casual workers. This
leads to an increase in the production with
lower wage bill. The OT work is compul-
sorily assigned to the casual workers on
all days during the period of four months
from December to March which is the
production season for the industry.(as stated
by the officer). They do not have option
to exercise as their work is insecure. From
Table 8 it is clear that the female casual
workers are more in number than the male
casual workers. These trends indicate forms
of appropriation of labour surplus. The
wages can also be correlated with the
production to see the forms of appro-
priation, the details of which are presented
in Table 9.
The industry has raised an additional
production of 43,310 electric motors and
12,774 compressors (Table 9) between
1996-97 and 1997-98. The value of this
additional production was also increased
to Rs 2,30,01,602 and Rs 56,86,367, respec-
tively, for those two types of goods. This
comes to a total value of Rs 2,86,87,969.
As per the above details it is obvious that
the increase in production is realised
without any corresponding increase in the
wage bill. In other words when there is an
increase in the production the percentage
share of total wage bill (total workers
multiplied by their respective wages) in
production has decreased. From Table 9
it is clear that the percentage of wage bill
of the casual workers in gross value of
production has decreased from 0.34 to
0.30, while that of trainees it has decreased
from 0.85 to 0.75. This further indicates
that the additional production is raised
only with the casual workers. The decrease
in the number of trainees and consequently
fall in their wage bill is a clear indication
of enlargement of casual workers. And in
terms of wages these casual workers are
the most exploited.
V
Working Conditions
Industries are adopting low road strategy
where the workers are considered as costs
to be reduced. Hence working conditions
are very repressive. This is evident from
the discussion above made regarding the
organisation of work on the lines with
machines and workers, interdependent
nature of work, hierarchical organisation
of production and the targets set. The
production target of 20,000 compressors
and 30,000 motors per day means that each
operator gets a cycle time of 20 seconds
for the production of each component.
This shows the close attention required to
carry out work with automatic machines
and for coordinating with other produc-
tion processes. The different production
activities generate different type of
noise in different volumes. The melting of
silicon in the boilers, winding, welding,
casting, cutting, grilling, screwing are
some of the activities which produce
noise. It is this acoustics that renders the
work hazardous. The workers say that
the work for eight hours is manageable,
but OT along with regular work is
hazardous.22
OT time ranges from two to eight hours.
Generally workers prefer eight hours. This
is mainly on account that they cannot leave
the industry after working for two hours
as the transport is not available. This is
hazardous as the entire work has to be
carried out in a standing position. There
are instances where OT involves 16 hours
of work in a standing position. It is also
a practice in vogue where they may be
given first shift from 6 AM on the im-
mediate following day. The workers are
not informed about OT in advance. The
personnel manager offers seasonal nature
of demand as cause for such decision. He
maintains that there is heavy competition
in the market and therefore raising of
production through speculation is con-
sidered risky. Actually the adoption of the
mechanism like ‘just in time’ (JIT) and
‘demand pull production’ to reduce the
inventory costs cause the OT work. The
industry to be competitive and cost effec-
tive, is pushing the workers into health
hazards. No medical facilities are provided
by the industry. The personnel manager
observes that, ‘many times the girls on
duty, require to be given glucose as first
aid’. There is no hospital in or around the
industry. It is because of this type of hard
and hazardous work, the management
2385
prefers unmarried young and energetic girls.
These factors for engaging female workers
are not fully exposed.
Social Security
As has already been noted the workers
are provided with subsidised canteen, trans-
port facilities The. trainees are provided
provident fund and ESI benefits. They
have casual leave of 12 days a year. Except
these facilities there are no other social
security provisions. The workers being un-
married girls do not have any family com-
mitments. Although their wages are low,
they earn and save these meagre earnings for
their marriage expenditure. Maintenance
of the household is not their responsibility
as they stay with parents. The parents of
these workers who provide for their accom-
modation, health and other comforts seem
to be heavily subsidising the industrial
unit. Hence it is not only exploitation of
workers by the industry but it is the ex-
ploitation of an extended family. The
families of these workers are mostly mi-
grated families in search of livelihood.
However most of them are not very poor.
The primary objective of migration of these
families is to find a source of livelihood for
the head of the family. Secondly, they have
to fulfil obligations like performing mar-
riage of the daughter at a socially set level.
For this purpose they are satisfied with what-
ever the daughters can earn towards their
marriage expenditure. This vulnerability of
the family acts as a source of cheap labour
to the industries. However there are a few
female workers who come from very poor
families and work for sustenance of family.
The workers particularly these young
girls do not unionise as work relations are
insecure. Several mechanisms are adopted
