Indians Forced To Resort To Low-Paying Self-Employment As Well-Paying Jobs Have Declined: Report
New Delhi: Drawing a parallel between the claims made by Narendra Modi over the years and the status of employment in the country, a recently released report by a civic action forum highlighted how the share of the self-employed in the Indian workforce has risen between 2011-12 and 2022-23, which means "well-paying jobs with social security have shrunk and people are forced to resort to low-paying self-employment options".
Between 2011-12 to 2022-23, the share of self-employed men rose from 51.5% to 53.4% while the share of self-employed women increased from 56.5% to 64.3%. The self-employed category includes rural weavers, farmers, potters, urban roadside vendors, tailors, barbers as well as unpaid workers in small household enterprises, the report noted.
The share of women in casual employment dropped sharply from 28.7% to 17.1% between 2011-12 and 2022-23, the forum Bahutva Karnataka underlined in its report on employment, wages and inequity. Similarly, the share of men in casual employment dropped from 28.2% to 22.8% in the same period.
Notably, the report pointed out that 9.79 lakh vacant posts exist in central government jobs alone, as per a response given in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State Jitendra Singh in December 2022.
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The share of men in regular wage work has increased by merely 3 percentage points from 20.3% in 2011-12 to 23.8% in 2022-23 and about 3.8 percentage points for women — 14.8% in 2011-12 to 18.6% in 2022-23 — the report mentioned based on National Sample Survey (NSS) and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data.
Reality check: too many claims without results
In October 2023, the prime minister said, "Our government is working in mission mode keeping in mind the future of the youth." In a sharp contrast, the report noted that 42% of the graduates under the age of 25 are unemployed.
The report underlined that the BJP manifesto in 2019 mentioned: “Under our government, there has been a 42% growth in the national minimum wage. We will maintain the same direction over the next five years to ensure a respectable living for the workers." However, nearly 30 crore people are earning less than the national minimum floor wages or their earnings can be considered too harsh to live in, as per the report.
"This is like the combined population of Germany, France, UK, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and Ireland living in dire conditions," Bahutva Karnataka added.
Interestingly, an expert committee on wages led by Anoop Satpathy in 2019 had said that the national minimum floor wages in India should be at least Rs 375 per day — calculated based on the amount of money needed to ensure a balanced diet for each person — the committee also recommended an additional housing allowance of Rs 1,430 per month for urban workers. However, none of the recommendations of the committee which was set up by the Ministry of Labour and Employment were adopted by the government, the report noted.
In March 2024, Prime Minister Modi said, “For us development means the development of the poorest of the poor, development of Dalit, tribals, backwards and deprived. ” The report underlined that nominal per capita GDP (total GDP divided by population) between 2011-12 and 2022-23 has increased by more than 60% but the incomes of the poor has barely risen — 34% of households earn less than the national minimum floor wage — which means that "GDP growth has only benefited the rich".
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Moreover, the top 10% held 63% of the national wealth in 2012 and it increased to 64.5% in 2022. In 2012, the bottom 50% held 6.1% of the national wealth and it has dropped down to 5.6% in 2022, the report noted.
The civic action forum underlined that the government should ensure right to food for all; right to employment with living wages and timely payment of wages for all; right to free and quality healthcare; right to free and quality education; right to pensions. Further, in order to fulfil these social-economic initiatives, Bahutva Karnataka proposed that 10% of the GDP should be allocated for social security. In addition to the current sources of funding, these measures can be funded through a wealth tax of 2% and 33.3% inheritance tax on the top 1% of the population, the forum suggested.
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