Polity Class 6: Urban Livelihoods

India is, as we all know, an agricultural country. Despite this, urban areas generate the majority of India’s GDP. Because of the concentration of capital in urban areas, there are a variety of job opportunities in these areas. In India, there are about 5,000 towns and twenty-seven significant cities. More than a million people live and work in major cities, including Chennai and Mumbai. Let’s consider the various types of urban livelihoods in India

Urban Livelihoods:

Street workers: 

• A large number of people labour on the streets of the city. They usually sell, repair, or provide  services to people.
• They are self-employed and must plan their schedules.
• Their shops are usually makeshift buildings, consisting of a few boards or papers strewn across abandoned boxes and the like.

Issues with the Street Workers: 

• They are unprotected.
• There are some city areas where hawkers are not permitted to operate.
• Vending on the street is regarded solely as a traffic and pedestrian hazard.
• Since they work on streets, they may also live and sleep on roads or near drainage system. This can make the living conditions extremely unhygienic.
• They may not even have access to clean bathrooms and lack sanitation facilities.

Ways to improve their condition:

• Street vending is increasingly acknowledged as a universal benefit and a right of people to earn a living thanks to the work of several organizations.
• The government can change the law prohibiting street sellers from working and providing them with workspace.
• For towns and cities, hawking zones have been proposed.
• According to some, mobile sellers should also be permitted to roam around freely.
• Hawkers must be included in committees that make these and other decisions affecting them.

Business persons: 

• Many people own stores, which are small or enormous, and sell various goods.
• The majority of business owners own their stores or businesses.
• They employ several supervisors and assistance as well.
• These are permanent shops that the city government has granted a business licence to.
• Many business people also have their own small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs)

Daily Wage Labourers: 

They assist masons at construction sites,to lift goods, and dig pipelines

Casual basis:  Workers are expected to show up when needed.

Reasons for Small and factories employing casual workers:

• When employers receive huge orders or at certain seasons, they are hired.
• They must find other work at other periods of the year.

Working conditions of Casual workers:

• They aren’t meant to last.
• No job security: If employees express dissatisfaction with their pay or working circumstances, they are asked to leave.
• If there is ill-treatment, there is no employment protection.
• They are also expected to work for long periods. Workers at the fabric mill units, for example, perform 12-hour shifts that alternate between day and night.

Benefits of Permanent workers:

• Job security: They can anticipate keeping their current job for a long time.
• Savings for retirement: A portion of their salary is put into a government-run fund that pays them interest on their savings, which they can utilize after they retire.
• Holidays: They have regular days off during the week, national holidays, and yearly leave.
• Medical facilities for families: Companies pay for medical expenses for their employees’ families up to a specified sum.