Adaptation to the drastic changes induced in the corporate environment owing to novel Coronavirus is the need of the hour today. Corporate environment referred herewith does not only include the higher corporate society but are based mainly on the labour sector also. They are the backbones in any industry of India which still maintains it’s characteristic of being Labour Intensive to a high degree.
During this COVID -19 Pandemic, it is our duty to provide employment safety to these labourers who are at the brink of losing the sustainability in these times of looming crisis. This crisis has an apparent impact on the working lifestyle of labourers, for which they need to be well prepared in advance to yield a proper reaction to it.
Workers are facing a double threat – to their lives and livelihoods. They need to work in the factories to feed themselves and their families. Adequate measures of social distancing may not always be enforced in smaller factories. There might be the case of ignorance or a lack of proper sanitizing of equipment which still is out of reach of a meagre wage earner who is already “hands to mouth”.
Therefore, Workers need to be informed, consulted and kept aware of the impact on their terms and conditions of employment. And the steps they can take for their protection and contribution to containment of virus & not become a carrier to the virus in any circumstances.
Majority of workers are young and migrant from poverty struck regions of India, often working under temporary contracts or in the informal work sector be. During COVID-19, this put them at particular risk, not only for their immediate health but also for their long-term financial situation. They wished to return to their hometowns for the immediate safety, which after a considerable ignorance & delay, the Government made possible.
The case of labour suffering in this is more worse as they are not so privileged to get the benefit of the trend of “Work from Home” that’s yet reserved to the certain specific sectors of the economy of our nation. Moreover, most of them are unskilled & have not many options to become self-reliant even if provided with an opportunity anyhow.
Already in lower-income strata of society, these people who work hard for economy are bound to perish again. They had 2 option: Stay or Leave. If they stay, they had the risk of starving as not all of labourers were provided access to the food supply by the Government. Leaving is more worse as they had to do so in scorching heat of April on foot with minimal amenities with them.
Yet many chose to take long & painful journeys of anywhere from 600-1500 kilometres to reach back to the place they call home. This exodus led to emptying of Metro Cities & the whole Labour Market practically.
Moreover, we have come across some points those listed below on how this pandemic has affected the lifestyle of the workers.
- First of all, the workers have lost opportunities to work anymore in towns and cities that they inhabited and migrated to en masse back to their hometowns & villages after long journeys on foot.
- The migration of workers from cities to back home towns and villages has perpetrated a crisis amounting to shortage of labour & for a short period, they enjoy bargaining power that arises from a short labour supply, which was not possible earlier.
- While in the past it was easy for a massive number of workers to work in close proximity to each other at is not possible any more or else it is a considerable risk to one & all.
- A higher degree of concern and safety practices are conducted in the working sections of labour. The Government needs to ensure that masks and sanitization becomes integral even to the lower sections of society like daily wage labourers.
- Some of them who are skilled aspire to become self-reliant in the wake of present circumstances instead of coming to metro cities in search of jobs. For this, the respective states need to make better policies that strike right in time to make it possible before the financial slowdown is inflicted on the economy.
- Working hours are bound to become longer as the labour has to catch of the lag in processes that have been generated due to lockdown period, this may lead to the exploitation of labour rights & put them to risks at workplace.
- The
labour community has developed a sort of “trust deficit” towards the Government
Machinery because of the helplessness they felt because of lack of Governments concern to their plight that needs to be mended.
Looking into all the matters, it is inevitable that there will be a setback in the working environment, economic crises and financial emergency. For which we have to be prepared. The following are steps shall be ensured to keep the populace free of virus and fear.
- Make sure your workplaces are clean and hygienic & well sanitized
- Social Distancing norms to be followed strictly.
- Sanitize your hands regularly
- Adopt healthy eating habits to keep immune system strong
- Always wear mask for safety
“NOTHING WILL WORK UNLESS YOU DO”
Contributed by: Mustafa Lakkedghatwala, Principal, JHS & Associates, Along with Sandhya Gonieal and Simran Agarwal
