[WSMDiscuss] COVID-19 and the World of Work

[Umakant]

Dear Friends

Greetings! COVID-19pandemic and the lockdown which are still continuing in several ways has devastatedthe work and livelihood opportunities of millions of people. The worst affectedhave been the daily wage earners and also the migrant workers mainly from theunorganized/informal sector. 

 

On the linksmentioned below you could read some latest report and also watch videos apartfrom the ground news report. Do pass it on to others in your circle/network.  

 

LabouringLives: Hunger, Precarity And Despair Amid Lockdown

http://centreforequitystudies.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Labouring-Lives-_Final-Report.pdf

 

As the humanitariancrisis of joblessness, intense food insecurity and massive dislocation ofworkers rapidly unfolded, many civil society organisations, humanitarian aidgroups, common citizens and religious organisations stepped in to support thepeople in distress. One of these was Aman Biradari Trust under itsKarwan-e-Mohabbat campaign. The Centre for Equity Studies and the DelhiResearch Group came together to conduct this rapid survey among workers –mainly those who contacted and were reached food relief by Aman Biradari Trust– to add to our understanding of various aspects of the impact of the lockdownon the lives, livelihoods and food security of the labouring poor. It attemptedto cover both migrant and settled workers in both urban and rural India.

 

It wasbased on 1405 extensive interviews, mostly on telephone, with workers reachedfor food support by Karwan-e-Mohabbat volunteers of Aman Biradari Trust. Itsrelief work extended to under its Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana,Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, which defined the data baseof the study.

 

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WatchThe Video- Labouring Lives: Hunger, Precarity And Despair Amid Lockdown 

Karwan e Mohabbat(Caravan of Love), June 19, 2020 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu8fww_q2_I

 

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COVID-19and the world of work

International Labour Organization

https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/lang--en/index.htm

 

Theworld of work is being profoundly affected by the global virus pandemic. Inaddition to the threat to public health, the economic and social disruptionthreatens the long-term livelihoods and wellbeing of millions. The ILO and itsconstituents – Governments, workers and employers – will play a crucial role incombating the outbreak, ensuring the safety of individuals and thesustainability of businesses and jobs. 

 

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Feet ofclay: Chhattisgarh's potters, locked down

PurusottamThakur, PARI, June 15, 2020 

https://ruralindiaonline.org/articles/feet-of-clay-chhattisgarhs-potters-locked-down/

 

In Dhamtari town,potters missed their peak summer sales season due the lockdown, when making andselling pots became difficult. Despite markets now opening in Chhattisgarh,they are facing an uncertain year.

 

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Watchthe Video of Webinar: Labour Law and Governance Changes in India: A Decent WorkPerspective

Jesuit Conference of India,Webinar/Youtube, June 13, 2020 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lsn1yexgO3s&feature=youtu.be

 

RAMAPRIYA GOPALAKRISHNAN (Labour Lawyer & ILOConsultant) 

 

RADHICKA KAPOOR (Fellow, Indian Council for Research onInternational Economic Relations (ICRIER) 

 

CHRISTINE NATHAN (Ex-ILO ACTRAV Official, Member, WorkingCommittee, Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS) Member, ICMC-Asia Pacific). 

 

MODERATOR: SHYAM SUNDAR (Professor, HRM, XLRI, XavierSchool of Management, Jamshedpur) Webinar held on 13 June 2020

 

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Child labourdeclines but still wages below legal minimum in seed production India

Advocating Rights inSouth Asia (ARISA), June 11, 2020 

https://arisa.nl/persbericht-200611/?lang=en 

 

The report “SowingHope” shows that in the past five years important steps have been taken tocombat child labour in the cottonseed and vegetable seed production in India.Child labour declined, particularly in areas where significant interventionstook place to address the issue. The overall incidence of child labour below 14years showed a decline of 25% in cottonseed farms and 38% in vegetable seedfarms.

 

Unfortunately,despite this progress, the total number of children still employed in seedproduction and particularly in cottonseed farms is high. Arisa therefore callson seed companies, industry associations and governments to make furtherefforts to completely eliminate child labour in the vegetable seed andcottonseed industry.

 

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With Regards 

Umakant, Ph. D 

New Delhi 



 






My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side I do not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of reclamation of human personality. 
B.R.Ambedkar
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