in the managerial system to deter them
from this activity. The state policy has
failed to change this situation. Although
the state provides heavy subsidies through
a ‘Liberalised State Incentive Scheme’ in
1989 and ‘The General Incentive Scheme’
in 1992 for setting up of new industries
(annexure III for detailed discussion) and
several concessions on sales tax, on de-
preciation of machinery, on electricity and
on technical consultancy so on it has not
made it obligatory for industry to provide
good working conditions and general
welfare benefits to workers.
Workers feel that the insecure and uncer-
tain job situation has hit their educational
advancement and opportunity to take up
regular employment. The respondents
stated that for the present job many of them
2386
received the call letters through the em-
ployment exchange. The girls lamented that
while they got a very temporary job, they
no longer continue on the rolls of employ-
ment exchange. They regretted that they
forego other work opportunities. The
women pointed out that these jobs were
stagnant and prove to be industry-specific.
They saw no scope for promotion or for
higher learning in these jobs.
VI
Conclusions
Reforms have led to the rapid expansion
of the informal sector. The main objective
of the industries set up under deregulated
and liberalised market system is obviously
to make quick profits to become ‘a world
class company’. In pursuit of this objective
these industries introduced changes in their
organisational, managerial, technological
and operational set up. These changes are
so designed that they prefer low skills,
female workers and opt for informalisation
and segmented employment. Some of these
jobs are contractual, casual, insecure, flex-
ible, result in informal work relations. This
is called ‘low road flexible’ employment
strategy which causes vicious downward-
spiralling effect. As 94 per cent of female
workers are engaged in work in the infor-
mal jobs, female workers are more hard
hit by these market changes. This is in
addition to the fact that traditionally the
wages of female workers have been fixed
lower than the male workers in male-
dominated informal industries.
The industry’s recruitment system
coupled with prescribed prerequisites for
the workers to get qualified for recruitment
are very tactical. For instance, the nature
of employment is on hierarchical and
segmented basis. The industry does not
employ female employees on the manage-
ment side, not even at the supervisory
levels. Women workers are appointed only
on the operation side at the tail end of the
production process. This segmentation
increases the vulnerability of the workers
and management’s stranglehold over
workers. The arrangement of the workers
or work division in ‘process lines’ is mainly
designed from the cost-effective angle.
The machines are operated by workers in
a multiple-machines-operation-system.
This entails flexibilisation, informalisation
of work relations and casualisation of
employment which together lead to
maximisation of profit.
The working conditions in the industry
are exploitative. The girls recruited are
Economic and Political Weekly
young and they have to carry out the
operations for eight to 16 hours in a stand-
ing position. These girls do not have usual
household responsibilities as they are with
their parents. The latter provide shelter,
health care and other support to these
dependent daughters. Thus these indus-
trial units are heavily subsidised in an
indirect form by the families of these
women workers. The parents of these
workers want their daughters to earn to
contribute to the expenditure of their
marriage. This vulnerability of the fami-
lies has provided the industry with the
supply of surplus cheap labour. The
vulnerability of these workers is also more
on account of their migrant status and the
lack of local support. There are hardly any
social security measures. All this has not
resulted in any resistance for better work-
ing conditions.
The industry has resorted to several
manoeuvres for deterring the workers from
organising. It has segregated them in terms
of nature of employment, wages, annual
increments, and system of wage payment.
There is also a difference in the non-wage
benefits like PF, LIC, leaves, etc. The
management has also introduced such an
evaluation system which leaves no scope
for workers either to interact or organise.
The division of labourers creates condi-
tions where loyalty and obedience are the
criterion for performance.
It is significant that in spite of the in-
dustry earning profits, it is resorting to
rapid informalisation practices resulting in
expansion of casual workers. It is adopting
the ‘JIT’ and ‘Demand Pull’ techniques to
reduce expenditure on inventories. These
techniques in turn generate OT work. The
industry has replaced the system of double
payment for OT work to trainees with the
provision of casual leave. All these lead
to mass casualisation, insecure work con-
ditions and lower wages. The flexibility
that is built in the industry coupled with
the surplus labour supply in the market
rendered the workers in general and women
workers in particular extremely vulner-
able. The state which ought to have pro-
vided better working conditions as a part
of its national and international commit-
ment has been indifferent to these trends.
This is in spite of the fact that the state
provides several incentives in addition to
subsidies in the name of industrial develop-
ment in backward region. On the whole
this study reveals that the forms of extrac-
tion of surplus are changing more to the
disadvantage of workers in general and
female workers in particular.
June 30, 2001
 Annexure I Annexure IIb
Shop Floor Hierarchy
Production Process Flow
Deputy Director Production
ASSEMBLING SHOP

