साहित्याचे पुर्निवलोकनाचा काही भाग....

The complex organization of the Collies, virtually excluded from state or enterprise social security schemes, is able to generate and reproduce a strong sense of social capital, reinforced through kin relations and ties with the village of origin.However the conditions under which these systems work and the prerequisites for building and maintaining trust and cooperation are very specific and therefore vulnerable.

Since the liberalization of the Indian Economy in 1991, the country has experienced economic prosperity and growth. This prosperity, however, is not yet accessible to the whole of the population. An increasing number of Indians are experiencing vulnerability, inequality & marginalization.( Muricken 1999:1)

By giving preference to neo-liberal policies and promoting economic growth, the government has neglected the social aspects of the everyday lives of many Indians. “Permanent and protected jobs in the organized sector are shrinking, hence even those with requisite skills are unable to find proper employment. For these people, work in informal sector is the only avenue for survival. (Bhowmik 2000:1) S a consequences, the size of urban informal economy has increased by a continuously stream of labourers who have migrated from the rural areas in search for a living in the city.

The informal economy has often been criticized for its poor employment conditions. As labour and social welfare laws do not cover the informal sector, wages and working conditions often fail to meet minimum requirements, resulting in long working hours, insecure employment, irregular incomes, lack of access to proper healthcare and old age or retirement benefits. Moreover the labourers work in often unhealthy, unsafe and unprotected working environments. The workers of the informal sector are generally considered the poorest workers in India and most exposed to shocks and stresses threatening their livelihoods. For their social welfare they are left to informal arrangements of instances, mutual help, and family assistance.

In recent years, however pressure on the state and civil society has increased and concern and attention is expressed to extend social security to the informal sector. It is widely recognized, however that covering these workers under social protection and benefits by the state is a difficult and expensive process. So far the majority of the unorganized workers of the economy remain uncovered. In this respect, it has been argued that the state should not aim to cover all risks and insecurities of the informal sector, but rather promote self regulation and enhance the performance of local systems of social security by enhancing workers social capital. (Conning and Kevane 2002 Dhanani and Islam 2002)

EPW May 29, 2004.

Railway Porters of Mumbai- Social Capital in Practice.

- Dennis Weitering, Gerben Nooteoom  

 EPW: Sept 25, 1999

Organising the Unorgnised : Case of Hamal Panchayat

-         Rajeshwari Deshpande

 Social groups working in the informal sectors as labourers are among the most neglected groups under the present pattern of capitalist development. The state does not acknowledge their presence, nor does the civil society accord them respectable status. Trade Unions too have mirrored this attitude and have by and large, failed to make efforts at organizing them.

The Hamal Panchayat is a successful attempt at mobilizing these workers and has been attempting to create a broad-based political alliance of unorganized workers and the poor forcing both the state and civil society to recognize their specific identities and acknowledge their contribution to the economy and society.

The concept and the extent of informal sector in the Indian Economy has been studied extensively (Papola 1980; Joshi and Joshi 1976; Chandra 1997). It is estimated that only 9.4% of the total Indian workforce belongs to the organized sector. (Datt 1997: 5) Among these the proportion of rural workers, mainly landless agricultural labourers still remain high. However during the last two decades changing economic policies and stagnation in agriculture have led to increased pace of urbanization and migration of people from rural and semi- urban areas to urban centres. (Bhattacharya 1998)This has resulted in subsequent growth of the Urban Informal sector.

In 1991, 20.7 per cent of the total workers were in urban areas. During the last 20 years the lopsided capitalist development also resulted in the disproportionate growth of the service sector in Indian Economy. (Kurien 1992: 341) Among the workers engaged in other services, in both rural and urban areas almost 59 per cent are unprotected.

 (Maniben Kara Institute 1994)

Trade Union activity in India on the other hand has largely focused workers belonging to the organized sector. It is very difficult to organize unorganized workers because of the absence of clear employer-employee relations, the scattered nature of workplaces, poor resource base of workers and neglect by the state. (Datt 1997: 5)

The Hamal Panchayat, a pune based Organization of the load carriers/ coolies is a glaring example of efforts at political mobilization within the informal sector. The Panchayat started its work in 1955. During the last 40 years it has helped the ‘hamals’ in Pune and many other parts of the state to lead a financially better and socially secure life.

Hamals or load carriers form a significant group of the urban unorganized workers engaged in service sector.