Abstract
In India, the past few decades witnessed a growing process of “informalization of work within the formal sector”. The most alarming aspect of this trend is the process of informalization within the public/government sector, where the governments (both at the centre and states) are found to increase the share of unprotected workers in the total workforce. Excessive use of employees under project mode, employment of temporary workers on continuous basis, outsourcing of non-core operations to service providers and engagement of workers through placement agencies/intermediaries are common practices followed by state-run institutions. With all these transitions, the role of governments as promoters of decent and protected jobs in the organized sector is gradually waning, as the state also participates actively in the rat race for cost-cutting measures like any other employer. This scenario, juxtaposed with the other ongoing changes in the state’s role (e.g. the thrust on “reforming” labour laws for enhancing labour flexibilities, reduced social sector spending and so on), suggests that there has been a double laxity on the part of state, both as employer and as the ultimate regulator and promoter of decent employment. Based on secondary data and available empirical evidence, the present chapter elaborates these concerns of informalization of employment in the public sector.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
As per the definition followed by NCEUS, the three characteristics to identify informal employment are: (a) absence of employment security (no protection against arbitrary dismissal); (b) absence of work security (no protection against accidents and illness at the workplace); and (c) absence of social security (maternity and health care benefits, pension, etc.) (NCEUS 2009).
- 2.
The corresponding share in 1999–2000 was 42.1%.
- 3.
For instance, Economic Survey 2015–16 reports that the share of informal employment in the organized sector had increased from 48 to 54.6% during 2004–05 to 2011–12 (Government of India/GOI 2016).
- 4.
Here, it is to be noted that the concept of “decent work” or “decent employment” came to usage only in the late 1990s, since the introduction of the decent work convention by the International Labour Organization/ILO in 1997.
- 5.
Economic Survey 2012–13 reports that employment by government declined from 19.5 million in 1995 to 17.5 million in 2011.
- 6.
After examining the impact of privatization on labour in the context of a disinvested public sector company, BALCO, Remesh (2007), explains that with the shift of the transfer of ownership of the firm from public to private, the labour standards of the erstwhile public sector employees have deteriorated considerably.
- 7.
As against this, the private sector has 14.1 million workers.
- 8.
The share of regular employees in the government sector declined from 94% in 2001 to 88% in 2009 (ISF 2014).
- 9.
With the increased adoption of work outsourcing, the erstwhile in-house work of government organizations is now being increasingly transferred to the private sector. As per a latest estimate, 3–3.5 million workers in the private sector are deployed to cater to government projects over 2000–01 to 2011–12.
- 10.
Almost all the temporary workers in the government sector are not members of any trade union organizations, as collective bargaining is largely confined to permanent employees.
- 11.
One lakh equals one hundred thousand.
- 12.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme of the central government also engages several teaching staff and cooks as temporary employees. As in the case of anganwadi workers, SSA cooks are also treated as “honorary” workers and thus paid only a meagre monthly honorarium (Rs. 1,000 plus supplementary payments).
- 13.
While commenting on this, Swaminathan (2015) says that through the large-scale engagement of temporary staff as “voluntary workers” and by denying them “worker status”, informal employment is being formalized in the government sector.
- 14.
Setting up of the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) and Standing Labour Committee (SLC) structures is a classic example of this.
- 15.
For instance, in the first three decades since independence, the government appointed major commissions such as the First National Commission on Labour, National Commission on Rural Labour, National Commission on Women and National Commission on Self-Employed Women Workers.
- 16.
For instance, the National Labour Institute was set up following the recommendations of the First National Commission on Labour.
- 17.
For instance, the efficacy of the Child Labour (Regulation and Prohibition) Act 1986 was seriously affected by the decline of the inspection system.
- 18.
In BALCO, when the disinvestment took place, it was stipulated that there should not be retrenchment for a specified period of time. But the private management could downsize the workforce by introducing VRS and forcing the workers to opt for it (Remesh 2007).
- 19.
For a detailed account, see Paul and Mahurkar (2016).
References
GOI. (2016). Economic Survey 2015–16. New Delhi: Government of India.
Gopalan, S. T. (2016). Withering regulation? An interim review of Modi government’s labour reforms. Journal of Asian Public Policy, 9(2), 170–184.
Indian Staffing Industry Research (ISF) (2014). Flexi staffing in government and public sector. Indian Staffing Federation, New Delhi.
NCEUS. (2009). The challenge of employment in India: An informal economy perspective—Main report I. New Delhi: NCEUS.
Paul, B., & Mahurkar, P. G. (2016). Are trade unions relevant in the Indian banking sector? Economic and Political Weekly, 51(16), 69–79.
Remesh, B. P. (2007). Optional or imposed? An ex-post evaluation of voluntary retirement scheme in BALCO. Economic and Political Weekly, 42(21), 1934–1941.
Remesh, B. P. (2015). Expanding markets and worsening labour standards? The case of automotive sector in India. Paper presented in the International Conference on Labour Questions in the Global South, 18–20 November, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Suresh, T. G. (2010). Cost-cutting pressures and labour relations in Tamil Nadu’s automobile components supply chain. In A. Posthuma & D. Nathan (Eds.), Labour in global production networks in India (pp. 251–271). New York: Oxford University Press.
Swaminathan, P. (2015). The formal creation of informality, and therefore, gender injustice: Illustrations from India’s social sector. Indian Journal of Labour Economics, 58(1), 23–42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Remesh, B.P. (2017). Informal Work in the Formal Sector: Conceptualizing the Changing Role of the State in India. In: Noronha, E., D'Cruz, P. (eds) Critical Perspectives on Work and Employment in Globalizing India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3491-6_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3491-6_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-3490-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-3491-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)