Machine shop Motor shop Assembly Press shop Case welding

A B Assembly of machined parts
Rotor, Stator and Shell
Sr Engineer Sr Engineer Two Sr Engineers

Performance testing
Jr Engineer Jr Engineer Two Jr Engineers

Top shell kept over bottom shell

Four Four Four
Supervisors Supervisors Supervisors
CO2 welding of shell

Operators Operators Operators Operators Operators

Trainees Trainees Trainees Trainees Trainees High pressure Dry air charging

Casual workers Casual workers Casual workers Casual workers Casual workers Leak test in bath

Annexure IIa Nitrogen gas charging

Production Process Flow

Machine Shop Motor Shop Press Shop Case Welding Shop

Spray Pre-Treatment and dip painting
Receive Castings Receive raw materials Receive raw material Receipt of pressed parts
From Suppliers from suppliers from supplier from supplier
Setting and Baking

Machining of castings Lamination Pressing Pressing Valves and suu Projection welding of
in separate lines using Using high speed press of a Valve Discharge parts on Shell Heating and Vacuuming in oven
different machinery to get stator and Rotor Stacks

Inspection of castings Argon Arc welding Vibro-finishing of Brazing of tubes on Shell Final inspection
after machining Welding of Stator Stacks Valves

Nitrogen gas charging

Pre cleaning and Rust Heat Treatment of Stator Heat Treatment of Alkali Degreasing
Valves of Shell
Proof Treatment of Stacks using burn off Annealing Packing and dispatch
Castings and Bluing Furnace

Alkali Degreasing of Heat treatment of stator Annexure III

machined parts Stacks using burn off
bluing furnace The new industrial policy as stated
earlier introduced a ‘Liberalised State
Parcolublite treatment Die casting of rotor stacks
Incentive Scheme’ in 1989 and ‘The
of machined parts OD Turning and ID boring General Incentive Scheme’ in 1992 for
of rotor stacks. setting up of new industries. In pursuit of
this policy all the districts in the state of
Inspection and ranking Slot Cell insulation of Andhra Pradesh have been grouped into
of parts Stator stacks three areas for purpose of incentives. The
district Mahabubnagar is grouped under
Winding of main and aux-
area I. District Medak – is grouped in the
Coils and inserting into stator stacks area II. According to this policy a new
industrial unit located in the “export
promotion zone” from these districts is
Forming Stator assy
Lacing of both sides eligible for 15 per cent to 20 per cent
lead wire soldering welding (maximum of 15 to 20 lakhs) of subsidy
Electrical characteristic check on fixed capital investment. According to
“New Comprehensive Incentive Scheme”
Assembling (NCIS), in addition to the subsidy on

Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001 2387

capital investment, a subsidy of 5 per cent
of fixed capital investment or a maximum
of Rs 5 lakh is also allowed for a new
industrial unit set up in the industrial estate/
industrial development area of Andhra
Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corpo-
ration (APIIC). Sales tax deferment is
allowed up to 75 per cent of fixed cost
for a period of 10 years for large and
medium scale units in this region. Interest
subsidy at 6 per cent for a period of 5
years, and power rebate up to 25 per cent
for a period of three years is also pro-
vided. Subsidy on machinery and techni-
cal consultation expenditure is limited to
10 per cent of cost of plant and machinery.
A special provision for subsidy on export
promotions is also provided. Deprecia-
tion limits for export-oriented units EOU/
Export Promotion Zones in the Electron-
ics sector has been enhanced from 70 per
cent to 90 per cent over a period of 5
years under the Modified Duty Entitle-
ment Pass Book (MDEPB). A proportion-
ate Sales Tax deferral for a period of 10
years is allowed for Expansion/
Modernisation/Diversification (E/M/D).
Projects involving an enhancement of
25 per centof the fixed capital investment
as well as enhancement of capacity by 25
per cent for the products of the same
product line. A very “interesting” policy
provision relates to the value of 100 per
cent directly imported second-hand
plant, machinery and equipment by the
industrial unit which is considered as
new and indigenous for the purpose of
subsidy. The General Incentive Scheme
covers the whole of the state except the
Municipal Corporation areas. All the
districts in the state are grouped into three
areas. Area – 1 Srikakulam, Ananthpur,
and Adilabad districts.
Area-11 Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar,
Warangal, Khammam, Medak, Karim-
nagar, Nizamabad, Kurnool, Cuddapah,
Chittoor, Nellore, Vizhianagaram, and
Prakasham districts.
Area–111 Visakhapatnam, East
Godavary, West Godavary, Krishna,
Guntur, Rangareddy, and Hyderabad
districts.
Percentage of subsidy on the fixed
capital investment-Area 1-20 per cent;
Area 11-15 per cent
Sales Tax Holiday; Medium- and large-
scale Area 1 100 per cent up to10 years.
Area 11-75 per cent up to 10 years. Area
111– 50 per cent up to 10years see for
details; Target 2000, Department of
Industries, Government of AP, 1997. EPW
2388
Notes (d) By obtaining specific exemptions and
relaxations permissible in certain statutes for
[I place my gratitude on record to all those who individuals, classes, and establishments.
(e) By locating enterprises in states that allow
have helped me in completion of this work. But
for the consistent encouragement of these people greater flexibility due to differences in
this work would not have been possible. I thank legislation or in state support to employees in
R Radhakrishna, D Narasimha Reddy, G Haragopal enforcement of statutory provisions.
and Jan Breman, Henk Thomas, ISA Baud, 3 The concept of ‘feminisation refers to increase
Schiprost, Abdel Karim Abbas, and A J C Bose in female employment, degradation of work,
increased hours of work associated with falling
for making valuable comments on an earlier draft
of this paper. My special thanks are also due to standards of living, increased exploitation and
Galab, Sudarshanam, Balaramulu and Choudary dead end jobs.
whose help went a long way in completion of 4 Informal segments are referred to those sections
this study.] which are Unorganised/ununionised and
without significant legal protection [Mukho-
padhya (1991), ‘Social Sanctions’ Labour Laws
1 New Industries refer to the industries in the
changed structure of the economy. Especially and Labour Market Flexibility; The Indian
industries that are least regulated. New Experience’ in G Standing and V Tokman
industries also implies industries being situated (eds), Towards social adjustment, ILO, Geneva.
in New-Townships, adopting new technologies Roger Tarling defines ‘segmentation’ as
and new modes of organising production which uncertainty about rates of activity and the level
of employment which leads to differential
includes flexibilisation [G Vijay (1999): ‘Social
Security for Labour in New Industrial Towns’, instability in different jobs.
EPW, September 25-October 1]. 5 The author refers to the employees who have
2 The concept of ‘informalisation’ is used to refer no options in the employment market. This
to the act of escaping the responsibilities of the also refers to the employment generated not
employer in providing the entitled benefits to out of growth in the production and demand
for labour.
the employee in a formal sector where the
employment is conditioned by the labour laws. 6 R Radhakrishna, chairperson for the session
The employer does escape from this respon- on’wage policy in India’ highlighted the
sibility, if there is no identified ‘employer’ by trend of informalisation in the XLth annual
agreement or judicial pronouncement. The conference of ‘Indian Society of Labour
employer escapes from this responsibility in Economics’ held at University of Hyderabad,
from December 29 to December 31, 1998.
many ways:
(a) By designating workers as ‘trainees’ as 7 This practice is in vogue in spite of the fact
traineeship contracts are drawn up by some that there are 30 per cent female headed house-
employers specifying that employment is not holds in the country [Chen and Dreze 1995].
offered. 8 Scholars observe that women of the third
(b) By hiring workers on a daily basis as world are seen as most flexible (insecure) of
the world’s labour force [V Patel 1997].
‘casual labour’
(c) By describing work and responsibilities in Scholars also observed that Flexible specialis-
ways that the definition of ‘workman’ does ation leads to commodity fetishism [Hyman
not apply. and Streek 1988].
The Programme on Culture, Religion and Violence of the
Centre for the Study of Developing Societies invites
applications for full-time research fellowships at various
levels. These fellowships are tenable for six months to one
year and the fellows are expected to work on uprooting,
genocides and on reconstruction of life after experiencing
mass violence. Please send or come with your application,
CV, to CSDS, 29 Rajpur Road, Delhi 110 054,
before 15 July 2001. Telephones: (011) 3942199, 3951190.
M.K. Riyal
Administrative Officer
Economic and Political Weekly June 30, 2001
 9 Pior and Sables called this period as the ‘second
industrial revolution’ or the ‘second divide’
during the end of 1960s.
10 The author has interesting field experience to
share. When she approached the industry, she
could not get even entry. It is high level linkages
with the officials which ultimately got her the
permission to enter the industry. Management
has not shared any information about the
industry. With this experience it was decided
to collect the data by holding interviews with
workers at their residences. When the
interviews were being conducted, the officers
went to the houses of the workers, to enquire
about information collected by the author.
This experience reveals that the management
was quite apprehensive of the research. The
personnel manager of the industry all the way
came to author’s house to explain and justify
certain practices in the industry.
11 This industry was started in 1993-94 in a de-
licensed sector. It is notified under export
promotion zone. All these specifications entail
higher level subsidies. The value of land under
the industry is Rs 13.96 lakh and building
Rs 101.80 lakh. The value of the plant and
machinery is Rs 7,340.09 lakh and the total
fixed capital Rs 7,455.86 lakh. The subsidy
component on fixed capital works out to more
than Rs 25 lakh.
12 The concept of vulnerability refers to the
insecurity of the well-being of the workers in
the face of a changing industrial policy
environment. The new policy often involves
risk and uncertainty and declining self-respect
[O Caroline, Monograph Seriesno 7,
‘Confronting Crisis – A Summary of Household
Responses to Poverty and Vulnerability in
Four Poor Urban Communities’, World Bank,
Washington, DC.
13 A female respondent with ITI qualification
who faced the interview board reported that
the board refused to interview her. She has
quoted the management’s statement “Why do
you waste your career? you go and find work
somewhere else”. This is a clear example that
this work involves deskilling of the worker.
14 F W Taylor advocates to shift of mental and
clerical aspects of production from shop-floor
to the functional specialists in the office for
controlling the workers. It is known as
‘Tailorisation of intellectual work’.
15 Added to these activities of the industries a
recent Supreme Court judgment has come as
a major setback in the fight for expansion of
the rights of contract labour. It has now held
that ‘neither the Act nor the rules framed by
the central government or by any appropriate
government provide that upon abolition of
contract labour, the said labour would be
directly absorbed by the principle employer’.
This clearly explains the indifference of the
state for violation of the labour laws by the
industry. The state wants move towards
industry friendly rules.
16 The officer incharge mentioned that during
the year 1997-98 the turnover of the trainee
workers was more than 50.
17 Customarily women is not considered as
primary bread-winner, hence she is paid lower
wages.
18 In this connection Michelle Banett (1997) has
observed that when employment opportunities
are not expanding in the market the low rates
of pay customarily received by women may
lead to the undercutting in the higher wages
demanded by the male workers.
19 The minimum wages fixed by state, are not
even subsistent but sub-subsistent. These
industries do not pay even these low wages
[Ashok Manohar and Budhe November 1992].
20 A case study on a surgical instruments industry
undertaken by Manjit Singh in Jalandhar
presents similar results. The study observes
that during the training period (first two years
of employment), the workers work free of
payment because they are trained. The free
work is treated as payment towards their
training. During the third year, the wages work
out to one-fourth of the minimum wages.
21 The existence of segmentation in the labour
market is defined as different wages for
workers of equal efficiency...each segment
functions with different rules even though
the productive qualities of the labour force
are the same.
22 One of the characteristics of the ‘New
Employment’ is to exploit the worker and
machines to the maximum extent possible in
a short period (intensive use) to make quick
profits. See Tarling Roger (ed) (1987) under
references.
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